Music and the Beast: HTC Sensation XL (2011, mobile, phone, tech, news, updated, davidlim)

They say music soothes even the savage beast. In the case of the HTC Sensation XL, it just makes it cooler. The Sensation XL shares its design and mammoth 4.7" screen with the Titan, but the XL is part of the Android squad and packs a lyrical iBeats headset.

HTC Sensation XL official photos

The Sensation XL uses almost exactly the same hardware as the Titan - the major difference is that the XL packs four Android capacitive keys and there's no hardware shutter key, but that's about it.

The single Scorpion core in the Snapdragon chipset runs at 1.5GHz again and the camera is an 8MP unit that records 720p video. Even the screen is the same 4.7" WVGA S-LCD unit, not the qHD resolution of the Sensation XE.

Here's the list of pros and cons to sum up how well the merging of Titan hardware and Sensation software went.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.7" 16M-color capacitive S-LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.5
• 1.5 GHz single Scorpion CPUs, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
• 768 MB RAM; 16 GB storage (~12.5GB user accessible)
• Beats audio enhancement and premium Monster iBeats headset
• 8 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash; face detection, geotagging, HDR mode, image autoupload
• 720p video recording @ 30fps, slo-mo videos (2x at WVGA)
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensor
• Front facing camera with video calls
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• Office document editor
• DivX/XviD video support
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)

Main disadvantages

• WVGA resolution is low for a 4.7" screen
• Screen's outdoor performance isn't so good
• No dedicated camera key
• No microSD card slot
• No TV-Out

One major addition to the Sensation XL that the Titan lacks is the Beats setup. It includes a Monster iBeats headset in the box (those are rather pricy if you have to buy them separately) and special audio processing done on the inside tuned by none other than Dr. Dre.

Compared to the other Androids by HTC (or in fact most other phones), the bigger screen of the XL is more accommodating to web browsing, watching videos and reading ebooks. The more screen real estate should be better for games too - if the Adreno 205 GPU is up to it (it's getting old, but should still be OK with most games).

The HTC Sensation XL live shots

Well, time to pull out the lauded iBeats headset out of the box and give them a listen while we tour the hardware of the HTC Sensation XL.

Retail box

The Sensation XL comes in a big box, befitting a big phone. When you open it up, you see the phone in the middle with the earplugs of the iBeats headset on its sides. The headset is courtesy of Monster and is slightly different than the retail version: it has a set of three chrome-plated music controls instead of a single button. The middle Play/Pause button doubles as a call key.

The headset has the same eye-catching red cabling we saw on the Sensation XE headset, even though the XL doesn’t have the matching red accents (just the red Beats logo on the back). Still, it looks cool.

The HTC Sensation XL retail package

There is a fancy pouch too with some spare ear tips of varying size.

By the way, HTC will be offering a limited edition version of the Sensation XL package, which replaces the iBeats headphones with an over-ear headset, the Solo. You can see those in our Sensation XL hands-on.

Of course, the Sensation XL box contains the usual boring stuff as well - a compact charger that uses the provided microUSB cable to charge the phone. There are manuals too.

360-degree spin

The HTC Sensation XL isn't as extra large as its name might suggest. Measuring 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm, it's not much bigger than handsets with 4.3" screens. And while the 162.5g of weight are on the heavy side, we've seen smaller phones that weigh as much. So, the phone is fairly compact for something bearing the XL tag.

Design and build quality

HTC have kept the design of the Sensation XL very clean. There are no different materials patched up together like on some other phones (*cough*Sensation*cough*). We especially like the big aluminum plate of the back that wraps around the sides too - it gives the phone a really premium feel.

The HTC Sensation XL is attractive looking and well built
When you put it next to phones with 4.3" screens, the HTC Sensation XL is noticeably bigger, but not huge. It's still phone-sized compared to 5+ inch phoneblets.

Size comparison with Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note
The S-LCD capacitive unit of the HTC Sensation XL has WVGA resolution and not qHD, which has been a common sight of late in HTC phones. It was obviously not an option for the Titan (WP7 supports only WVGA for now) but Android scales happily to higher resolutions (720p resolution would have been amazing on the XL's screen).
To put things into perspective, the HTC Sensation XE's 4.3" touchscreen has a pixel density of 256ppi, while the XL manages only 199ppi.
Yes, the screen size is quite a stretch for the resolution. This is most embarrassingly visible when reading text (e.g. in the web browser). Text is as good as impossible to read at max zoom-out - you need to zoom in, but that means you lose some of the real-estate advantage that the large screen gives you.
Resolution aside, the screen is one of the best we've seen by HTC - it has brilliant viewing angles (there's some minor contrast loss, but that's it) and colors are very vivid.
We measured the brightness and contrast of the Sensation XL's screen and (expectedly) it turned out very close to that of the Titan. The display is pretty bright though the black levels could be better. Contrast stays above 1000:1, which is pretty good, better than the Sensation XE.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
HTC Sensation XL	0.22	231	1045	0.52	559	1085
HTC Titan	0.26	233	891	0.56	567	1007
HTC Sensation	0.21	173	809	0.61	438	720
Motorola Atrix 4G	0.48	314	652	0.60	598	991
LG Optimus 2X	0.23	228	982	0.35	347	1001
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc	0.03	34	1078	0.33	394	1207
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II	0	231	∞	0	362	∞
HTC Incredible S	0.18	162	908	0.31	275	880
Apple iPhone 4	0.14	189	1341	0.39	483	1242

The display coating is highly reflective though, which ruins sunlight legibility - the reflections of the sky often eclipse the screen contents.
Above the HTC Sensation XL's screen there's a secondary 1.3 MP video-call camera, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor. There's a charging/notification LED there too that remains invisible when it's off.
Four haptic-enabled capacitive touch controls are placed below the 4.7"display. The usual Android keys (Home, Menu, Back and Search) are well-spaced and easy to use.

Above and under the display
The sides of the Sensation XL are light on ports and buttons - the left side houses an exposed microUSB port, which doubles as a charging port. The right side has only the big volume control, which isn't the most comfortable volume rocker we've used.

The left side is home to the microUSB port • Only the volume rocker is on the right
The top of the HTC Sensation XL features the 3.5 mm audio jack, a secondary microphone for active noise cancellation and the power/lock button. The power/lock button is flush with the surface to prevent accidental presses but is relatively easy to use - but you have to use two hands, the phone is just too big to reach the button with one hand.
At the bottom of the XL is the primary microphone and the battery cover latch.

The top of the HTC Sensation XL • The bottom
Over at the back, the 8MP camera lens sits between a dual LED flash combo and a loudspeaker grill. The camera protrudes so the phone rests on it when you place it down. You need to be careful what surfaces you put it on or the lens might get scratched.

On the back of the HTC Sensation XL
Pressing the battery cover latch causes the screen and phone innards to pop out. Effectively, the battery cover wraps the phone's body in. This solution helps avoid wobbles and squeaks but doesn't quite qualify as a unibody. We have a full-sized battery cover and a phone that divides into two equally sized parts. For a real unibody, you need to check out the HTC Radar or the older HTC Legend.

Removing the battery cover
Still, the back cover is made almost entirely of aluminum and quite a thick piece of it too - you can see "ribs" on the side of the cover to ensure there isn't even a millimeter of the back that gives way when you press it.
There's a patch of plastic at the bottom, which houses the wireless antennas. The antennas are well isolated and don't suffer from the death grip. The only downside of this solution is that all wireless signals are cut off when you take the back cover off.
Anyway, underneath you'll find a 1600 Li-Ion battery and the SIM card compartment. There's no microSD card slot here.
The battery could have been bigger, for reference the Sensation XE packs a 1730mAh battery (though it needs it to feed its dual-core CPU).
We performed a detailed battery test on the HTC Sensation XL and it lasted 40 hours when subjected to general usage. The battery lived long in 3G calls - 9 hours and 30 minutes, longer than the advertised 6 hours and 50 minutes. The Sensation XL lasts 5 hours and 20 minutes of web browsing over Wi-Fi and 6 hours and 10 minutes of video watching.
Those numbers compare favorably against the competition, except the video playing performance, which is 2-3 hours behind the leaders of the pack.
The HTC Sensation XL fits well in the hand in most pockets. Still, the sizable screen means you'll have trouble reaching the top items on the display, at least at first. You get used to it but still isn't the most comfortable thing in the world.
This aside, the build quality of the XL is great - the large slab of aluminum on the back gives the phone a premium feel and even the white plastic for the antennas is great. The phone is a bit on the heavy side, but it's not too much of a burden.

The HTC Sensation XL held in hand
One processor core for an extra 0.4" of screen - is the tradeoff from the Sensation XE worth it? We already saw how the 4.7" screen performs, later we'll be running benchmarks to gauge the performance difference.
But first we'll do the overview of the latest Sense UI, which while familiar, packs a few changes since we last saw it


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2011 Android Phone Review: HTC Sensation ("Google Android Repair", www.drmobiles.co.nz)

HTC burst right onto the dual-core scene with a phone that's set to be an Android sensation. They've gone all out with the design of that one - from screen, through camera to the powerful chipset. No cutting corners, no compromise on features.

HTC Sensation official photos

HTC has a flair for big names but Sensation sure is something else. The name simply sticks. We're talking a monster 4.3" S-LCD screen with qHD resolution (540 x 960). If the bump in resolution doesn’t mean much to you, picture this – the Sansation’s 4.3-inch screen has the same pixel density as a much smaller 3.7" screen with regular WVGA resolution.

The 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon chipset with the new Adreno 220 graphics bodes no good for rivals. But hey, that's the news we've been waiting for. A battle is brewing and dual-core domination is the prize.

Before we let the excitement of benchmarks cloud our minds, let's get the laundry list out of the way. Here's what the HTC Sensation has to offer and what didn’t work all that well.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of qHD resolution (540 x 960 pixels); Gorilla glass
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.0
• 1.2 GHz dual Scorpion CPUs, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 chipset
• 768 MB RAM and 1 GB storage for apps
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash; face detection and geotagging
• 1080p and 720p video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and an auto-brightness sensor
• Front facing camera with video calls
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• MHL TV-out (requires MHL-to-HDMI adapter)
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)
• Office document editor

Main disadvantages

• Serious "death grip" issue with Wi-Fi radio
• Less than impressed with the screen's outdoor performance
• Performance not quite as convincing as other dual-cores
• No dedicated camera key
• microSD is under the battery cover
• No unibody construction as advertised

You'll notice that "unibody" is not on the feature list - the back cover is certainly interesting but this is by no means a unibody. Let's not let that sully the great impression though - the Sensation is one of the most powerful droids around and it's on the shortlist if you're looking for the ultimate in smartphones.

The 8MP camera with 1080p video recording begs for a camera shootout. And the high-res S-LCD unit calls for another display test. So that's a lot of testing we have ahead of us.

The HTC Sensation at ours

But before we get busy, we need to give credit where it's due. HTC have been perfecting their interface designs for years and the latest Sense UI 3.0 is laced with equal amounts of useful features and eye candy.

Retail package: nothing out of the usual

The HTC Sensation comes in a ordinary looking box and there's nothing surprising about its contents. A compact charger connects to the provided microUSB cable to fill the battery. There's also a nice single-piece headset with music controls.

The HTC Sensation retail package
The only real perk in the package is the 8GB microSD card, which comes inserted in the phone.
There's no MHL dongle in the package - you'll have to buy one yourself if you want to enjoy streaming HD video. Other MHL-enabled devices don't come with MHL dongles either, so this didn’t surprise us much.

HTC Sensation 360-degree spin

The HTC Sensation measures 126.1 x 65.4 x 11.3 mm and weighs 148 g. It's very close to the dimensions of other phones with 4.3" screens, though thicker and heavier than some.

Design and construction

It's hard to deny that HTC make some attractive looking handsets and the Sensation is good enough proof. It just isn't a prime example. We can understand their need to freshen up the design and set the new flagship aside. But the end result is questionable - and not what we'd call unibody.
It's curves on the back, curves on the front, curves all around - from the metal plate on the back that extends to wrap around the edges of the phone - to the screen, yep the screen.
The Sensation comes with a 4.3” Gorilla glass protected S-LCD screen. It seems concave because the edges of the screen curve upwards but most of the surface of the display is perfectly flat.
We've seen some very good S-LCD units from HTC and while the one on the Sensation is okay, it has its issues. Viewing angles are less than perfect - contrast is quickly lost when you tilt the phone and colors get slightly off.
Also, blacks are not as deep as AMOLED screens go but brightness and color rendering are good.

The S-LCD screen is not the best from HTC • Side by side with the competition
Sunlight legibility is acceptable - though obviously failed by the reflective screen coating.
And here come the results of our now traditional display brightness and contrast test. Deep blacks are not the Sensation's strength and while the brightness levels are OK, the contrast ratios aren’t terribly impressive.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
LG Optimus Black P970	0.27	332	1228	0.65	749	1161
LG Optimus 2X	0.23	228	982	0.35	347	1001
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc	0.03	34	1078	0.33	394	1207
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S	0	263	∞	0	395	∞
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II	0	231	∞	0	362	∞
HTC Incredible S	0.18	162	908	0.31	275	880
Apple iPhone 4	0.14	189	1341	0.39	483	1242
HTC Sensation	0.21	173	809	0.61	438	720
Motorola Atrix 4G	0.48	314	652	0.60	598	991

You can learn more about the test here.
Above the screen, we have the proximity and ambient light sensors to the left of the earpiece and the VGA video call camera on the right. Under the earpiece grill hides a small status LED (on the right).

There’s a video-call camera right next to the earpiece this time
Underneath the screen, we find four capacitive keys. The haptic enabled controls are well spaced and very responsive. The keys (Home, Menu, back and search) have extra functionality upon a long-press (task switcher, virtual keyboard, voice search).

There are four capacitive touch keys below the display • Note the curve of the display
The left side of the Sensation is occupied by the microUSB port and the volume rocker. The volume rocker is quite thin but comfortable enough to use. The microUSB port is left uncovered and it also serves as a charger port.
It's a MHL port and not strictly speaking a microUSB port - though it looks and works like one. Plug in a MHL dongle however and the MHL port transforms into HDMI out.
On the right, there's nothing - you weren’t hoping for a shutter key, were you?

The volume rocker and the microUSB port on the left side • The completely bare right side
At the top we find the 3.5mm audio jack (left uncovered) and the Power/Lock key, which is easy enough to press when you want but secure against accidental taps.
As usual, at the bottom of the phone, you will see the mouthpiece. There's also a small latch that lets you pop the phone out of its back cover. That's right, the phone comes out of the back cover, not the other way around.

3.5mm audio jack and a power/screen lock key on top • The microphone pinhole on bottom
The back of the Sensation features the 8MP camera and the dual-LED flash right next to it. The area around the camera protrudes slightly and the camera lens is set quite deep, giving it very good protection against scratches and fingerprints.
The protruding frame around the lens also helps to keep the loudspeaker from getting muffled when you place the phone on a level surface. It's not entirely successful but the sound is still pretty clear.

The camera lens is flanked by the LED flash and the loudspeaker grill
The back plate consists of three parts – a metal piece in the middle and two parts of soft rubbery plastic either side. Each has different finish - looks like patched together and might not be to everyone's taste.
Unfortunately, the back cover houses the antennas for the HTC Sensation - remove the cover and the phone loses all Wi-Fi signal. It's unusually susceptible too to the so-called "death grip" as our tests confirmed.
Actually, you don’t even need a grip to attenuate the antennas - place the phone flat on the palm of your hand and the phone loses a few notches of Wi-Fi signal. In fact, touching the area around the camera and loudspeaker can reduce the Wi-Fi signal to zero.
The cell network antenna also has death grip issues - they're not as bad but your hands around the bottom of the device will cause the signal to weaken. It's nothing to worry about if the signal is strong enough, but in areas of typically poor reception it can make the difference between having and dropping the call.
Beneath the back cover is the microSD card slot (easily how-swappable once you open the phone) and the SIM card compartment, which is blocked by the battery.
The battery is a 1520mAh Li-Ion unit with a little over 14 days of standby (in 2G, over 16 days in 3G) and over 8 hours of talk time (in 2G, nearly 7 hours in 3G).

Once the back cover comes off, we can access the microSD and SIM card slots and the battery
The HTC Sensation is a solidly built phone - we didn’t get a unibody, but there's a good amount of metal on the phone. We also liked the Gorilla glass that curves at the edges.
The Sensation is a bit thick and heavy compared to other phones with similarly sized screens, but we do like phones that have some heft to them.
HTC fans will love the Sensation, though others might find it a bit hard to tell apart from its HTC siblings.

The HTC Sensation felt nice in our hands

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