HTC makes a lot of handsets so it's hard to judge them all by one model. I'm guessing you used the Eris which is indeed one of their cheapest models. I have the

HTC makes a lot of handsets so it's hard to judge them all by one model. I'm guessing you used the Eris which is indeed one of their cheapest models. I have the Sprint HTC Hero and it's a very well made phone. It feels very solid. I've had it about 2 months now in my pocket with no case and it still looks brand new. The oliphobic (?) coating on the screen does a good job keeping finger prints and smudges to a minimum. The back case has a soft somewhat rubberized coating that feels very durable. It's probably the best sounding phone I've ever owned. Instead of using a little pin-hole speaker it uses a ~1" wide strip. Not sure if this is all speaker or just a little chamber to direct the sound. Either way it sounds great. Overall it's a really well built phone somewhat lacking compared to the faster models on the market these days. I definitely sticking with HTC for my next phone unless we happen to see a CDMA 4th gen iPhone on Sprint.