Our HTC Sensation XL Review

Feeling the Sensation…the HTC Sensation XL!

If you like BIG smartphone LCD displays then you’ll love the HTC Sensation XL. The large 4.7 inch display makes this phone easy to read or see. Hardware wise, it’s a fairly simple phone, but its size has a lot of appeal to those who find themselves squinting at the under 4 inch displays or who have large hands that experience difficulty hanging on to the smaller phone. This is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone that has the latest HTC Sense 3.5.

Hardware That’s Not Soft

The HTC Sensation XL Android phone has one of the largest touch screens on the market, in addition to a 1.5GHz Qualcomm single core MSM8255 processor. There’s also an 8 megapixel camera and video recording. You get lots of RAM at 768MB and 16GB of storage.

Software That Works Hard

The Sense 3.5 software can only be called hardworking. The phone comes loaded with apps like Notes, Dropbox and Tango. Tango is handy for people who like to switch back and forth between a video call and audio. Tango also can stream live footage while you are video recording with the phone’s rear camera. Dropbox offers another 5GB of cloud storage to compensate for the 8GB of storage that comes with the camera and the fact memory is not expandable. Notes is just what it sounds like – a note taking app.

Connectivity includes Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth. You can also connect to the outside world with GPS, digital compass and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera.

Battery Life Designed for a Big Screen

The 1,600 mAh battery has been improved from the prior phone version and can power your large display phone for approximately one day. That’s pretty similar to most other smartphones and this one has to also power the audio software. If you decide to play lots of video and music, the battery might need charging before the day is done.

Multimedia

The HTC Sensation XL boasts Beats Audio and Beats headphones which make up some for having no memory card slot. It also makes up for tinny speakers because Beats Audio produces awesome sounding audio output through headphones.

The HTC Sensation XL has an upgraded lens and sensor that sharpens the photos taken with the 8mp rear mounted camera. There’s also a second 1.3 mp front facing camera. Rounding out the multimedia is the capability to do video recording.

What We Liked

The display, besides being so large, is protected by tough Gorilla glass. The camera takes sharp pictures. We also liked the fact the phone can quickly and efficiently handle applications or manage a number of tasks at the same time. In addition, the camera lens can capture wide angle shots which a lot of smartphones can’t handle. In other words, there’s plenty to like about this phone.

What We Disliked

The dislikes include the fact there’s no memory card slot. Also the 16GB of storage is stingy to say the least and only 12.64GB is usable by the phone owner. The screen resolution is one of the lower ones in the market and additional pixels would help a large screen like this phone boasts.

Our Final Verdict

This is a good looking design with a great screen design and size. The browser performs smoothly, the camera takes great pictures, and the screen is easy to read. Probably one of the best features though is the wonderful way the Beats Audio can handle music the way it was meant to be handled. The specially made headphones insure the sound experience is high quality.

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	HTC Sensation XL
General
Form Factor	Candybar
Dimensions	132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 (mm)
Talk Time	710 mins
Standby Time	460 hours
Weight	162 g
Quad Band	Yes
Photo and Video
Integrated Camera	Yes
Camera	8.00 megapixels
Camera Flash	Yes
Video Player	Yes
Phone
Vibrating Alert	Yes
Polyphonic Ringtones	Yes
Smart Phone	Yes
Internal Memory	16GB
Messaging
Instant Messaging (IM)	Yes
Screen
Colour Screen	Yes
Touch Screen	Yes
Screen Resolution	480 x 800 pixels
Connectivity
Bluetooth	Yes
Email	Yes
HSDPA	Yes
Web Browser	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes
Music and Radio
MP3 Player	Yes
MP3 Ringtones	Yes
Additional Content
Downloadable Content	Yes
Downloadable Games	Yes
Downloadable Ringtones	Yes

HTC Sensation XL Full Specification

General

Photo and Video

Phone

Messaging

Screen

Connectivity

Music and Radio

Additional Content