HTC Eris Hits Verizon for $99, Still $651 Pricier than Sprint Hero

The Motorola Droid ($299.99) officially has some company. Verizon Wireless has added the HTC Droid Eris ($99.99) to its lineup of Android phones, and at just $99 with a two-year contract, it seriously undercuts the price of the Sprint HTC Hero ($610.86) ($179). But is the Eris really the better deal?

The Droid Eris is a lot like the Hero, sporting similar dimensions. It’s a bit thinner, but has a slightly lower capacity battery. You get a 5-MP camera, HTC’s Sense user experience, a 3.5mm head phone jack, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen. The device will also come with an 8GB microSD card.

Unlike the Motorola  Droid, the Droid Eris doesn’t rock Android 2.0 (so you don’t get free GPS navigation). However, the Sense user experience is compelling, because it allows you to customize up to seven different home screens. Sense also allows you to also quickly access your social networks like Facebook and Flickr, and combine them with your contacts.

With the exeception of the iPhone 3G, on paper the Droid Eris is easily the most attractive touchscreen phone under 100 bucks. But is the smart phone a steal over the long haul compared to the Hero? Not by a long shot.With the HTC Hero on Sprint, a $69.99 monthly Everything Data plan includes 450 minutes, 5GB of data, unlimited text messaging, GPS navigation (through Telenav), and Sprint TV. On Verizon you’ll pay $99 for the same number of minutes, data usage, and unlimited messaging. And because the Eris doesn’t have a navigation app built in, if you want spoken turn-by-turn directions you’ll need to spring for an app like ALK Co-Pilot for $34.99. Plus, Verizon does not yet offer V Cast  TV on its Android devices.

In total you’ll be paying $1,858.76 for the Sprint HTC Hero during that two-year agreement. For the Eris, you’re looking at $2,509.99 (Feel free to double check my math. I was an English major). That’s a difference of $651, or just about enough for a good entry-level DSLR or ultraportable notebook like the Acer Timeline 1810t.

We can’t definitively say whether the Eris is a good or bad deal until we’ve had a chance to review it–and there’s a lot to be said for the quality and coverage of Verizon’s network–but we do think it’s safe to say that  the Hero is not overpriced.