Funny how a pair of smartphones from the same handset maker come across so differently. The Hero from Sprint is generally a pleasure to use and a credible new rival against BlackBerrys and iPhones. AT&T  's Pure, on the other hand, reminds me of cranky child. The two phones are sired by HTC of Taiwan.
The disparity has less to do with hardware genes -- or the wireless carriers peddling the new devices -- and more to do with the mobile operating systems at their core.
Hero, which arrives Oct. 11 for $180 after rebates, represents a fresh approach to Google's still relatively youthful Android operating system. The Pure, available now for $150 after rebate, runs the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system, version 6.5.
Android is primed to make some noise. Besides Hero, a bevy of devices are set to arrive shortly, including the Cliq from Motorola. This week Google and Verizon Wireless announced a partnership that will result in more co-branded Android smartphones. And, though neither company is commenting, a report in The Wall Street Journal says a Dell-AT&T Android phone is coming next year.
And then there's Microsoft. A lot of Windows Mobile phones have been sold through the years, many to corporate customers. But the cumbersome software lacks mass appeal.
Version 6.5 is prettier than previous iterations: You can slap on a "Start" page designed by Isaac Mizrahi, for example. But in too many respects, the phone is a clunker. Not only is there a stylus, I actually had to use it to tap the tiny X to close out of some screens. The keyboard drove me nuts.
A Closer Look at the Siblings:
*Hero. The stately Hero is packed with features you expect from a smartphone: Wi-Fi, GPS navigation, music downloads (via Amazon's MP3 Store), stereo Bluetooth, and push e-mail -- which works with Microsoft Exchange. You can sync it up with Gmail, Google Maps and other Google services.
The phone is simply and functionally designed. Slightly raised call and end buttons flank a trackball below a 3.2-inch multitouch display. Clickable menu, home screen, back and search keys are flush against a metal finish. It also has a 5-megapixel still and video camera, but the camera on my test phone was damaged, so all the images were blurry.
Hero is light on supplied memory (2 gigabytes) and battery life (up to four hours of talk time). But the battery is removable, and you can expand the memory with optional MicroSD cards. (continued...)
© 2009 USA TODAY under contract with MarketWatch. All rights reserved.
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