HTC Sensation - Review

“A high-performance, premium-quality, technically advanced yet easy to use smartphone”

HTC Sensation - "iPhone killer"?

With the Sensation, HTC have produced a new flagship phone that is a worthy rival to its counterparts from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Not only does the Sensation boast a genuinely impressive list of features, it is so simple to use that even smartphone novices should be able to get started with it straight away.

Incorporating the latest versions of Android and HTC Sense, a dualcore processor, improved HD video recording and a new film streaming service, this is HTC’s most powerful handset yet.

Since the smartphone properly took off with the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, Apple’s competitors have toiled away in vain in their quest to topple Steve Jobs’ titan.

Everything HTC has launched over the past few years, from 2009’s Hero to this year’s Incredible S has been hailed as the mythical “iPhone killer”.

However, HTC’s handsets have evolved to become something far more interesting - the rapid speed with which it has churned out high-end smartphones has seen it learn from Apple’s winning combination of powerful but simple without just replicating it.

This learning curve may have reached its zenith with the launch of the HTC Sensation - a high-performance, premium-quality, technically advanced yet easy to use smartphone with a personality of its own.

Sensation(black) £84.99

50 min 250 texts

£15.50

Making Sense of Gingerbread

While the Sensation doesn’t look sensational The Sensation looks and feels like everything you want from a phone that would set you back around £450 sim-free - sleek, expensive, weighty and velvety.

With its four touch-sensitive icons and two physical controls (power and volume) proving sturdy, the only real gripe about its body is that the back cover is difficult to get off.

The inclusion of the latest version of Google’s operating system, Android 2.3.3, known as Gingerbread, on the Sensation shows that HTC has learned from its mistake in launching the Incredible S with only Froyo 2.2 in February.

Using a combination of Gingerbread and HTC Sense 3.0, the latest version of HTC’s interface, the Sensation provides a smart, smooth user experience which is unrecognisable compared to clunkier takes on Android elsewhere.

The Sensation does the little things so well that you forget how often they’re fudged on other smartphones - the layout is logical, access to the most commonly used features is easy and you rarely feel like you’re getting lost in a maze of menus.

The revolving “home” screen is the most eye-catching innovation, as it allows you to keep live apps up to date and rotate between five major functions without having to access the main menu.

Watch and listen

The Sensation packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and there was barely any noticeable slowdownwhich for once actually seems to live up to the hype around dual-core by keeping things running smoothly compared to other dual-core devices, like the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY for example, even under fairly heavy multitasking.

The 4.3-inch qHD (quad full high-definition) touchscreen is a little disappointing. While it is sensitive and responsive to touch, it isn’t great in direct sunlight or as sharp as you might expect from such a high-end smartphone.

Having said that, when watching film trailers via HTC Watch, a new streaming service featured for the first time on the Sensation, it’s easy to forget you’re looking at a phone - and that’s after watching a trailer for a rom com starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.

The music player epitomises the Sensation - there’s nothing radical about it, but it does everything you’d want it to in a satisfyingly simple style - browsing your music collection and switching between albums and playlists is fluid and fuss-free. The only downside is the lack of volume - at full tilt on a busy street it still isn’t enough to drown out the chatter of those around you, so it could struggle on noisy trains and buses, although using higher quality headphones could help here.

Surfing, lenses and videotape

Web access is quick, with the browser proving as intuitive as much of the Sensation’s other features. Online videos stream very well, although the picture quality is occasionally a little grainy.

The Sensation incorporates the same 8Mp auto-focus colour camera as the Desire HD, which produces clear and crisp pictures when close-up and at distance. A forward-facing camera is also included, but without a FaceTime-style app, so you can either download a third-party app or wait for HTC to produce their own.

The Sensation’s HD video recording improves on that of the Desire HD’s with 1080p quality, producing a razor sharp picture and, thanks to the dual LED flash, a decent standard of film can even be achieved in the dark. If that’s your kind of thing.

Finally, the Sensation’s battery also seems to improve on that of the Desire HD’s - - although the battery gauge seems to shrink alarmingly quickly, the Sensation can actually withstand at least a day and a half of intermediate to heavy use.

Thanks to Three.co.uk for the review model

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