The interface is a little busy but very functional. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll begin to appreciate the wealth of features hidden in this app. You can see things of interest in three different ways – via a carousal interface, as a list, or on a simple map. Like most other local directory apps, Sherpa lets you see ratings, reviews, and other information concerning each establishment (including the address). The apps ability to learn your preferences as you go coupled with a powerful search feature that includes category-based filtering means that this app can easily replace all other local directory apps on your HTC Hero, and you won’t notice they’re gone.

ShopSavvy lets you configure alerts that will notify you when a product you want drops below a certain price level. Like with Amazon, you can create wishlists and otherwise categorize your products and shopping needs. You can also see user reviews for products written by other ShopSavvy users like you. There’s also the ability to pull up older scanned items, so you can even use it as an inventory app if you please. This is a fantastic use of the HTC Hero’s excellent camera, and this free app will make shopping much more fun.

You can set conditions for as many places as you like. You can even create conditions that depend on the time of day in addition to the location – so if you’re in university, you can have the ringer switch to vibrate just in your class hours and switch back on at other times even when you’re in the classroom. The interface is simple and easy-to-use, basically you set your conditions and forget about them. The app takes care of the rest. This award-winning Android app is a must-have for all HTC Hero owners.

Note that the number of notifications on your Hero can increase quickly as you begin to add categories. Some categories like the Starbucks one may trigger a notification every block (ha ha). However, since notifications specific to Aloqa are completely configurable, so you can have them remain unobtrusive if you prefer. Overall, this is an innovative addition to the local directory applications available on the Android market.

There’s a little radar-like graphic in the app that let’s you know which direction you should point your HTC Hero to pick up points of interest. You can switch between an ordered view or a map view in addition to the layered view. Some of the layers offer interactive options including the ability to make a phone call with a single tap. “Layars” that already work include Google Local, Wikipedia, and Flickr. Many more are on the way. Layar is one of the more futuristic HTC Hero Apps to hit the Android market.

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You can also purchase a SplashPod that interfaces with this app and offers a wrapper around a real guitar fretboard. This wrapper highlights the correct strings and positions as you play the song on the app. SplashPlay comes with extensive tutorials and a good help interface that can get you going in minutes. Overall, this is a fantastic addition to any guitarists toolbox and a great app for those who are just starting out on the guitar.

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Your data is saved as you use CardiTrainer and then sent to a server so that you can view your history online form a desktop computer. In addition to the history, you can view statistical information regarding your workouts, including average frequency and distance traveled. This HTC Hero app also lets you share some of your workout data via a Facebook application. CardioTrainer itself is free, but comes with an extra module for an extra charge. This is a solid health and fitness app for the HTC Hero, and is particularly useful if you  do a lot of your workouts outdoors.

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You can tweak various parameters in the settings section, including the quality of the streaming audio – you’d be trading-off between quality and stuttering basically. The streaming quality is quite good in both options and the buffering works perfectly. There is no ability to do an offline sync, and you can’t play songs when you don’t have a Wi-FI or cellular signal. Pandora works only in select countries at the moment, so using it while traveling is difficult. Overall, this is a popular music streaming application for Android that works really well and offers high-quality streaming music right to your HTC Hero.

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In the online interface you can configure your settings such that you are notified when your HTC Hero changes state, including whenever your Hero gets locked and when a new SIM is inserted. The app also sends the phone number of the new SIM, which can come in really handy if you are planning to contact the authorities about the theft. The app is smart enough to remain well hidden in case the new owner tries to disable tracking apps. It also is relatively light on the battery, which is very useful in case of a lost device that is steadily losing battery power. This is one of the most useful HTC Hero apps, and one app that should be downloaded immediately after purchasing the device.