One of the rare niggles I’ve had with the mostly fantastic HTC Hero has been it’s thirst for power. And by power I mean battery power, not influence over nations. A while back I read a tweet about Mugen Power’s new 3200mAh battery for the Hero. Back then I still had some money set aside for impulse purchases so I ordered one. It took almost three weeks to arrive and came with a new battery door, i.e. a replacement plastic rear cover for the phone.
That’s because the new battery is a lot thicker than the original one, and practically doubles Hero’s girth. My previously slim Hero now looks like it’s about to give birth. Oddly enough I found the new fatter Hero feels somewhat more comfortable in hand than the original slim one. It doesn’t feel more comfortable in a trouser pocket, however.
According to the instructions, I was supposed to first charge the battery in the phone for 12 hours… so I did. I know, me following instructions!? It’s a crazy world. Furthermore, the instructions also say that after that first charging I should use the phone until the battery is running very low, then recharge. By repeating this procedure a few times I should have a longer-lasting battery, I suppose. To my surprise, it took the battery almost five days to run down to 15% which is when Hero starts making a fuss about recharging. The phone was on 24 hours a day and saw lots of heavy use, including 12+ hours of talking and plenty of browsing the internet via HSDPA. The original battery wouldn’t have lasted a day in similar conditions. Despite adding weight and volume to the Hero, I have to say I’m very pleased with the new battery and how it has transformed the way I use my Hero.