HTC Sensation XL

HTC Sensation XL Review

The challenge for Android handset makers is for them to innovate and differentiate as much as they can with the hardware because essentially they’re all using one operating system. I understand this 100% after trying out several Android handsets in the last few months. Essentially they’re all just the same. They just look physically different from one another. HTC gets this and that’s why they’re trying to set themselves apart by integrating Beats Audio into their smartphone packages. Their latest device, the HTC Sensation XL, has decent specs, cool hardware design, and comes bundled with iBeats earphones. It’s a bold and commendable move by HTC.

The big question now though is if the whole HTC Sensation XL package is compelling enough here in the Philippines especially with the recent launch of the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy Note? Check out our full review below to find out.

Hardware

The first thing you’ll notice the moment you take this out of the box is the screen. It’s also huge! At 4.7″ this isn’t your usual smartphone which usually has a screen size between 3″ and 4″. Don’t think for a second though that this is too bulky. The HTC Sensation XL is pretty thin with vital stats of 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm. The XL is also pretty lightweight at 162.5g.

In terms of design the HTC Sensation XL color theme is white and silver with red accents (courtesy of the Beats logo). It’s definitely stylish and cool which is probably the brand aspiration of the product. The corners are curved and rounded

making it quite easy to hold and pull out of your pocket.

At the bottom of the screen you’ll find the 4 touch-based buttons for Home, Menu, Back, and Search. Above is the HTC logo, listening grill, and front-facing camera. On the left side is the mini-USB charging port and at the right you’ll find volume controls. At the top is the audio jack port as well as the sleep/wake button.

The XL’s S-LCD capacitive touchscreen while big is a bit lacking for me. At 4.7″ it has 480 x 800 pixels which is around ~199 ppi pixel density. The images, videos, and text are definitely not as crisp and detailed as what you’d see in the iPhone 4S (with Retina Display) or the Samsung Galaxy Note (with Super AMOLED).

Performance and Software

The XL has Android 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense UI 3.5. When it comes to user interface appreciation it’s definitely relative. Personally I find HTC Sense 3.5 to be very fluid and intuitive. I don’t like the app grid set-up that they have and I think that the icons can use some improvements but over-all it’s decent.

In terms of specs the HTC Sensation XL packs a 1.5GHz single core CPU, 768MB RAM, and 16GB non-expandable storage. This is enough to get you by with a lot of the apps in the Android market. You also won’t have too much problem with multi-tasking and running several apps at the same time. However don’t expect it to not lag every now and then. That will only happen though in extreme situations wherein you’re turning on like 5 apps and running more stuff in the background. You shouldn’t be doing that anyway since that will kill your battery quickly.

The 16GB storage also stumped me a bit. Most Android smartphones can have their storage expanded with micro-SD. I don’t understand why this wasn’t implemented with the XL especially since they expect you to load this baby up with your song collection.