Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has unveiled the HTC Hero, its third device based on Google’s Android operating system. The HSDPA-enabled HTC Hero features a 3.2-inch HVGA display, GPS, WiFi, a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera and expandable MicroSD memory. It will be available across Europe in July and in Asia later in the summer, while a North American version will be available later in 2009.

Building on the software innovations that it is pushing in the Touch Pro 2 and the Touch Diamond 2, HTC has added a new software element to the Hero, called Sense. The software does several things, including putting a contact's photo alongside their text messages, emails and call history in a single view. Similar to  the Push Internet feature that HTC unveiled at Mobile World Congress, Sense will allow users to have customizable Push widgets like weather, Twitter and email.

The Hero will be available in Europe next month, and T-Mobile UK and Orange UK have said they will launch it. It will be available in Asia later this summer and a distinct North American version will be available before the end of the year. The company did not provide any pricing information.

HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile phones, today debuted HTC Sense™, an intuitive and seamless experience that will be introduced across a portfolio of phones beginning with the new HTC Hero™. With its distinct design and powerful capabilities fully integrated with HTC Sense, Hero introduces a unique blend of form and function that takes Android to new heights.

HTC Sense is focused on putting people at the centre by making your phone work in a more simple and natural way. This experience revolves around three fundamental principles that were designed by quietly listening and observing how people live and communicate.

"HTC Hero introduces a more natural way for reaching out to the people and accessing your important information, not by following the status quo of todays phones, but by following how you communicate and live your life," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corporation. "HTC Sense is a distinct experience created to make HTC phones more simple for people to use, leaving them saying, it just makes sense."

HTC Hero
HTC Hero continues HTC’s leadership in cutting-edge design that focuses on introducing a variety of distinct devices to represent your own individuality. Boasting bevelled edges and an angled bottom, the HTC Hero is contoured to fit comfortably in your hand and against your face while you are on a call.  The HTC Hero is built to last beginning with an anti-fingerprint screen coating for improved smudge resistance and a longer lasting, clearer display.  The white HTC Hero includes an industry-first, Teflon coating, resulting in an improved, durable white surface that is soft to the touch.

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 a GPS, digital compass, gravity-sensor, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a 5 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.

HTC Sense
Built on a culture of innovation and a passion to enhance peoples lives, HTC shapes the mobile experience around the individual. Debuting on the HTC Hero and available on all new HTC devices moving forward, Sense delivers on three basic principles: Make it Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.

Make It Mine
Make It Mine, is about feeling your HTC phone was created for and by you.  To do this, HTC encourages you to dictate and organize how you want to access the people and content in your life in a way that fits best for you. For some, this means adding glance view widgets that push content like Twitter feeds, weather and other content to the surface while others may want quick access to business-focused information like email, calendar and world-times.  HTC is also introducing a new profile feature called scenes that enables you to create different customized content profiles around specific functions or times in your life.

Stay Close
Today, staying in touch with the people in your life means managing a variety of communication channels and applications ranging from phone calls, emails, texts, photos, status updates and more.  HTC Sense takes a different approach by integrating these communication channels and applications into one single view enabling you to stay closer to your important people.  With HTC Sense, friends Facebook status updates and photos along with their Flickr photos are included along side their text messages, emails and call history in a single view.

Discover the Unexpected
Many of the most memorable moments in your life are experienced, not explained. HTC Sense is focused on providing a variety of these simple yet innovative experiences on your HTC phone that will sometimes bring you moments of joy and delight. It can be something as basic as turning the phone over to silence a ring or as simple as improving the smart dialler for making calls quicker.  HTC Sense also includes perspectives, a new way for viewing your content such as email, photos, Twitter, music and more in different ways.

Availability
The HTC Hero will be available to people across Europe in July and in Asia later in the summer. A distinct North American version will be available later in 2009.