Revealed: Google's first social-networking 'Hero' mobile set to topple iPhone

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The HTC Hero phone is expected to be launched today as a rival to Apple's iPhone 3GS

Google are expected to unveil a social-networking mobile phone today, which integrates online-sharing sites Twitter and Facebook and Flickr into its software.

'The Hero' is made by Taiwanese firm HTC and will go on sale next month.

It is operated using Android, which is the world’s first ‘open-source’ operating system for mobile devices.

The gizmo weighs 4.76oz, according to leaks from HTC's own website, which have since disappeared.

The phone measures 4.41 "x 2.21"x 0.57" and has a 3.2-inch LCD touch-screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution. The battery allows 470mins of talk time and the phone has 512 MB of memory with space for a 16Gb MicroSD card.

Orange said it will be selling the handset in the UK from early July in an exclusive 'graphite' colour.

It will be free to customers who take out a £39.15 per month, 24 month contract.

Advertised with the line 'Be Brave, Be Yourself' - HTC hope it will knock Apple's iPhone 3GS off the top spot.

Users navigate around the handset using a finger, 'flicking' the touchscreen to switch between menu options, in a similar way to Apple's iPhone.

The HTC website said: 'When you view people, you see the different ways to get in touch.'

People in your phone address book can be organised so that all your text exchanges, email conversations, Facebook status, Flickr photo albums and phone logs appear when you click on their name.

The Orange version of the HTC Hero comes in a 'slate grey' colour

A statement from the website added: 'With HTC Hero, personalization reaches a level never before possible.

'Rather than burying important content under layers of menus, the HTC Hero lets you put it at glance view, with a selection of widgets that can be placed right on the home screen.'

Another profile feature is called 'Scenes' which makes the Hero 'multiple phones in one.'

'Your Hero becomes a weekend phone that helps you relax with your choice of tunes, catch up with your favorite friends,' the promotional blurb said.

'And when you go on a trip, your phone becomes your personal guide and gives you instant access to local time, weather and maps.'

The mobile has a 5MP camera with auto focus and a browser that displays Flash-based sites.

Extra features include an accelerometer (dubbed the G-sensor by HTC) that enables the phone to sense the orientation of the screen and switch between landscape and portrait modes automatically, as well as a digital compass.

The dedicated Search button combs through tweets in Twitter, locates people in your contact list, finds emails in your inbox and searches through appointments in the calendar.

The Hero follows the launch of Apple's new version of the iPhone. The faster model, called the iPhone 3GS, costs up to £274 if users sign an 18-month contract. It is also available on a higher tariff.

New features include a three-megapixel camera and more memory (32gb rather than the original 3G's 16gb). Games are faster and there is video recording and voice control.