Oh and the accelerometer only flips 2 ways instead of every way like the pre.

Tried what you mentioned about pinching and it worked. I guess that will do until palm fixes the issue.

For me, I can say that both the Palm Pre and HTC Hero are the first couple of phones in a while that have really impressed me. I have an HTC Kaiser, but I passed on the HTC Touch Pro and will be passing on the Touch Pro 2, because they seem like much of the same. So, it's really something that HTC has a new phone that impresses me.

That being said, I'm not hot on the touch-screen keyboard concept. I wasn't fuzzy when it was with the iPhone, but the iPhone has cool correction software...as far as I've read, the Hero has decent correction/prediction, but all the reviews say it's not AS good as the iPhone's...so that's my concern.

With the Pre, I can deal with premature software and OS, since the hardware still has the keyboard, etc., I also like the Pixi, but I'm worried that it is too "downgraded" from the Pre.

Which two ways? The pre flips 4 ways like you said, which sides specifically does the hero switch too?

The only differnce is it won't flip upside down like the pre. Really not sure why they put the option on the pre. The phone is useless that way.

I have used the Hero keyboard... And while maybe the prediction isn't as good as the iPhone's, it is still great. I really loved how easy it is on android to just add a custom word to the dictionary. After about a week of using it, you should really enjoy it. It is much more spacious than the Pre's itsy-bitsy keys, and it has predictive text and auto-correction.

The hero, like the pre, has multitasking. And while it isn't as elegant as WebOS, it's still there. Also, Android has an app market with thousands of apps, and a platform that has proven to be a place where developers want to put there apps.

That's my concern too (Pixi a downgrade?) But I'll reserve judgment until I see the phone in person and in action

So you can show someone sitting across from what is on your screen easily. Not a huge feature but it was probably easy to add and Palm said why not?

And when my page half loads I just double tab the screen.

From the videos I have seen the Hero's apps seem to load faster than on the Pre. I really wonder if this 1.2 will help in terms of load times or boot times??

I try not to get into app wars, because then Apple wins. Same with touchscreen keyboards. Since I'm not intrigued by the arguments for iPhone, they don't necessarily intrigue for the Hero.

I prefer a hard keyboard too but I can tell you from experience with my htc diamond. I could type twice as fast as anyone with a hard keyboard. I used touchpal which is also available for all android devices. I used the blackberry pearl style layout.

The advantages to a virtual keyboard is the dictionary. I can type a word such as dictionary and by the time I get to dict on the virtual keyboard it has already figured out the word. This cuts your typing time by a lot. You can keep updating the dictionary and it will figure out word even faster.

People on a hard keyboard have to type the whole word. No way will you be faster.

If I mistype something 8 out of 10 times the virtual kybd will fix it. See how I mispelled keyboard....the virtual keyboard would have caught that. Hard keyboards you have to backspace or use the horrible cursor placing option on the pre. Not bashing because I like the pre but seriously the hard keyboard on the pre without word prediction is useless. The word prediction in place right now is not great to say the least. I am sure they will implement it soon enough. Even windows phones with a hard keyboard utilize it.

I do like having a hard keyboard just because it cuts down on lag, but with the hero's update it should take care of that. My point is don't bash the virtual keyboard. The iphone is the biggest phone out for years and has what.... A virtual keyboard.

my AT&T tilt has a dictionary so that when I am using the hardware keyboard, I don't have to type the full word if I don't want to. But I usually type the full word anyway, because that feature is annoying.

Quite simply, I'm not bashing the concept of a virtual keyboard. But when you extol the virtues of one, just recognize that you're giving points to Apple's iPhone (the best in this category) and NOT the Hero.

I must say...I've been waiting for an attractive Android phone for a while now. I ended up going with the Pre. But now that Sprint is ready to release an Android phone that's halfway decent looking (not as sexy as the Pre though) I'm down. I'm an Information Technology Manager and I've been staying on top of phones since the days of PPC-6700.

After Apple/iPhone, Android is next up to be the big boy on the block (app and support wise). I think Palm will eventually get up to speed with apps, but the problem is people are too busy developing for platforms like iPhone and Android. When Apple ****es a dev off they go to Android and say to hell with Apple. Palm is a little late to the game and I don't believe has sold enough phones to drive developers to the platform (yet). It's a shame too because I think the Palm Pre is the next best thing to an iPhone. They keyboard on the Pre, though people complain it's too tight beats a software keyboard ANY DAY!! Period.

I'm def going to make the switch to the Sprint Hero but I'm also interested in waiting to see what the Samsung InstinctQ will be like since it's going to run Android and has a full Qwerty keyboard. Don't mistake the InstinctQ for the InstinctHD two different phones, one runs Android the other runs whatever proprietary software the first Instinct ran. They're both suppose to be released October 11th (my birthday...hint hint wife). If the Samsung is released same day I'm going that route (for the full keyboard). If not I'm going to the Hero route.

I was so curious and excited about Sprint releasing an Android device, I signed up with T-Mobile (just to get a 20 day trial since they had a $99 special) to try their MyTouch 3G to see what I might expect from an Android phone.

I'm blown away. If you're into really making your phone do EXACTLY what you want, how you want. Android is the route to go. I was also impressed with the size and weight of the MyTouch 3G though I have NO INTENTIONS on keeping it OR T-Mobile. But playing with this phone gives me an idea of what to expect from Android. Let me just say...Android is everything the iPhone is and more. The only thing I find is that apps don't have that sexy glow to them like iPhone apps. Meaning the icons look a little dull and washed out compared to the vibrant iPhone and Pre screens. So I agree with the reviewer on that one.

But when it comes to apps next to the outdated Windows Mobile comes iPhone, then Android, Symbian and waaaaay at the end is Palm. I just think there are too many mobile OSes to develop for so devs are going to see where they can get the most bang for their buck or most eyes for their app. The next logical step would be Android.

I wish the best for Palm their product is top notch but they're going to really have to make it appealing for devs to develop in droves like other platforms.

So anyone interested in buying a Pre I may be selling mine, or I may hold on to see how things look app wise in 6 months.

I also was playing with the Hero the other day. Cute but definitely not all that. I will be sticking with the Pre no questions asked. The hero does have a nice interface, great resolution, but honestly the load is about the same, the on screen keyboard is not to much bigger then pres virtual leyboard, the pre feels better, and the heroes trackball feels even cheaper then blackberrys. Very loose feeling. As for the instinct HD, very nice resolution also but...its an Instinct...

The upside down trick is nice when the person is across from you. All you have to do is tilt the phone to show them something.

Its not necessary, but it's a nice plus...

At least the hero has a notification light.

Supposedly in 1.2.....

Notification light in 1.2 has to be turned on by rooting. Its there but not activated. In the leaked version

That's pretty cool. I was thinking about waiting for the Hero, but given your comments about the screen I'm glad I didn't.

I echo other comments too - can't imagine going back to the iPhone - gestures has become second nature to me. And the multitasking - I have no idea how I lived without it (the iPhone 2G was my first "smart" phone).

I think you'll feel different when the hero drops.