HTC has announced the official arrival of its latest Android powered handset in the form of the HTC Hero.

Sporting a heavy weight processor by Qualcomm, the  MSM7200A™, 528 MHz power house, the handset is set to be touch-phone king’s most prized handset and weighing in at just under 135grams inclusive of the battery, it is safe to say that the hardware manufacturer has done its best work with the HTC Hero, especially considering that it also includes all the usual RAH RAH features like wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.2″ TFT-LCD HVGA screen with enough colours to have you asking yourself if you REALLY need so many :p,  etc etc.

The official press release reads as follows:

HTC HERO AVAILABLE IN S.A

POWER OF GOOGLE, FREEDOM OF ANDROID

Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 September 2009, Leaf International Communications, the ex

clusive distributors of HTC handsets in South Africa, today announced the much anticipated launch of the HTC Hero.

“The HTC Hero is a blend of form and function, taking the Android operating system functionality to a league of its own,” says Quinton Leigh, Managing Director of Leaf International Communications. “The HTC Hero is the world’s first Android-based phone with a customised user interface that allows for a level of customisation never before experienced on a mobile phone. With the new HTC Hero, you are not getting a phone, but rather, you are choosing a phone which gets YOU!”

The Hero is the first phone to embody HTC Sense – an intuitive and seamless experience that will be introduced across a portfolio of future HTC phones. 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 – true customisation, people-centric communication and unexpected simplification.

“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 today’s 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 simpler for people to use, leaving them saying, “it just makes sense”.

Another exciting feature which is unique to the HTC Hero is “scenes”. With this function, your HTC Hero has the ability to become multiple phones in one – you can create and switch between scenes that reflect different moments in your life…. at the touch of a button. You know the difference between the “work you” and “weekend you” – so should your phone!

And with 7 customisable screens to play with per “scene”, you can have instant access to all your important content – ALL ON THE SURFACE OF YOUR PHONE – not hidden under layers of menus.

It’s your phone, so enjoy the freedom to add “quick-glance” widgets and applications that push content to the surface and help you stay on top of the news, relax with your favourite tunes or catch up with your friends on facebook or twitter.

With its 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero is optimised for Web and multimedia content while maintaining a small form factor that fits comfortably in your hand and against your face. 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.

Other features include a dedicated Search button that goes beyond basic search, providing a more natural, contextual search experience.  This functionality enables users to search through Twitter, locate people in the contact list, read emails in the Inbox, and search in any other area of the phone.

And, all of this before you even start exploring the amazing world of Android Market – where you can download literally thousands of free and exciting applications for your new HTC Hero.

The HTC Hero…whatever, whenever, wherever…let’s go!

The HTC Hero is expected to be available from 7th October 2009 in South Africa at selected stores.

I have been using the Nokia N97 for a few months now and being one of the world’s first 97 users of the flagship Nokia way back in June this year, does give me a slight advantage over the rest of N97 users who only have access to the device for a few weeks now.

I have collated a few things that I have picked up on while using the device that are not listed in the manuals.

TaskBar:

If you hold the menu button down for a short while, a taskbar will be displayed listing all open applications. By pressing on the icon of one of these applications for a second or two, you will open the option to exit the application or open the application directly from the taskbar without having to go into the application. This is very handy when your device becomes sluggish and you need to close apps quickly to free up resources.

Browser Launch:

By pressing the zero ‘0′ button on the QWERTY for a short while, the web browser is launched. I have tried to find the setting for this to see if I can change teh shortcut, but it seems that a user can only change shortcuts for the touchscreen interface.

Text Accents:

To access accents while typing any text, simply hold down the SYM button and press the character that requires the accent. By default this is limited to c, n, a, e, i, o and u, and these are the ony characters that require accents.

Voice Commands:

Press the green button or the shortcut key on the right from the homescreen for a short while (long press) to launch the voice commands feature. Simply say the name of a contact, a profile name or the name of an application. I must admit that I have not played with this much and don’t have a full understanding of all teh voice commands that can be used.

Activity Summary:

By touching the top right hand corner of the screen near the battery, a small summary with links to the relevant features are displayed. This will include all data connections, the time, unread messages or missed calls.

If you know of any that are not mentioned above, please feel free to list them in the comments!

Since the A5 took to teh streets a few years ago, I have been convinced of the creation of an A7 from Audi. I have maintained that it will most likely be swooping coupe’ styled luxury sedan that follows design hints of the A5, but the size and luxury of the A8, and it seems that my hopes have been fulfilled!

I;ll be keeping my eye’s open for engine specs and other features for the Audi A7 and I’ll be sure to post them here!

Google Street View has been criticized for quite a few controversial images that it has on its service and there have been quite a few funny ones that I have seen, but this one is just brilliant

Click on the image to view full screen!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzpVl9kDupQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIWCNxxc6-8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

There are set of default codes built into most Nokia devices. Many people are unaware of these and it is rarely published in any official Nokia documentation. These can be handy at times, so here goes:

IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity):

*#06#

This number is a unique ID number for you handset and is often required for insurance documents or for reporting stolen handsets to the police. It’s handy to kee a record of this. It can also be found on the phone under the battery and is also printed on the fancy bar-code on the box of the device.\

Firmware Version:

*#0000#

This is particularly necessary when installing certain apps or when trying to figure out if you have the firmware installed on your phone. Be sure to look out for the latest firmware update that everyone is excited about for the Nokia N97 in a few weeks time!

Software Format phone:

*#7370# (or *#res0#)

This will delete all the data on your phone and restore the memory to the state it was during shipping. It is usually followed with a “Are you sure?” prompt, but there definitely isn’t a “Are you sure that you are sure?” prompt, so be careful with this one!

Handset Settings Reset:

*#7780# (or *#rst0#)

This code resets the device settings back to default shipping values. All your data will remain on the device, however all settings will be changed back to default.

Total Power On Time:

*#92702689# (or *#war0anty#)

This should give you a total time that your device has been on. It’s a good thing to check when purchasing a second-hand phone.

These are all that I am aware of, but if you know anymore, please mention them in the comments and I will be sure to update the post.

Old Audi Logo:

New Audi Logo: Yup, its new, I promise…

It took me a while to notice the subtle differences, which lay mainly with the slight change in font and the newer bolder 3D rings. Otherwise, to the man on the street, its the same. One need to ask though, why bother?

So 50 years after Mini launched the previous Mini Coupe, on 26 August 1959, the now BMW owned stable has evolved the car into a 2009 sports coupe worth taking serious.

The car is targeted at the same target market as the BMW Z4 owner and is most rumoured to likely to graduate from concept to production by early 2011.

A few official teaser pics:

Just last week I signed up for eBucks, the rewards program that gives you a little bit extra every time you shop in their partner stores. I was excited, as they have a decent list of partners that I tend to frequent and it makes sense for me to use eBucks.

This morning, I heard that eBucks has signed up Incredible Connection! Talk about timing!!!

Being the techie g33k that I am, I doubt that I could have been more excited about the new partnership as I tend to get most of my PSP games, consumables, iPod accessories and laptop accessories from them anyway! While the in-store staff do show signs of thumb-sucking when I ask them technical questions, I find it hard to find another national retailer with such a diverse product set and I tend to do a lot of research of what I want before I ask them anyway!

The CEO of Incredible Connection, David Miller said, “This exclusive partnership between the country’s leading IT specialist retailer and the country’s leading rewards programme gives customers the best bang for their eBuck – not least because technology is becoming a necessity rather than a discretionary purchase. Together, we enable customers who are eBucks members to actually get something back, in the form of eBucks, for buying a piece of technology that would otherwise simply have been a cost to them. In addition, our customers have the option to use their eBucks as an alternative currency to pay for their purchase. ”

My eBucks card should arrive in the post sometime this week, so you can expect me to get my hands on a new “something nice” for myself VERY soon!

Btw, Incredible Connection has revamped their previously horrid star struck website to something A LOT more appropriate and usable. I really hope that this is a sign of good things to come, as it certainly seems that they are undergoing a few good changes within their stable! Nice one David Miller!