Noticed a few peeped are getting HTC heros, I've had one for a month and found the following helpful:

Put widgets to control WiFi, mobile internet, gps, etc on or near your home screen, turn em on when you need them, saves battery.

Download a task manager app, use it to shut down stuff to save battery.

Turn off vibration for typing, stops the keyboard lagging.

Download My Tracks, cool gps tracking cycling software.

Download Handcent sms, or another text messenger, the HTC app can use battery quick.

STW as bookmark, enjoy…

Good tips thanks.

Apps I've installed so far are mytracks, barcode reader (identifies product and then returns info on cheapest online and local source). Shazam, and google skymaps and layar

Get I music.
Free mp3 downloads, dunno how they do it, but its the business.
That's i -space- music…

And don't sync your email, just refresh via the menu when you want to.

Solitaire, of course, and Solo lite, a guitar app.

Plus the obligatory light sabre….

The same hints also apply to the G1, G2 Touch, Samsung i7500 and the HTC Magic … and many more to come

Another app worth a look is 'Locale' as well as the finalists for the ADC2 contest – haven't had chance to check them out yet though.

On a side note, have you seen the soon to be released Sony X10 – wow!!

X10 looks nice – similar size to HTC. i-Phone is a little too big?

non iphone multifunction device in 'needing to save battery' shocker!

You don't need to save it, but these are tips to make it last longer.
See?

No mention of Sportypal – another very good GPS tracking app.

I wasn't aware of the battery savings. I'm grateful for that

Chompsms for texts
Twidroid for twitter
Mabilo ringtones for erm ringtones
Rotary dialler for retro phone use
Google Places directory
Bubble Spirit Level

So, having received my Hero this afternoon and being a total 'smart phone' noob. would someone care to elucidate me on htf to work anything on it?

These app thingys, do you have to pay for them? How do you know which ones to get? Where do you get them from? Should I go to the Orange shop in Inverness tomorrow and be patronised by the oiks while they show me? HELP!

Ah was just browsing on the ole hero this evening and came across this 🙂

Couple of useful forums here.

http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=512

Jojo, the app things, some you can pay for, but majority are free. You can probably do anything you want with the free apps – I've not paid for any yet.

The apps are available through the Market icon – you can just browse by category or search for something specific, and download them via wifi or mobile internet.

The apps are rated by popularity and also by release date – so it's easy to find the most common/useful apps.

You might need to register the phone to access the Market – I did on tmobile (they want proof you're over 18).

Oh, and my favourite apps.

last.fm – Stream music from the popular music site

Maverick – A brilliant mapping app that caches the map data, so you don't need to wifi/mobile-net You can overlay google maps/open -streetmap/bing and some others. It also has some waypoint/tracks functionality.

Also make sure you take full advantage of the google integration, i.e. use gmail instead of pop3 email, and the calendar in invaluable, and google talk saves money sending texts

Yeah the google thing is a godsend! Just put all your contact details into gmail, then your phone will sync them all, additionally you can link your contacts with their facebook profiles – then it adds a picture for each contact, and gives you easy access to their photo albums.

Regarding the Android Developer Challenge 2 (ADC2) finalists, we developed Buzz Deck (winner in the media category) – don't want to do any blatant plugs… but its a pretty cool app for keeping abreast of tech news and general info! Go download it – feedback welcome!

Cheers,
Nick

(Mippin – developers for Buzz Deck and Buzz Widgets)

Cardiotrainer

Nuff said

🙂

As much as I like it, the google sync thing is a bit carp – it doesn't properly hook into Outlook (repeated events, etc) & HTC Sync doesn't work properly for a lot of people – I can only sync using that on my work PC but it won't load which means i can't do contacts or calendar updates from it so i end up basically running 2 diaries 🙁

i like the compass and metal detector app, off to find another hoard of gold this weekend!

Has anyone found an angle finder (like the i-phone app) where you can measure angles, like a HTA on a bike frame?

there is a spirit level app, think i remember seeing it listed.

bonesetter
'GPS Status' App will do the job for you
includes pitch in it's readings

Hey kieth, cool app thanks

Never heard of I Music before – just checking it out now – a cracking app – good find:)

My fav apps:
Beebplayer (both iPlayer and live BBC channels)
Budgetdroid
FXCamera
Greed – RSS feeds
Listen – podcasts
Meebo
MixZing – excellent MP3 player with album art and self-creating playlists
MotherTED – TED blog videos
NetMeter
Power Manager
Tube Status and Tube Map – plan your tube routes and get updates on lines
Wapedia
UK National Rail – live train times

As much as I like it, the google sync thing is a bit carp – it doesn't properly hook into Outlook (repeated events, etc) & HTC Sync doesn't work properly for a lot of people – I can only sync using that on my work PC but it won't load which means i can't do contacts or calendar updates from it so i end up basically running 2 diaries

Mine syncs perfectly with Exchange, Googlemail and Google Calendar (for everything except tasks because that hasn't been made avaialble yet without using a paid app – none of which I like)

I also use Dropbox for syncing/storing files online, which means I don't have to use the standard HTC Sync which most people say is crap.

Are you having a problem syncing to Outlook or Exchange?

I'd been meaning to post a thread like this since I got my hero…. keep them coming!

Hey Spacemonkey I haven't been able to sync with outlook for a while (HTC sync says sync failed due to calander file missing)

I'l look into your dropbox recommendation, thanks

Has anyone found an angle finder (like the i-phone app) where you can measure angles, like a HTA on a bike frame?

yes i have it installed on my G1 its called inclinometer

Brilliant, just what I was after, thanks 😀

I want one of these JUST for the angle finder. Its sooooo geeky but you know everybody that has this app and has an interest in bikes will be using it!

But can it measure your top tube?

Is GPS that accurate?

Hey Spacemonkey I haven't been able to sync with outlook for a while (HTC sync says sync failed due to calander file missing)

Call HTC Support (number is on the website) – they're pretty good and should be able to help.

Al, the inclination meter does not use gps

Google Listen is the nuts and free. Dead easy to setup subscriptions to podcasts and then download when new episodes are available. Most used app on my phone by far. It even goes into pause mode when you unplug headphones so you don't have to faff around unlocking the screen.

Grid Reference – gives you a 10 digit OS grid reference.

How do I turn off the vibration on the keyboard? Any ideas?

Anyone know what settings I need on orange for a t-mobile branded pulse phone? Or where to get them? (like a decent forum? I've signed on to one but 4 days later and my membership's not been approved…)

bonesetter – Member
Al, the inclination meter does not use gps

*Whoosh*

I was making teh LOLs

Bump. Mine's coming tomorrow, fingers crossed, anything else I need to know?

Cheers,

APF

You'll need some patience for the next couple of weeks 😉

Get chomp sms or handcent sms to use as your text messaging application.

Get My Tracks to use as a bike GPS mapping recorder.

Get i music to download songs for nowt.

Get Aldiko to use as an e-reader electric book thingy.

Get Advanced Task Killer to help shut down programs you don't want running all the time.

Get Guitar : Solo Lite to play with.

Get WiFinder to help with wifi finding.

Get a Google Mail account, and set it up BEFORE YOU SET UP THE PHONE.

Then just type in your details when asked during setup.

Get used to people saying " Is that an iPhone?" then explaining that , no it's not, but it does similar stuff.

Put widgets to turn on your wifi and mobile internet somewhere obvious, and only turn them on when you want them on.

Enjoy.

good one crikey – and they're all free 😀

Hey I like chomp sms