HTC Sensation XL deals & review

HTC’s Autumn 2011 offering to the burgeoning smartphone market was intended, in their own words, to provide "the best sound and sight you can get on any mobile device". The Taiwanese giants have certainly not held back in their efforts to achieve this laudable objective: the Sensation has the power to produce some truly stirring entertainment.

The XL’s impressive size is central to this aim, featuring a 4.7 inch diagonal edge-to-edge screen that dwarfs many of its rivals. As one of the larger handsets, it gives the Sensation an impression of solidity that some competitors lack. The Gorilla glass display lends the handset further durability.

Like the Nokia Lumia, the Sensation operates with a single-core processor, but like the Lumia, its processor packs a competitive punch, clocked at an impressive 1.5GHz. It utilises Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system; an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is promised to be available soon after release, ensuring state-of-the-art OS and app availability. HTC’s device has a contemporary standard 16GB of in-built storage. It features the Sense 3.5 UI which allows for more customisation, and features the re-worked camera app that first arrived with the HTC Rhyme. HTC had been criticised for poor camera performance on some earlier models, but the Sensation XL brings them into line with the competition.

The 8 megapixel primary camera and 1.3 megapixel front-facing snapper bring the XL into line with the contemporaneous Galaxy Nexus and Motorola RAZR, ahead of the iPhone 4S and the Nokia Lumia. It also boasts dual LED flash, geo-tagging, autofocus, face detection, touch focus and image stabilization: a veritable treasure trove of top-quality photo features. For displaying your pictures, the Sensation XL uses Sony’s S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution. This is just shy of the more cutting-edge displays on the market, but truthfully there is little difference, and the large display is ideal for viewing pictures and video footage. That’s the beauty of the Sensation XL: it may not feature the very best spec on the market, but the features it does have are functional and useful rather than flashy and superfluous.

The USP that defines the Sensation XL is the integration of Beats Audio, the high-end headphone and software technology produced by Dr Dre. The headphones have a built-in mic and in-line controls for pause, play and rewind functions. The XL also allows users to send song recommendations over SMS, email and via Facebook. The music features will be the XL´s key selling point. The overall sonic experience benefits too: audio enhancements are extended to games and movies as well. Additionally, the XL can also record video footage with stereo sound, and when not being used for that function, the second microphone enables noise reduction so that call quality is improved as well.

Overall, the Sensation XL is a good platform for the consumer who is focused on music and other media. With a top-notch audio system and large display screen, the Sensation XL lives up to its name, offering top-quality sights and sounds that provide an immersive and wholly enjoyable experience.