Hero or Moment: Lesser of Two Evils?

As you probably know, I have been lusting over Sprint Android phones for about four months now.  So why haven’t I gotten one yet?  After all, the Hero’s been out since mid October, and the Moment’s been out for nearly two weeks now.

If you read my previous post, you know that there are pros and cons to each phone.  However, according to various forums, including SprintUsers.com and Sprint’s own Buzz About Wireless, it looks like both devices were rushed to market, probably to compete with Verizon’s Droid.  Here are some of the problems that have been discussed ad nauseum:

Hero:

• Sending a text message using the built-in messaging application will prevent the device from going to sleep, thus sucking the battery dry.  There are workarounds that seem to work for a few days to a week or so. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/23043?tstart=0
• Dust is getting under the screen within just a few days of use. http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=196341
• It takes as four seconds before the phone recognizes an incoming call.  Sometimes, the phone is so bogged down doing other things that it never allows you to answer the call at all. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/23670?tstart=30
• Bluetooth usage will incurr stackdumps that are not thrown away.  This uses memory that is not kept in check and that cannot be disposed without a reset. http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198477
• If the device runs with less than a certain amount of memory, it starts throwing away text messages.  Once this starts happening, the only way out is to get a new device. http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/12643-htc-working-critical-sms-voicemail-issue.html
• Text messages don’t always reach the device. http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/121830#121830

Moment:

• The battery meter is not accurate, by a longshot. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/24000?tstart=30
• A-GPS is not working (This isn’t supported by Android 1.5.  Seems like HTC added the feature and Samsung forgot to.) http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/24023?tstart=0
• USB connectivity isn’t the best. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/24013?tstart=0

According to Sprint, a patch for the Hero is in the works, and for the Moment in talks, so we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.