A sneak peak of the HTC Tattoo

The Tattoo is HTC's second SIM-free Android-based device following in the footsteps of the Hero (http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/introducing-htc-hero). Aimed more at the consumer market than the Hero, the Tattoo is smaller, fitting any pocket thanks to the removal of the Google 'chin', including an FM Radio and also boasting a range of replaceable covers, reminiscent of Nokia's Xpress-On covers from yester-year.

This article is intended as a 'preview' only: the unit I am using being a prototype only rather than the final release. The hardware specs are the same, only the software revision is not the version that will ship to customers. Still, if you consider that this unit will offer a similar feature set to the Hero (perhaps minus the QuickOffice viewers), but running the newer Android 'Donut' operating system, you will now be able to enjoy support for VPN access as well as text to speech functionality....read on!

Specifications

• Processor - Qualcomm MSM7225, 528MHz
• Platform - Android
• Memory - ROM:512MB, RAM:256MB
• Dimensions (LxWxT) - 106 x 55.2 x 14mm (4.17 x 2.17 x 0.55 inches)
• Weight - 113 grams (3.99 ounces) with battery
• Display - 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 240x320 QVGA resolution
• Network
  • HSDPA/WCDMA
    • Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz
    • Up to 384 kbps uplink and 7.2 Mbps downlink speeds
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
    • 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

  Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent

• Device Control - 4-way navigation control with Enter button
• GPS - Internal GPS antenna
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate ad A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • WiFi IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0)
  • 3.5 mm audio jack
• Camera - 3.2 megapixel colour camera
• Audio supported formats - MP3, AAC (AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media Audio 9
• Video supported format - MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows Media Video 9
• Battery
  • Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
  • Capacity: 1100 mAh
  • Talk time:
    • Up to 342 minutes for WCDMA
    • Up to 390 minutes for GSM
  • Standby time:
    • Up to 520 hours for WCDMA
    • Up to 340 hours for GSM

  (The above are subject to network and phone usage)

• Expansion Slot - microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• AC Adapter - Voltage range / frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz. DC Output: 5V and 1A
• Special Features
  • G-sensor
  • Digital Compass
  • FM Radio

Getting Started

As with the Hero before it, the setup procedure is simple. You will be prompted to select your desired language:

calibrate the keyboard and set up wireless network access:

allow applications to access the GPS module and configure email accounts:

as well as configuring Social Networking applications and time zone information:

Once complete the Home screen will be displayed:

which, as with the Hero before it, features not one, but 7 screens, accessed by simply scrolling left and right with the thumb:

And in addition to 7 home screens, multiple profiles (or "moods") are available, including Play:

Work and Social:

and Travel:

Additional home screens can be configured from scratch too, if you wish.

Widgets

Widgets are Internet-enabled applications that can run on the Home Screen, providing at-a-glance access to weather reports, stock information, sports results, email, calendar appointments - you name it, you can put it in a widget.
Applications can also provide access to local information such as your Contacts list, Photos albums or just a search box. Android comes with a number of pre-defined Widgets and HTC have bundled a load more meaning that virtually any aspect of the device's functionality can be accessed directly from the Home screen if you wish.
As well as Widgets, you can of course add shortcuts to your favourite applications so they can be launched directly by tapping the icon rather than first accessing the Programs menu and then scrolling to the program's entry location.
Application shortcuts can be added to the Home Screen simply tapping and holding on the icon for the application. As soon as you hold, the program view will fade away and the home screen will be displayed. Release the icon to add a shortcut to the home screen.

When you take the sheer variety of screens, themes and widgets available, this platform offers an unparalleled ability to customise your device to how you want to use it.

Keyboard / Input

As with the Hero, the touch-screen keyboard is capacitive rather than resistive, meaning that the unit does not ship with a stylus, rather you use your finger or thumb to select keys.

Applications

As I mentioned earlier, this unit is not running the final shipping version so I won't give a list of installed applications, but you can rest assured that the unit will include at the very least:

• Albums - browse and sort your photographs and images, upload to FaceBook or Flickr
• Browser - access the world wide web in stunning multi-touch quality
• Calculator - number crunching
• Calendar - never forget Gran's birthday again
• Camcorder
• Camera
• Clock - featuring a world clock, timer, stopwatch and several individually-configurable alarms
• FM Radio - radio gaga
• Mail - POP, IMAP and Exchange Server ActiveSync Exchange email accounts
• Messages - SMS/MMS client
• Music - audio file player
  
• Peep - Twitter client
• People - address book
• Voice Recorder - record voice notes and use the device as a dictaphone

The Albums feature allows you to browse and organise your photographs, both taken with the built-in 3.2 megapixel camera or saved to the SD memory card. Pictures can be set as the home screen wallpaper or uploaded to Facebook or Flickr.
Indeed, as with the Hero, Once logged in, you can access any social networking services from within any other 'socially-networked' application - be it uploading a photo to Flickr directly from within the Albums application, replying to a contact via Twitter directly from the People (Contacts) application, or viewing a contact's Facebook updates directly from your contacts list.

The Music player allows you to organise your audio files into playlists, shuffle songs, set files as your default ringtone, or as the ringtone for a specific contact.

The FM Radio, provided that you have a set of headphones connected to act as an aerial, can be used to access any FM radio station and save it as a Preset:

Email

The Tattoo supports both POP and IMAP email accounts as well as featuring a Server ActiveSync client enabling bi-directional push-based synchronisation of Contacts, Calendar and Email with Microsoft Exchange (2003 SP2 or later).

When adding a POP or IMAP-based email account, provided that your account is with a 'popular' provider such as Hotmail, Tiscali, Virgin or whoever, then the setup procedure is simply a matter of entering your full email address and password and the Hero will do the rest for you - even getting the correct outgoing mail server settings for your mobile operator, something that trips up a lot of users when having to enter the settings manually.
Alternatively you can complete the settings yourself should you want to set up a private server.

Setting up an Exchange account is not much more difficult - if you enter your Exchange email address and password the Hero will attempt to determine the server settings to use automatically, using the Microsoft AutoDiscover service.

Should the client not be able to determine the settings automatically, you will be prompted to enter the address of the server manually, as well as your domain, username and password - as you would have to on any Server ActiveSync client.
There are a number of 'little touches' on the Tattoo, as with the Hero, that make using it that much more intuitive and shows that the developers have clearly put some thought into. For example, when running through the Exchange manual setup, by entering in your email address of 'name@domain.com', the server address is automatically completed with 'domain.com' and the cursor placed at the beginning of the line, so that all you need to enter is the server name, ie 'mail.domain.com'.

Once you have entered all of the required information, the device will verify that it is able to connect to the server using the supplied credentials. If your Exchange server is using a self-issued, or non-root-trusted certificate, you will be warned to that effect and be prompted to accept the connection:

Once the connection has been established, you will the be prompted to select which mailbox folders you wish to synchronise:

and then be taken to your Inbox:

As with other ActiveSync clients you can specify a schedule for your mail delivery - having mail pushed as it arrives or every xx minutes:

VPN Access

Running the "Donut" version of the Android operating system, the Tattoo includes support for PPTP, L2TP and IPSec-based VPN connections:

Camera

The overall response time of the camera and camcorder has been improved in Android 1.6, and it is possible to switch between camera modes without the need to close one application and open another, simply by selecting the switch in the corner of the screen:

As with the Hero, photos can be uploaded to FaceBook or Flickr directly from the Albums application.

Miscellaneous

Also present in Donut is the inclusion of Text-to-Speech at the operating system level, meaning in theory that any application can be configured to "speak" to you:

Another feature not present in earlier models is support for MacOS: when connected to my Snow Leopard machine the SD card inserted in the Tattoo was mounted automatically as a USB drive:

Which also means that as soon as I took a picture with the camera, connecting the Tattoo caused iPhoto to launch on the Mac (as that is how I have the mac configured, you don't need to have this happen)

Summary

As I mentioned earlier, this article is intended as a "sneak peak" only. I will be blogging about the Tattoo in full once I get my hands on the final release version of the handset, but you can see from this prototype that the handset is going to provide unparalleled customisation options as well as all the power of the Android platform.

HTC Sync for Wildfire released

HTC have released a separate version of HTC Sync for the Wildfire which enables synchronisation Contacts, Calendar, Music, Bookmarks and Documents between your Android device and your Windows desktop. The software is compatible with any HTC Android device running Android 2.1 or later.

Available for download from the HTC web site, the application is compatible with Windows XP SP3 or later. The download is available here - http://www.htc.com/uk/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=982&news_id=712

How to hard reset the HTC Hero

NOTE - performing a hard reset on the Hero will erase all user data and applications on the device and return the unit to a factory-default state.

• Power the unit off (removing the battery if necessary)
• Hold down the Home and Back keys
• Press the power button whilst still holding down the Home and Back keys
• After a few seconds a message will be displayed on the screen prompting you to press the Menu button to confirm the reset process.
• Release all buttons, then press the Menu button to hard reset the device

After a few moments your device will boot and display the welcome wizard.

Installing the HTC Tattoo as a USB Modem on Windows 7

In order to use the HTC tattoo as a USB modem with your Windows 7-based PC to connect to the Internet, firstly set the Tattoo to Disk Drive Mode before connecting it to your PC for the first time.
Within the menu tap on the USB to PC icon:

Set the option to Disk Drive and tap done:

Connect the Tattoo to your Windows 7 PC. The device will be detected as a USB disk drive and the contents will be displayed. Install the HTC Sync application.

Once complete, return to the USB to PC setting on the Tattoo and adjust it to Mobile Network Sharing mode:

Windows will detect new hardware and attempt to install a new Network Adapter. The installation procedure will fail. Don't Panic.

Click on the Start Menu and right click on the entry for My Computer. Select Properties. Open the Device Manager:

The Tattoo will be listed as an Android device in the Other Devices section. Right click on the entry and select the option to Update Driver.

Select the option to Browse the computer for driver software.

Browse to C:\Program Files \ HTC \ HTC Driver \ Driver Files \ Vista_x86

Click OK. Windows will now install the correct driver for the new network adapter:

Once installed, you will be prompted to enter a location for the new Network Connection.

You will now be connected to the Internet (assuming that the Tattoo is successfully connected to your mobile operator's Internet service)

NOTE - I found I had to disable my internal network adapter before the Tattoo's connection would work successfully, but that may have been due to an IP address range conflict between my local network and the addressing scheme used by the mobile operator.

Introducing the HTC Desire

The Desire is HTC's latest Android offering, which they themselves have modestly dubbed a "SuperPhone" rather than a regular "SmartPhone", and even after only a few hours with the device I have to say it is worthy of the title.
Running the latest version of the Android operating system (version 2.1, or "Eclair"), the Desire packs a number of new features over older HTC Android models including an updated Exchange email client, support for Bluetooth file transfer, support for VPN connections, Version 3.1 of the WebKit browser as well as HTC's new "Friend Stream" social networking client. I will look at all of these features in more detail.

HTC's own marketing blurb summarises the key features of the Desire as follows:

Highlights

• Enjoy a vivid visual experience on the large 3.7 inch AMOLED display
• Surf the web in style with pinch to zoom controls and Adobe flash support that opens up the vast world of video and games of the Internet
• Experience super-fast response when jumping between applications, enjoying multimedia or playing games with the 1GHz Snapdragon processor
• Keep in tune with all your friends across multiple social networks with all of their updates, shared photos, links and tweets in a single, easy to view flow with Friend Stream.
• Tap into an online library of content-rich widgets that help you personalise your phone experience.

Specifications

• Model - A8181
• CPU Speed - 1GHz
• Platform - Android 2.1 (Eclair) with HTC Sense
• Memory - 512 MB ROM and 576 MB RAM
• Size and Weight - 119 x 60 x 11.9mm, 135 grams
• Display - 3.7-inch AMOLED touch-sensitive screen
• Network
  • HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100 MHz)
  • GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• GPS - Internal GPS antenna
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 2.1, A2DP, FTP, OPP and PBAP
  • WiFi IEEE 802.11b/g
  • 3.5mm stereo audio jack
  • Standard Micro-USB
• Camera - 5 megapixel colour camera with auto focus and flash
• Expansion Slot - microSD card

More detailed specifications can be found on the HTC web site - http://www.htc.com/uk/product/desire/specification.html

But what is the phone really like to use?

Setting up the phone initially was characteristically simple of the Android platform - the unit correctly detected what mobile network I was on from my SIM card and automatically configured the appropriate 3G connection settings to use without any further interaction. I was prompted to set up my WiFi, Email and Social Networking accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Flickr) and then I was in.

Home Screen

Like the Hero and the Tattoo before it, the Desire offers 7 home screens, all of which can be accessed simply by sliding your finger to the left or right, and all of which can be customised to your preference to contain shortcuts to applications, or any of the wide range of HTC "Widgets" to conveniently and quickly provide access to email, text and picture messages as well as updates to "Friend Stream", not to mention weather updates, stock reports, RSS feeds and more.

Similar to "Expose" on Mac OS X, all home screens can be viewed at a glance by 'pinching' whichever home screen you're on, enabling you to jump to the screen you want.

On the subject of the screen itself, at 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA), the 3.7-inch AMOLED screen looks superb both inside and outdoors (although to prolong the battery life you may consider adjusting the brightness manually). Combined with the metal navigation buttons and metal optical navigation key, the overall build quality of the Desire is of a very high standard and the device feels robust in the hand without being overly heavy or chunky. The lack of the Android 'chin' is also a welcome omission for me personally.

Applications

The complete list of application menu items on the Desire is as follows:

• Calculator
• Calendar
• Call History
• Camcorder
• Camera
• Clock
• Desk Clock
• Facebook
• FM Radio
• Footprints
• Friend Stream
• Google Mail
• Internet
• Learn More
• Mail
• Maps
• Market
• Messages
• Music
• News
• PDF Viewer
• Peep
• People
• Phone
• Photos
• Quickoffice
• Search People
• Settings
• Setup
• SIM Toolkit
• Stocks
• Google Talk
• Teeter
• Voice Recorder
• Weather
• You Tube

But naturally a whole universe of applications is at your fingertips within the Android Market! For a selection of some of the applications I have used and enjoyed in the past visit the Android section of the blog.
If you're new to Android and the Android Market and are unsure how applications can be installed, this article is a good starting point - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/what-applications-will-you-install-your-...

Some applications you might want to look at include Dropbox, Shazam, GDocs, DataViz Documents To Go and Layar

Email

The Desire can host an unlimited number of email accounts - provided that they're POP or IMAP-based. Only one Microsoft Exchange email account can be configured on the Desire, but HTC's Exchange ActiveSync client is updated on the Desire providing the ability to set and edit out of office status and message and specify mail delivery peak and off-peak delivery schedules, as well as providing support for remote device wipe from the Exchange server and the ability to enforce password usage via ActiveSync mailbox policy.

The Desire also has a separate Google Mail client for use with a GMail service.

Setting up an Exchange email account is relatively painless provided that you know the settings to enter: the Desire can attempt to determine the settings to use automatically but this requires that the AutoDiscovery service is configured correctly on the Exchange Server by the administrator. Exchange 2003 SP2 or later is supported (older versions of Exchange can still be accessed via POP or IMAP).

When launching the Mail application for the first time, you will be prompted to select what type of email account you want to configure:

Selecting Exchange will allow you to enter your email address and password for automatic detection, or you can tap on Manual Setup to enter the required information by hand:

As with all Exchange ActiveSync clients, you will need to know the address of the Exchange server to use, your username, password and domain.

The Exchange Server address will be the same address used to access WebMail (Outlook Web Access), if this feature is available in your company, normally in the form 'mail.company.com'
The username will be in the same form used to log into your Windows PC, and the domain will also be the same used to access your Windows PC (normally the contents of the third field when logging in, below the password field).
Specify whether your mail server uses SSL (one way to tell is whether your WebMail address has 'https' at the beginning rather than just 'http').

Once all of the fields have been completed, the wizard will then attempt to authenticate against the Exchange server. Provided that all has gone well, you will be prompted to select which mailbox folders you want to synchronise - note that the HTC Exchange client DOES support Exchange calendar synchronisation:

Your mailbox data will then be synchronised to the device automatically (by default the last 3 days' worth of email will be synced, which can be adjusted).
All mailbox folders can be accessed:

And your OOF status can be set:

Mail and Event notification settings can be configured, and mail delivery schedules and times can also be set - this is a new feature to the Desire: previous Android models allowed you to define a mail delivery delivery (ie 'as items arrive', every 15 minutes, etc) but that setting was either on or off; it was not possible to say 'as items arrive' BETWEEN 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday - now you can.

Calendar entries will be synced (if this option was selected) and can then be added to the Home Screen as a Widget for quick 'at a glance' access:

Contacts will be synced to the device (again if this option was selected), and contacts can be searched in the company Global Address List:

Camera

The Desire features a 5 Megapixel auto focus camera with flash. There is no dedicated shutter button on the device, rather the auto focus is operated by touching the optical navigation key once lightly, then again to take the picture. Alternatively there is also an on-screen button to take the picture.
A number of image processing effects are available:

Images can be quickly and easily shared with others, either by uploading them to Facebook or Flickr, via Email or now via Bluetooth.

Web Browser

The Browser works well, rendering the blog faithfully and providing support for JavaScript and Flash plugins:

Pop-up windows can be blocked, web sites offering a 'mobile view' can be viewed in either mobile or full versions, and links can be shared quickly and easily via email, facebook, twitter, or SMS text message.
Multiple web pages can be opened simultaneously and jumped between using the Windows feature.

Productivity

The Desire comes bundled with QuickOffice, a Microsoft Office document viewer supporting Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. To edit and create documents a separate application will need to be purchased, such as DataViz's Documents To Go application.
A PDF viewer is also included as standard.
The Desire can be synchronised with Microsoft Outlook on the desktop (if you're not using an Exchange email account) as with the Hero and Tattoo before it (http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/synchronise-htc-hero-microsoft-outlook).
Using a free utility such as Dropbox or GDocs you can keep your device synchronised with your online documents quickly and easily so you need never be without that crucial presentation ever again.

Other Stuff

The Desire also ships with HTC's own Music Player application which provides playlist and shuffle functionality as you'd expect as well as the ability to set tracks as your ringtone at the touch of a button:

With its built-in GPS antenna, the Desire can be sued with the excellent Google Maps software providing satellite navigation (with voice assistance) in a variety of views:

Tethering

The Desire can be used as a USB modem with both Windows and Mac platforms (ie it can be "tethered" as its sometimes referred to). Windows "Internet Sharing" is built in, for Mac users a third party application will need to be downloaded, free:

Windows instructions
Mac instructions

Summary

This has only been a cursory examination of the Desire - I've only had it for a couple of hours! I'll be sure to post new features as I discover (and swoon) over them. On a personal note I've always maintained that I'm not the best person to review Android devices - huge a geek as I am I prefer working from a laptop and consider my phone a tool rather than a toy. But I must admit that even after an hour I do like the Desire: with its enhanced Exchange email capabilities, fast processor, impressive screen resolution, 'one-click' system-wide integration with online services and the sheer wealth of applications available in the Android Market (over 70% of which are free, even if they do come with adverts) I think it could strike the "life / work" balance just right.....ask me gain in a week if I'm still using it....I strongly suspect I will be!

Do let us know what applications you'll be installing on your new HTC Desire!

Addendum

I have previously asked the question Is Android ready for the Enterprise. The updated Exchange ActiveSync client on the HTC Desire should satisfy IT admins' requirement that devices have the ability to be remotely 'killed' directly from the Exchange server, and the announcement that leading device management solution providers are now offering Android as part of their supported client range means that the Android platform is rapidly 'growing up'. Watch this space for more information or use the Contact Form to discuss specific requirements.

Introducing the HTC Hero

Working for one of the key players in the mobile data industry and getting advance samples of devices before they reach the market is definitely one of the big plus points of my job, but it is easy to become 'de-sensitised' to new products and be distinctly under-whelmed by the big announcements that others get excited about.

This is not one of those times.

I have been looking forward to reviewing the Hero ever since it was first announced that HTC were working on it and the advance units we have been provided with have been the subject of a lot of attention - but naturally the readers of the blog take priority and I have the device in my hands and have screen-shotted it to within an inch of its life!

But seriously though, the Hero is HTC's much-publicised and long-awaited Android-based PDA, Android being the Linux-based operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance.
Offering unparalleled levels of personalisation and customisation, and already boasting a wide range of applications available for download from the Android Marketplace, this new platform could prove to be a serious challenger to the more 'entrenched' operating systems offered by Microsoft and RIM, among others, although HTC have made it clear that they will continue to develop handsets on the Windows Mobile platform.
There has been much conjecture in the press as to whether this could finally be the 'iphone-killer', I'll let you decide...

I should point out at this stage that prior to reviewing the Hero I had not used an Android handset before, therefore if anything I say in this or subsequent posts seems a little 'obvious' to users more familiar with the Android platform, then indulge me.

What's in the box

The Hero comes with the following accessories:

• Quick Start Guide
• Screen protector
• Travel charger
• Mini-USB data cable
• Standard battery
• Wired stereo headset with 3.5mm connector
• Accessory leaflet
• 2GB miscroSD card

Specifications

• Processor - Qualcomm MSM7200A, 528MHz
• Operating System - Android
• Memory - ROM: 512MB, RAM: 288MB
• Dimensions (LxWxT) - 112 x 56.2 x 14.35mm (4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches)
• Weight - 135 grams (4.76 ounces) with battery
• Display - 3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution
• Network
  • HSPA/WCDA: 900/2100MHz, up to 2Mbps uplink and 7.2Mbps downlink speeds
  • Quand-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent)
• Device Control - Trackball with enter button
• GPSInternal GPS antenna
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • WiFi IEEE 802.11b/g
  • HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
  • 3.5mm audio jack
• Camera - 5.0 megapixel color camera with auto focus
• Audio supported formats - MP3, AAC (AAC,AAC+,AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media Audio 9
• Video supported formats - MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows Media Video 9
• Battery
  • Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
  • Capacity: 1350 mAh
  • Talk time:
    • Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
    • Up to 470 minutes for GSM
  • Standby time:
    • Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
    • Up to 440 hours for GSM

    (The above are subject to network and phone usage)

• Expansion Slot - microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• AC Adapter - Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz DC output: 5V and 1A
• Special Features
  • G-sensor
  • Digital Compass

Getting Started

When powered on for the first time, the Hero startup wizard prompts you to confirm your desired language:

You are then taken through a quick introduction on how to use the on-screen keyboard:

Should the device be able to detect any WiFi networks, at this stage you will be prompted to select whether you wish the device to connect to any of them:

You will then be prompted to configure any email or social networking accounts you wish to:

I will look at how to configure these accounts later. You can then verify the date and time and you're all set:

The default Home Screen will then be displayed:

The device I used automatically configured itself for use on Vodafone UK, provisioning the correct settings for Internet access, SMS and MMS with no user interaction required at all:

The Home Screen / HTC Sense

The home screen on the Hero is not a single screen, it is in fact 32 screens.
By pressing the navigation key to the left or the right when viewing the main page of the home screen, you can move to a second, third or fourth screen - in either direction, giving 7 screens in total:

By pressing the menu button and selecting the Scenes option, you can select from up to a further 5 pre-configured Scenes, or a sixth blank scene which you can configure from scratch should you so desire:

The pre-configured Scenes have been designed to address the different usage styles, or 'moods', that the Hero might be put to and the features available on the screens correspond to that usage type. For example, the social scene has a Twitter and SMS 'widget' available:

Whereas the Work scene provides access to stock information and favourite web browser bookmarks:

And those are just the built-in scenes, naturally you can create your own as well, giving a massive range of customisation options. I currently have the following set up:

Widgets

Widgets are Internet-enabled applications that can run on the Home Screen, providing at-a-glance access to weather reports, stock information, sports results, email, calendar appointments - you name it, you can put it in a widget.
Applications can also provide access to local information such as your Contacts list, Photos albums or just a search box. Android comes with a number of pre-defined Widgets and HTC have bundled a load more meaning that virtually any aspect of the device's functionality can be accessed directly from the Home screen if you wish.
As well as Widgets, you can of course add shortcuts to your favourite applications so they can be launched directly by tapping the icon rather than first accessing the Programs menu and then scrolling to the program's entry location.
Application shortcuts can be added to the Home Screen simply tapping and holding on the icon for the application. As soon as you hold, the program view will fade away and the home screen will be displayed. Release the icon to add a shortcut to the home screen.

Keyboard / Input

As you are taught during the initial introductory wizard, the Hero features an on-screen touchscreen keyboard. No stylus is supplied with the unit: this being a 'capacitive' screen rather than a 'resistive' screen - the screen does not respond to the impact of a stylus, rather your finger completes a very weak electrical circuit to create input.

It did take me a while to get used to I must admit, but once you stop paying too much attention to what you're typing it is surprisingly accurate. The keyboard can be calibrated to your specific requirements by running through the calibration wizard within the settings menu.
Tapping and holding a single key will display all of the characters available on that key and allows you to select the one you want by sliding over to it. The text suggestions that pop up as you are typing are all sensible as well, and when not typing, controlling applications and menus with your finger is simplicity itself.

Applications

As you'd expect from an Android-based handset, the Hero comes with Google's client applications pre-loaded, providing quick access to GMail, Google Maps and Google Talk and contact and calendar information can be synchronised with Google 'cloud-based' PIM services.
The Hero is also integrated with online services including Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. In fact it is clear that "online" is very much how the designers of the Android platform envisage that it will be used, no doubt something that will make the mobile operators very happy.
The full list of standard applications is as follows:

• Albums - browse and sort your photographs and images, upload to Facebook or Flickr
• Browser - access the world wide web in stunning quality!
• Calculator - number crunching
• Calendar - organise appointments and events, configure reminders, etc
• Camera
• Camcorder
• Clock - featuring also a world clock, timer, stopwatch and several alarms
• Dialer - the phone application
• Footprints - time-stamp, geo-tag and categorise photos into collections of 'memories'
• Google Mail - GMail client, distinct from the 'main' email client
• Google Maps - GPS services
• Google Talk - Google Instant Messaging client
• Mail - POP / IMAP and Microsoft Exchange email client
• Market - search for and download both free and chargeable applications for the Android platform
• Messages - SMS/MMS client
• Music - audio file player
• PDF Viewer - Acrobat-compatible PDF application
• Peep - Twitter client
• People - address Book
• Quickoffice - Microsoft Office-compatible document viewer
• Stocks - Internet-enabled Widget
• Teeter - game which makes use of the Hero's G-Sensor
• Voice Recorder - record notes and use the device like a dictaphone
• Weather - Internet-enabled Widget
• You Tube - search for videos and view the most popular

The Albums application allows you to organise and browse your photographs, both taken with the built-in camera or saved to the SD memory card:

Pictures can be set as the wallpaper or assigned to a 'Footprint':

Pictures can be uploaded to Facebook or Flickr directly from the Album view simply by tapping on their entry.

Your account details for Facebook, Flickr and Twitter need to be entered within the 'Social Networks' menu within the Settings:

Once logged in, you can then access any of the services from within any other 'socially-networked' application on the Hero - be it uploading a photo to Flickr directly from within the Albums application, replying to a contact via Twitter directly from the People (Contacts) application, or viewing a contact's Facebook updates directly from your contacts list:

The Peep Twitter client is designed to allow you to manage your tweets and messages:

Teeter is annoyingly addictive!

The Music player allows you to organise your audio files into playlists, shuffle songs, set files as your default ringtone, or as the ringtone for a specific contact:

YouTube is also built in:

The Quickoffice application provides view-only access to Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents, but does not provide support for Office 2007-formatted documents.

The PDF Viewer, as its name suggests, can open pdf files.

Google Market

The Market is an online repository of all manner of both free and purchasable tools, applications and games for your Android handset.
When accessing the Market for the first time (and for that matter any of the Google applications on the Hero for the first time), you are prompted to sign in using your Google account details or create a new account and read the terms and conditions of the Market:

Once logged in, you can browse by category, filtering each by date or by popularity:

Installing an application, provided that it is free, is simply a matter of selecting its entry and tapping Install. If the application requires access to any of the phone's features, such as the connection to the Internet, you will be prompted to confirm that the action may be permitted:

Should you have to hard reset your Hero, when you next sign into the Market, any apps that you had downloaded previously will be re-downloaded and installed again automatically. This process will continue until you uninstall the application.

Email

The Hero supports both POP and IMAP email accounts as well as featuring a Server ActiveSync client enabling bi-directional push-based synchronisation of Contacts, Calendar and Email with Microsoft Exchange (2003 SP2 or later).

When adding a POP or IMAP-based email account, provided that your account is with a 'popular' provider such as Hotmail, Tiscali, Virgin or whoever, then the setup procedure is simply a matter of entering your full email address and password and the Hero will do the rest for you - even getting the correct outgoing mail server settings for your mobile operator, something that trips up a lot of users when having to enter the settings manually.
Alternatively you can complete the settings yourself should you want to set up a private server.

Setting up an Exchange account is not much more difficult - if you enter your Exchange email address and password the Hero will attempt to determine the server settings to use automatically, using the Microsoft AutoDiscover service.

Should the client not be able to determine the settings automatically, you will be prompted to enter the address of the server manually, as well as your domain, username and password - as you would have to on any Server ActiveSync client.
There are a number of 'little touches' on the Hero that make using it that much more intuitive and shows that the developers have clearly put some thought into. For example, when running through the Exchange manual setup, by entering in your email address of 'name@domain.com', the server address is automatically completed with 'domain.com' and the cursor placed at the beginning of the line, so that all you need to enter is the server name - little things, but they show that extra attention to detail that impresses me!

Another aspect of Exchange Server ActiveSync synchronisation that is a problem on other devices that the Hero simply dismisses is the matter of self-issued SSL certificates. If you use a non root-trusted certificate on your Exchange server, it is necessary to install the root certificate of the CA that issued the certificate to the Exchange server onto your client devices manually. This is not required on the Hero - when verifying the details of the server, if the certificate is not trusted by the device you will be prompted to 'cancel' or 'continue anyway', much as you are within a web browser when accessing a secure site whose identity cannot be guaranteed. This takes the headache out of setting up Server ActiveSync completely!

Once the connection to the Exchange server has been verified, you can then select what details you want to synchronise:

After a few minutes, depending on how much data you have to sync, your information will be downloaded and available:

As with other ActiveSync clients you can specify a schedule for your mail delivery - having mail pushed as it arrives or every xx minutes:

Synchronisation of email sub-folders is possible:

and you can define a maximum default size limit for downloaded email and define your signature:

It is not possible to edit your out of office status currently. It is also not possible to define different mail delivery schedules for different times of the day - when you leave the office or no longer wish to receive email of an evening, you must adjust the schedule manually - or you can just turn off the email notifications so the client still checks for mail but does not make any audible alert or vibrate.

These points aside, and let's not forget this is version 1.0 of the Android Exchange client, email delivery is very slick and the messaging very nice to use. Email messages can be previewed using a widget on the home screen, allowing you to quickly delete spam or move through the headers of messages to get to important mails that do need actioning.

Alternatively, if you don't have an Exchange email server, you can sign up for and use Google's own online services, synchronising email, contacts and calendar information with your online 'cloud' account:

Multi-touch Web Browsing

The web browser on the Hero is based on the WebKit platform, meaning that it is has the same core as Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari browser and is fully 'Flash-capable'. Web pages can be 'zoomed' into using the screen's multi-touch capability: moving a single finger across the screen moves the view of the web page; keeping a finger pressed on the screen while moving a second finger to the left or right causes the view to zoom in or out.
Displaying the blog is certainly not a problem:

The browser is also integrated with the Hero's messaging and Twitter client, meaning that should you come across anything of interest you can immediately 'share' it with others:

The Settings allow you to set the home page, turn off pop-ups, enable or disable JavaScript, etc:

The History shows recently-viewed pages:

The 'Windows' feature acts in the same way tabs do on desktop browsers and allows you to toggle between multiple active web pages within the same browser session.

Camera / Camcorder / HTC Footprints

The 5.0 megapixel camera on the Hero also features the usual effects and image processing options you get on other HTC models:

New to the Hero is the concept of Footprints. You can think of a Footprint as a digital journal entry that can be a photograph or a video, which can be geo-tagged by location and also have a voice recording associated with it:

GPS

The Google Maps application on the Hero is quite simply, amazing. Even indoors the GPS receiver not only correctly found the building I was in on the company site, but actually precisely pinpointed me to the rear of unit 9 by the window:

The route-planning capabilities are very impressive, providing both written and graphical directions:

Search

The Hero features an integrated search function, initiated by pressing the search button on the handset, depicted by a symbol of a magnifying glass.
When on the home screen, pressing the search button initiates a Google search box:

Pressing the search button within whatever application you are in at that point will search that application, be it your email inbox or your calendar:

Miscellaneous

The Google Talk client provides instant messaging functionality with other Google Talk users:

The Messages application provides a very nice means of managing your text and multimedia messaging:

Summary

The Hero is effectively several devices all in one. The ability to configure the look and feel of the handset for different 'moods' or times of the day based on whether you are at work or at play is a very attractive feature indeed.

For the prosumer, I think the Hero is definitely a contender for the iPhone's crown: unparalleled customisation options; powerful hardware; push email and PIM data delivery (whether with Exchange or with Google's own services); GPS; a very impressive web browser, the list goes on and on...

The iPhone's integration with iTunes and the iTunes Store is something that Android doesn't have an equivalent of yet, but depending on who you speak to this may be precisely the plus point they are looking for rather than be viewed as a limitation.

The Android Market really extends the functionality of the Hero, and any Android-based device for that matter. The wealth of free applications is astounding, ranging from alternate messaging and social networking clients to a barcode reader application that uses the on-board camera to scan barcodes of products and then locate via Google where on the web they can be purchased most cheaply!

For the business user, the ability to synchronise mailbox data with Microsoft Exchange is crucial. There are several device management solution providers working to integrate the Android platform into their products, but currently there are no automatic device provisioning tools I know of that can configure devices 'over the air' and enforce corporate usage policies, but this is surely only a matter of time.
DataViz have already released a version of their "Documents To Go" application for Android, providing viewing and editing capability for Microsoft Office 2007-format documents. This is available for purchase directly from the Android Market.

On the whole, then, the Hero is a joy to use: responsive, intuitive, excellent call quality (oh yes, by the way it's also a phone!) and a good battery performance.

It is perhaps also important to state at this juncture that Android is a very young operating system. Google only announced that they had begun development of a mobile platform approximately two years ago and already a significant number of major handset manufacturers have either already released a model using the operating system or have announced that they have one on the go.
Combine this break-neck development pace with the wealth of applications available in the Market and Android becomes a very attractive prospect. I for one am looking forward to this and future releases.

If by the time you read this you already have your Hero device in your hands and you are eager to learn more about Android and its capabilities, visit the Android section on the blog - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/android

Visit the Hero section of the HTC web site here - http://www.htc.com/www/product/hero/overview.html

Visit the official HTC Hero micro-site here - http://www.htc-hero.co.uk

For further information on how to configure Microsoft Exchange synchronisation on the Hero, read this blog article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/setting-microsoft-exchange-synchronisati...

Introducing the HTC Wildfire

The Wildfire is HTC's latest Android-based "Superphone". Designed very much with social networking at its core, the Wildfire brings you closer to your online contacts with a raft of clever tools including the ability to view all of your Facebook, Twitter and Flickr updates all in one feed, organise emails, SMS text messages and photos by the person that sent them, as well as displaying contacts' Facebook status together with their caller ID when they ring. As HTC's own tagline has it: with the Wildfire, your friends have never been closer.

Technical Specifications

• Size: WxHxD 2.4 inches (60.4mm) x 4.2 inches (106.75mm) x 0.48 inches (12.19mm)
• Weight: 118 grams (4.16 ounces)
• Display:
  • Capacitive touch screen with pinch-to-zoom functionality
  • 3.2 inches
  • 240 x 320 QVGA
• Platform: Android 2.1 Eclair with HTC Sense
• Processor: 528 MHz
• Memory: 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM
• Expansion: microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible), supports up to 32GB
• Battery: Rechargeable 1300mAh lithium-ion battery
• Talk Time: WCDMA up to 440 mins, GSM up to 490 mins
• Standby Time: WCDMA up to 690 hours, GSM up to 480 hours
• Network: HSDPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz, GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Internet:
  • 3G: Up to 7.2 Mbps download speed
  • Up to 384 kbps upload speed
  • GPRS: Up to 114 kbps downloading
  • EDGE: Up to 560 kbps downloading
  • Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
• Camera: 5 megapixel colour camera, auto-focus and flash, geotagging
• Connectors: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)
• Tethering: Internet sharing via USB
• Sensors:
  • G-Sensor
  • Digital compass
  • Proximity sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
• Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth® 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • FTP and OPP (object push) for file transfer
  • Other supported profiles: AVRCP, GAP, GOEP, HFP, HSP, PBAP, SPP, Service Discovery Application Profile
• HTC Widgets: Bookmarks, Calculator, Calendar, Clock, FM Radio, Friend Stream, Mail, Messages, Music, News, People, Stocks, Weather, Settings (such as Profile, Ringtone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) plus downloadable widgets
• Multimedia:
  • Gallery application for viewing photos and videos
  • Music
  • FM Radio
  • Audio supported formats: Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9) / Recording: .amr
  • Video supported formats: Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9) / Recording: .3gp
• Social Networking:
  • Facebook™ for HTC Sense
  • Friend Stream
  • Photo sharing on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter
  • Video sharing on YouTube™
  • HTC Peep for twittering
• Location Services:
  • Internal GPS antenna
  • Google Maps
  • HTC Footprints™
• Special Features:
  • HTC Caller ID that shows the caller’s Facebook status and a birthday reminder
  • App Sharing that lets you recommend apps straight from your phone
  • Full Flash support on the web browser
  • In-built, dimmable flashlight
  • Ringer that automatically lowers the ring volume when you lift up the phone or mutes when you flip the phone face down

You can check up to date specifications on the HTC web site - http://www.htc.com/uk/product/wildfire/specification.html

To celebrate the launch of the Wildfire, tell HTC UK via their Facebook page what you would do if you could get all your friends together for a day...and they may make it happen! (http://www.facebook.com/htcuk)

Applications

The Wildfire comes with all of HTC's own social networking, email, productivity and media management applications as well as a number of new features including a flashlight application, a means of quickly recommending new apps and a data transfer tool to copy data via Bluetooth from an old phone. The complete list of applications is as follows:

• App Sharing - recommend applications you like via your social networking accounts
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Call History
• Camcorder
• Camera
• Camera
• Clock
• Desk Clock
• Flashlight
• FM Radio
• Footprints - organise and geotag your photos
• Friend Stream - access your Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts from one convenient interface and have status information and updates displayed throughout the device in the People and Phone applications
• Gallery
• Google Mail
• Internet
• Mail
• Maps
• Market
• Messages
• Music
• News - RSS reader
• PDF Viewer
• Peep - Twitter client
• People
• Phone
• Quickoffice
• Search People
• Settings
• Setup
• Stocks
• Talk
• Teeter
• Transfer Data - transfer data via Bluetooth from another device
• Videos
• Voice Recorder
• Weather
• YouTube

Home Screen

As with all HTC Android devices, the Wildfire offers not one, but 7 home screens accessed by swiping your finger either to the left or right. Each home screen can be customised with Internet-enabled widgets providing up to date, at-a-glance information without the need to launch a separate application to view emails, text messages, calendar appointments, stocks, news, weather, social networking updates, etc.

Email

The Wildfire features the same HTC Exchange email client as that featured on the Desire, providing push-based bi-directional synchronisation of mail, contact and calendar data with Exchange 2003 and later. Contacts can also be searched online in the Global Address List.
Setting up the Exchange account is quick and simple, provided that you know your username, password, domain and mail server address details - contact your IT department if you are unsure:

When running the Mail application for the first time, you will be prompted to create an email account, select Exchange. You will then be prompted to enter your email address and password.
The wizard will attempt to determine the correct connection settings to use automatically. If the wizard is unable to determine the settings, you will be prompted to complete them:

The mail server address will be the same as that used by Outlook Web Access, or webmail, usually in the form "mail.company.com"

The domain will be the same as that used to log into your desktop PC or laptop (usually the third field underneath username and password).

The username and password information will be the same as that used to log into your desktop PC or laptop.

Once all of the details have been entered successfully, you will then be prompted to select which mailbox folders you wish to synchronise:

Your mail will then be synchronised. Access to all mailbox folders is possible:

Out of Office status and message can be edited directly from the device:

Schedule information can also be specified during which time mail will be pushed to the device, and separate delivery schedules can be set for peak and off-peak hours:

Application Sharing

App Sharing is a feature new to the Wildfire and allows you to recommend applications you have downloaded to your friends and contacts via your social networking accounts:

Utilities

The new Flashlight application on the Wildfire uses the camera flash as an adjustable torch, useful for finding your keys or even the keyhole!

The Data Transfer tool enables you to transfer contacts and other information from another phone via Bluetooth:

The Music Player provides MP3 playback as well as the ability to create Playlists, set music as your ringtone or share tracks via Bluetooth:

Google Maps offers all the features that the latest version of the application provides including Layers, Navigation, Latitude, Stars and more:

The News application provides up-to-date access to your favourite RSS news feeds:

With a set of headphones connected to act as an aerial, the FM Radio turns your device into a portable music player even if you have no tracks stored on your memory card:

The Footprints application allows you to group photos into events, combining them with GPS location details and comments:

Camera

The Wildfire features a 5 Megapixel auto focus camera with auto-focus and flash. The auto focus is operated by touching the optical navigation key once lightly, then again to take the picture. Alternatively there is also an on-screen button to take the picture. A number of image processing effects are also available.

Web Browser

The Wildfire also features a WebKit 3.1-based browser, supporting both JavaScript and Flash sites, as well as "pinch to zoom".

Pop-up windows can be blocked and web sites offering a "mobile view" can be viewed in either the mobile or full version optionally. Links can be shared quickly and easily via email, facebook, twitter or SMS text message. Multiple web pages can be opened simultaneously and toggled between using the Windows feature.

A nice feature when browsing a text-based page is the ability to highlight a word or paragraph, and send that text to Wikipedia, Google Translate or Google Dictionary with one tap:

Productivity

The Wildfire comes bundled with QuickOffice, a Microsoft Office document viewer supporting Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. To edit and create documents a separate application will need to be purchased, such as DataViz's Documents To Go application.
A PDF viewer is also included as standard.
Using a free utility such as Dropbox or GDocs you can keep your device synchronised with your online documents quickly and easily so you need never be without that crucial presentation ever again.

The device can also be used as a USB modem with Windows allowing you to share the device's connection to the Internet from your PC, both via the cellular and WiFi capabilities of the Wildfire.
Connect the device to the PC via USB and select the option to connect the device in Disk Drive mode:

The device will be detected automatically:

Browse to the Tool folder on the device and run the HTCDriver application:

Once the installation has completed, remove the Wildfire from the PC, then reconnect it again, this time selecting the option to connect in Mobile Network Sharing mode. Windows will detect new hardware and install a network adapter:

You will now be connected to the Internet via your device. It really is that simple.

Visit the HTC web site for more information.

The Wildfire is available to order today from Brightpoint - +44 (0)870 849 0225

Setting up Microsoft Exchange synchronisation on the HTC Hero / Tattoo

The HTC Hero features a Server ActiveSync client enabling bi-directional push synchronisation of contacts, calendar and email PIM data with Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 or later.

You will be prompted to configure email account settings during the initial setup wizard when powering on the device for the first time or following a hard reset:

Alternatively, once booted, Launch the Mail application. The following screen will be displayed:

Should you have already configured a POP or IMAP account, then to add another account, select Menu --> More --> New account

Select Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, the following screen will be displayed:

Enter your full email address and password and tap Next. The client will attempt o determine the correct server settings to use automatically. If the client is not able to determine the settings, you will be prompted to enter the information manually. Alternatively if you prefer you can just tap on the Manual Setup button, the following screen will be displayed:

Complete the fields with the appropriate information:

• Email address
• Server address - this is normally the same information used for webmail access
• Domain
• Username
• Password

If the server uses a secure connection (ie, if you usually need to enter https at the beginning of the URL for webmail access), then tick the option.

If you do not know the information to enter, contact your IT department.

Once all of the information has been entered, tap Next. The client will verify the information entered. If you are using a 'non root-trusted' certificate on the Exchange server you will be warned that the device cannot verify the identity of the certificate and be prompted to confirm that you wish to continue anyway. Provided that the client is able to connect to the server successfully, you will then be prompted to select which folders you wish to synchronise:

Tap Next. The mailbox data will then be synchronised to the device:

To edit the synchronisation settings once the account has been configured, tap on the Settings icon in the All Programs view. Select Data Synchronisation and then Exchange ActiveSync:

Press the Menu button and select Settings:

The following screen will be displayed:

The following options are available:

Email sub-folders can be synchronised by pressing the Menu button from within the Mail application and selecting the Folders option.
Select the folder that you want to access, then press the Refresh button to download the mail in that folder. Bear in mind, that if you have selected the option to only download the last 7 days' worth of email, then that applies to all email folders so only messages that are newer than 7 days in this folder will be displayed.

Following a successful connection to the Exchange server, the device will be listed within the Mobile Devices Options within Outlook Web Access (Exchange 2007):

From here it is possible to issue a 'remote kill' command to the device that will remove the Exchange account from the device as well as any PIM data.

Setting up Microsoft Exchange synchronisation on the HTC Legend / Desire

The HTC Desire and Legend units feature an updated HTC Exchange ActiveSync client, offering the same push-based bi-directional synchronisation offered by the Hero and the Tattoo, but now also offering the ability to set and edit Out of Office status and message as well as supporting remote device wipe from Exchange as well as the ability to enforce password usage via ActiveSync mailbox Policy.

Setting up the Exchange email account is very similar as on the Hero and Tattoo models.
Launching the mail client for the first time will prompt you to select the type of email account you want to configure:

Select Exchange ActiveSync:

Select the option for Manual Setup:

Enter your full email address.
In the Server Address field enter the external name or IP address of the Exchange server (depending on how the administrator has configured the Exchange server - contact your IT department for the correct settings to use). This is usually the same address used to access Outlook Web Access webmail, in the form "exchange.mycompany.com"
In the Domain field enter in the domain which your user account is in - again contact your IT department for the correct settings to use. Usually, if you have a Windows PC in the office, this will be the contents of the "Log Into" field you use to access your PC (the third field below both "username" and "password" when logging in).
Enter your username and password - these will be the same details you use to log into your Windows PC.
Tick the option to use SSL if required by your Exchange server. If you don't know whether your Exchange server does or not, a handy way of telling is checking the address used to access webmail - if it begins with "https" then it does use SSL. If it just uses "http" (and doesn't redirect to an https address) then there is no need to use SSL.

Tap Next. If your Exchange server uses a self-signed Exchange certificate, you may be warned that the identity of the certificate cannot be verified, select the option to Continue:

Select which mailbox data you want to synchronise:

If your Exchange server has enforced security policies requiring password usage, you may be prompted to accept this requirement. Click OK:

Your mailbox data will now be synchronised. This may take a few moments depending on how much data is in your mailbox and which options you selected to sync.

Within the menu you can access Out of Office settings:

The Settings menu allows you to define how far back into the past you synchronise as well as how often mail is delivered:

NOTE - the default selection is for mail to be delivered every 15 minutes, so to enable true push you will need to adjust this option to "As items arrive":

Once synchronised, the device will be listed in the Mobile Options view within Outlook Web Access:

From here a remote wipe operation can be instigated in the event that the device has been lost or stolen, or you simply want to hard reset the device. Once complete, you will receive notification in your Exchange Inbox:

Once the Exchange account has been configured, you will be able to search the Exchange Global Address List (GAL) directly from the device:

You may also want to enable the LED notification light for new email messages:

Synchronise the HTC Hero with Microsoft Outlook

The HTC Sync application that ships with the Hero enables the synchronisation of contact and calendar information from either Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or the Windows Address Book.
Also included is the Application Installer, which enables the installation of APK Android application packages onto the Hero from your PC.

The HTC Sync installer is included on the SD card that comes in the Hero sales package, or alternatively is available for download from our FTP site:
ftp://ftpaccess:Brightpoint1@ftp.brightpointuk.co.uk/Technical%20Support...

You can download the software to your PC, or insert the microSD card into a suitable reader to access the software.

Installing the software is straightforward, run the executable package and follow the on-screen instructions:

Once installed, the application will launch automatically and an icon will be added to the System Tray:

On the Hero device, browse to Settings --> Applications --> Development and tick the option to enable USB Debugging. Now connect the Hero to your PC via the supplied USB cable. Windows will detect the new hardware automatically and install both a Removable Storage Drive and an Android USB Device.
Provided that the HTC Sync application is running, the new device partnership wizard will launch automatically:

Enter a name to identify your device:

You will be prompted to set the device time to that of your PC if they are different:

The main interface will then be displayed:

Select the Sync Manager icon and then the Settings button:

The Settings wizard will be displayed:

Select which application you wish to synchronise with:

Select which information you want to synchronise:

Specify whether synchronisation should be performed automatically each time the device is connected:

Click Finish to complete the wizard:

Depending on the options you specified, synchronisation will now either start automatically, or you can initiate it manually.

Transferring files to the HTC Desire and HTC Legend via Bluetooth

The HTC Desire and Legend Android models feature the Bluetooth file transfer protocol, making it possible to wirelessly transfer files to and from your device from another Bluetooth-equipped device.

To enable Bluetooth on the device, browse to Settings --> Wireless & Networks:

Tick the option to Turn on Bluetooth.
Tap on the option for Bluetooth Settings:

Tick the option to make the device Discoverable. Select Advanced Settings:

Tick the option to enable the Bluetooth FTP Server.

On your PC or other Bluetooth device, search for available Bluetooth devices. The device will be listed (you can adjust the Bluetooth name of your device if you wish in the Bluetooth settings):

Select the option to connect to the device. The HTC PDA will prompt you to accept the incoming Bluetooth connection in the Notification area:

Select the option to accept the request, you will be prompted to enter a PIN code for the Bluetooth connection:

Enter in a suitable code - this can be anything of your choosing, ideally of up to either 4 or 5 digits. You will be then prompted to enter the same PIN code on the other device:

Enter in the same PIN code. The two devices are now paired. The HTC device will then prompt you to accept the incoming file transfer in the Notification area:

Select the option to authorise the connection:

Select OK. You will now be able to send and receive files to and from the HTC device via Bluetooth:

Files can be sent via Bluetooth from directly within media applications by selecting the option to Share:

Using the HTC Hero as a USB Modem

It is posible to use the HTC Hero as a USB 3G modem with Windows XP and Vista.

In order to use this functionality, the HTC Sync software must be installed onto the PC first (http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/synchronise-htc-hero-microsoft-outlook).

The HTC Sync installer is included on the SD card that comes in the Hero sales package, or alternatively is available for download from our FTP site:
ftp://ftpaccess:Brightpoint1@ftp.brightpointuk.co.uk/Technical%20Support...

You can download the software to your PC, or insert the microSD card into a suitable reader to access the software.

Once installed, on the Hero device browse to Settings --> Wireless Controls and enable the option to enable Mobile Network Sharing. Now connect the Hero to the PC via the supplied USB cable. Windows will detect the new hardware automatically and install an "HTC Remote NDIS Network Adapter":

Provided that your Hero has a cellular data connection, you will now be able to use that connection from your PC.

Addendum

For details on how to configure Windows 7, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-htc-tattoo-usb-modem-windows-7