Next year there will be Android programming classes on Wroclaw University (Poland) but handsets for excersises needs to be choosen now. I was thinking about HTC Hero because:
Are there any arguments against Hero? Or maybe there is another handset more suitable for programming classes?
Handsets get updated every 4-6 months so whatever you buy now you will regret it later in the next year.
When you really need it then go and get one. No need to do it a year in advance.
Regarding Hero: the reviews I read didn't look impressive. It gives impression of a prototype before HTC releases something final. Lack of videocall cam is one disadvantage I see right now.
The official dev phone is the HTC Magic supposedly. I would not go with the Hero since it has a custom firmware and Sense. Should stick with a vanilla version of Android. Or just use the emulator.
I am not certain it makes sense, for an Android course, to have each student have a device...and have them all be the same device. For the same cost, you could get an array of devices of different characteristics, and use that to help demonstrate techniques for dealing with multiple screen sizes, multiple Android API versions, devices that have Google Maps versus devices that do not, etc. Given that such variations in devices are part of the core fabric of the Android ecosystem, it would seem prudent to make varying devices be part of the curriculum, if possible.
If you are stuck having to buy all of the same handset, I agree with nportelli -- all else being equal, I would try to stick to plain "Google Experience" devices instead of those with heavy customizations (HTC Sense, MOTOBLUR). Two likely candidates would be the HTC Magic and the Motorola Milestone, assuming the latter is presently available (not quite certain about that).
BTW, I am tentatively scheduled to be in Wroclaw the week of 7 December, to teach Android application development for a local firm. What's the best place in Wroclaw for pierogi? :-)
If I were going to be debugging things on it, I'd think I'd prefer a phone with a physical keyboard, like the Samsung Moment.
Then again, probably the smartest thing to do would be to find out what the instructor is using and get the same phone. That way you can be fairly sure you won't get any compatability issues that nobody running the course has ever seen.
Would not recommend the HTC Hero. I develop on an HTC as well (Dream), and the problem is that it has a 320x480 resolution. By itself its not bad, but the users have (among others) Motorola Droids. The resolution there is up to (480 x 854).
So your programs will look nice on the HTC, and horrible on the high-res phones. I suggest going with a high res phone, where you have the benefit of switching resolutions. Knowing how to develop UI for different resolutions (and/or pixel density) is very important.
By the way: The Android simulator that comes with the SDK does not truly represent the font sizes of the real devices when dealing with high density. It has to be tested on a real device or it's a mess.
Why specifically do you need the handsets over just using the emulator for the course? The handsets will eventually get outdated, if students are buying them, let them choose, then you will get real world experience working w/ multiple devices. If not I would say use the emulator.