Hardware review: HTC Sensation XL

How large can you go? This is the question you immediately ask on seeing and handling the HTC Sensation XL smartphone, for the 4.7-inch 480x800 touchscreen is perhaps the most noticeable feature at a glance.

This model continues to build on the successful formula by smartphone maker HTC. Our model had a 1.5 GHz processor, 768 MB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, HSDPA 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p (HD) video and a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and GPS. All this is wrapped in Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and HTC Sense 3.5 interface. The model also had Dr Dre UrBeats in ear-headphones.

Due to its large screen, this smartphone does not fit into all pockets. It weighs more than the standard high-end smartphone but there’s nothing HTC could do about it because of the screen’s size. It feels well-built and the case has standard HTC look and feel.

Processing power could have been better, as the single-core 1.5GHz is a weakness compared to similar smartphones that have dual-core processors.

The screen is lovely. It has very good real estate to browse mobile internet, though we would have expected a somewhat better performance in terms of the rendering of colours. This smartphone will surely appease demanding users in terms of screen space.

The large screen however poses another drawback besides the large size. It’s a real drain on the battery, so users need to be aware that lowering the brightness extends battery life. But then again, the nice HTC Sense interface will lose some of its appeal.

The cameras are good and take good pictures. The video recording is of good quality and HD videos render nicely when transferred to a large viewing screen on another device.

However music is the second feature which the HTC Sensation XL is very good at. The headphones by Dr Dre do justice to the Beats Audio system which is being introduced onto smartphones. This model really makes a good sound platform.

Phoning and sending/receiving SMS was quite good and the fact that it is quite a large set did not put us off voice calls that much.

In conclusion, the HTC Sensation XL is an excellent phone for those who need a large screen and want to listen to excellent-quality music, though this comes at a price, both in terms of size and money. Vodafone Malta gave a review model of this smartphone to i-Tech.