The Google Android platform was conceived as a good way for manufacturers and operators to deploy devices thanks to it being open source and easily customizable. So far, the two products out on the market, the HTC Dream and Magic, stay pretty much faithful to the original Android experience. But that's not the case with the recently announced HTC Hero. The Taiwan-based manufacturer has equipped this new smartphone with its Sense UI, no doubt to make sure it doesn't get labeled as just another Android phone.

Upside

From what we can see, much effort has been made to improve the default Android interface through its Sense UI. For starters, the Home page spans many more pages than the default three. HTC has created a host of widgets that allow you to get to items such as contacts, settings and information like weather updates at a glance. Many of these look very similar to what's already found on the company's TouchFlo software for Windows Mobile, though on the Hero it's much more customizable because of the flexibility of widgets. Just pick the ones you like, and ditch those that you don't.

The phone's contacts app has also been greatly modified so each contact has a tabbed interface. Instead of merely getting access to a friend's details such as phone number and address, you can also see your email and text interactions with your pal without having to launch the separate messaging app. In addition, social-networking services are integrated so you can even see Facebook status updates. This has already been implemented in the latest version of TouchFlo 3D in the Touch Diamond2 and Pro2 Windows Mobile devices and we're happy to see it in an Android phone. Check out HTC's video below for more on its Sense UI.