Can a smartphone be more breathtaking than the iPhone? Yes, it can. Meet the new HTC Hero (with Android)

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I am a big fan of the iPhone. It has set a new standard for the experience on a mobile phone, specially related to your life on the web. Than came the Palm Pre and put Palm back in the game with another impressive device. There is also Android, but the interface didn't impress much, and the HTC G1 was clunky and reportedly slow.

With the launch of the Android powered HTC Hero, we are seeing a new milestone for the industry. The device is much sexier compared to the G1 and the improved Android OS is amazingly impressive (see the video above).

Here you can find a little more about the hero:

With its 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero is optimized for Web, multimedia and other content, while maintaining a small size and weight that fits comfortably in your hand. It also boasts a broad variety of hardware features including AGPS, digital compass, gravity-sensor, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a five mega-pixel autofocus camera and expandable MicroSD memory. HTC Hero also includes a dedicated Search button that goes beyond basic search, providing you with a more natural, contextual search experience that enables you to search through Twitter, locate people in your contact list, find emails in your inbox or search in any other area in Hero.

The Hero was launched recently in UK and is expected to hit other European and Asian countries this summer. Prices will vary according to plans, but apparently the device will be fully subsidized in some cases.

More details about the HTC Hero can be found here.

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