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A few websites recently had the chance to play with review units of the HTC Hero, and the impressions differed slightly as one might expect. While Tech Radar was inclined to analyze the Hero in relation to the iPhone, Mobile Crunch made only the bare minimum iComparisons, and PhoneDog focused deeply on the Hero’s communication functions. Here are some highlights that you, the everyday Android junky, can draw from the recent reviews of the HTC Hero and it’s eye-popping Sense UI.

Communication is key, and also strong

Behold this video illustrating the power of texting, e-mail, Twitter, and notifications in the HTC Hero Sense UI. Messaging has been taken to the home screen level and is available in a completely revamped method compared to what we’ve seen on the G1/Magic. (video courtesy of PhoneDog)

Design is peculiar but not really that bad

The chin exists. Get over it. As someone who railed against it when I first got my G1 on Wednesday, I’d completely forgotten it was even there by Friday. According to Mobile Crunch, HTC placed the chin on the Hero because of design more than function. However, it does function for toughening up the phone incase its dropped, making it fit naturally in the hand, and isn’t noticeable when placed in the pocket. Leave Leno alone.

Image & video quality is comparable to the G1/HTC Magic

Though the Hero sports a 5 megapixel camera, image quality isn’t all that much better than what you’ve already seen in your G1. The same truth in digital cameras holds true in phone cameras: more MP’s doesn’t always equal more quality in the photo. The sample shots and videos taken by Tech Radar and Mobile Crunch revealed a decent camera similar/slightly better than previous 3.2 megapixel cameras in other Android phones. If you’re looking for some super-high-quality-top-of-the-line lens, it’s not there, but it’s a serviceable effort.

The Hero widgets lack Superhero speed

Both TechRadar and Mobile Crunch reported that there was a bit of lag in the Hero’s widget display and general usage. As wonderful as the home screen content may appear, some of that buzz is taken away when considering that the 528 MHZ Qualcomm MSM 7200A chip and 256MB RAM don’t let things run as smoothly as one would hope. On the bright side of things, Mobile Crunch reports that Android APPS run smoothly. TechRadar even said its original experience with the Hero was far worse and there has been much improvement in its recent hands-on testing. That means the extra time HTC has until the device is released in Europe (or a firmware update that may follow) might show even further improvement.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of some very thorough reviews of the HTC Hero (aka G2 Touch on T-Mobile UK). Visit Tech Radar for more information about its impressions from the Hero and then visit Mobile Crunch for the same, which includes a number of photos and videos highlighting other aspects of the phone.