UPDATED: We've had our hands on a new review unit, and have expanded our test as a result, which includes new battery life findings.
HTC has gone from being an unknown manufacturer for bigger brands to one spewing out leading Android smartphones. The Desire was a landmark phone in the fight against the iPhone, but now tech has moved up a level - can the HTC Sensation stay at the sharp end?
With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Motorola Atrix and (to a degree) the LG Optimus 2X, dual-core phones have become the darling of the tech enthusiast.
And HTC has recognised that in bringing out a phone that ticks all the boxes for the most sought-after tech, bringing an 8MP camera, 1080p video recording, a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset and a qHD resolution 4.3-inch screen.
We've decided to test out the new HTC flagship in front of the camera, so if you want to see it with real life moving pictures, check it out:
Coming in at £35 a month on a two year deal, or £500 SIM free, it's matching the cost of other high end smartphones at the moment - but given it's HTC's flagship device, we'd expect it costing a little more than the masses.
The design of the HTC Sensation is a little bit larger than its rivals, in that it comes in at 11.3mm thick - noticeably thicker than the likes of the Galaxy S2, but still feeling comfortable in the hand.
The screen is also a different animal to most of the 4.3-inch offerings out there - with the qHD (540x960) resolution display, the Sensation is a thinner offering while still allowing movies to be played in widescreen.
The phone itself is encased in toughened plastic and aluminium (which feels more like plastic) through the stripe in the centre - the whole back of the phones pulls away from the main device, with the antenna and suchlike pumped into the chassis rather than on the phone itself.
Getting the back of the phone off through the little catch at the bottom is much harder than it looks, with the fingers needed to prise it apart almost holding it in place at the same time - wiggling and shaking is needed to get to the battery and microSD card slot.
The power/lock button is placed on the top right hand side of the phone, and sits probably a little too close to the chassis to be easily pressed - although it's more of a minor annoyance than a deal breaker.
HTC is one of the few brands that's still keeping faith with the dedicated search key, (the likes of the Sony Ericsson Arc and Galaxy S2 have done away with it altogether) but the keys are touch sensitive like the HTC Desire S, and react instantly to a feathery fingering.
The headphone socket is at the top of the Sensation (rather than taking its design cues from the larger-screened phones like the Desire HD, which liked to plonk it at the bottom) but is probably a little close to the edge of the phone - getting a good grip when holding the phone to watch video can be a little hard.
HTC has long had a problem with screen visibility in direct sunlight, and it seems that issue has continued somewhat with the Sensation. It's definitely a step up, as at medium brightness you can make out what's on the screen, but compare it to the iPhone 4's Retina Display or the Super AMOLED Plus of the Galaxy S2 and it's miles behind. However, the resolution is definitely a step forward, and the sharpness of the text is impressive.
The HTC Sensation isn't in the same 'thin and super light' category of many of today's smartphones - it comes in at nearly 150g compared to the helium-esque devices on the market today - but it's a solid build quality and one you wouldn't panic about too much if you saw it plummeting towards a carpeted floor.
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Your comments (35) Click to add a new comment
bobone
September 22nd
35. There is an update in the test saying the new Sensation has better battery managment . Would be handy to tell what model , or how a heck can we know what we are dealing with ? Especially I want to buy from internet .
Cheers
ps. pls help if anybody can , I want to buy
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johnno80
September 13th
34. Had the sensation nearly a week and found sometimes it runs slow so spoke to tmob who sent an update down and are sending out a new sim as old one has older settings. If you do get one I would advise to get a decent case as I feel if dropped would go into many pieces. Overall its brilliant
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bc1
July 27th
33. I solved the battery problem easily. I purchased a replacement battery from Amazon - it is an ANKER LI-Ion battery, cost about £7. Battery life instantly much better, although I am still using the Juice Defender app.
Will always do an overnight charge though!
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coolfx35
June 26th
32. I had problems connecting to the computer as well, and while chatting with HTC-support I changed the USB-port, and guess what... USB3 did not work, USB2 did. Strange, but that was all, and I was connected to HTC Synk. About connecting to HTCsence.com, I had problems too. The "flash-wheel" kept turning , but thats it. But again, after a while, and lots of waiting, I came trough, and since that it has'nt been any problem. Post this question on http://www.htcsensationforum.com but no response.Seems like this brilliant phone needs some time to understand itself......
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tony_j
June 16th
31. On the battery issue...I have had a Desire for 12 months & the battery life has been lousy - ead by the evening most days. I came across an interesting battery conditioning sequence that seems to have an astonishing effect:
1) Charge for 8 hours with the phone switched on.
2) Unplug & turn the phone off. Plug in again & charge for 1 hour.
3) Unplug, turn the phone on for 2 mins, turn it off again, plug in & charge for 1 hour.
Tried this sequence overnight/this morning; the phone has been on since 09:30 and now (15:00) still showing 90% charge. That is significant improvement since yesterday.
Would be interesting to see if a similar sequence works with the Sensation.
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kiransamy
June 7th
30. I am impressed how responsive the Sensation was. I had Nokias, Sony Ericsson and now using the HTC Mozart for over a year now. When I first received my HTC, I was flabbergasted at how "annoyingly" fast it is but had become accustomed to it now.
I dropped it twice and still very reliable. HTC service have been very fast and courteous when I had an inquiry about synchronization. Regarding battery issues, I found out virtually all phones with loads of capabilities like the Sensation will benefit by turning non essential services off.
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garethtbeavis
June 6th
29. Hey all - just to let you know we've finally got a new review unit in and have been testing the battery thoroughly - we'll bring you the results in the next day or two.
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milkpowder
June 4th
28. Personally speaking, it'll come down to the developer community. If the bootloader will be unlocked -and- developers are willing to embrace it, then this is going to be a winner. There's a lot of hardware there to be exploited. Just look at how far the Desire, HD2, Evo4G have come, they're for all intents and purposes completely different phones because of great devs. It does admittedly require a lot of -user- motivation to perform all the ROM/kernel/radio/etc flashes, and I don't expect the average consumer to bother, but it's well worth it IMHO.
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mrcheesecake
June 2nd
27. @alexreid81 I had my Desire repaired through HTC as it had a defect with the micro usb hole in the bottom of the phone, phoned them up, they arranged for my phone to be picked up the next day, was told it would take 20 days on average for the repair turnaround but 10 days later it turned up, good as new.
I know alot of people have had issues with repairs from them recently but I must say my experience was far better than expected...
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alexreid81
June 2nd
26. STEER CLEAR OF HTC! I own a HTC smartphone and just like everyone else here, was of the opinion that they're great to have. Don't go by looks or the fact that you've had no issues in over a month. A lot of HTC handsets have developed touchscreen issues within a year or around a year and one month - it's to do with a navigation bar hanging and the touchscreen not letting you use the phone - and this is a manufacturing defect that HTC won't admit nor make a recall like any reliable company would do.
The HTC UK customer support is the worst of the worst on the planet. I sent my HTC handset in for repairs in April around the 8th for it was within the warranty period and guess what?
First, they keep my phone with them for nearly two months. and am not the only customer stranded without my handset - they've done it to hundreds of customers giving an excuse that they've opened a new repair centre or that they're waiting for parts.
Then came the second disastrous thing they did: they returned my phone on 24th may saying that it had been repaired but sent it back without the battery.
when they take your phone for repairs they ask that you send in your handset with the battery but then they return the handset without it.
I complained about it again and they've not got back in nearly two weeks.
So HTC is great for appearances etc but wait until you face a repair issue and you'll see how they wash their hands clean and leave you without your phone for three months. HTC after sales support is horrible.
And unlike apple or other manufacturers, HTC doesn't release OS updates in a timely manner to customers who bought their phones recently instead leaving you without updates expecting you to shell out a fortune on another handset of theirs soon after a year or around that time.
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skippy124
June 1st
25. been using this phone for about a week now and have to say it hasnt let me down at all, the battery life is good wifi constantly on, push email on all accounts and background sync and the battery lasts a good day and a half to 2 days, so i suspect a duff unit that was reviewed, after my previous experineces with samsung i refused to even considered the sgs2 and im absoulutely pleased with my choice
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vrikey
May 31st
24. I just wanna say I like the lady in the vid, what a thweet wittle lithsp, I think she's a keep-her. I look forward to seeing her do more vids here, she's a cutie besides.
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tony_j
May 31st
23. OK...so now where does it fit in your top 20?
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jaidensmith01
May 30th
22. no doubt it is one of the best Android Smartphone which is going to go a long way!!
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assilok
May 30th
21. 2 things that htc needs :
- to have their own type of screen
- to include 8gb of memory minimum in ALL smartphones (and 4gb dedicated for apps)
then it will be a nicer company.
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bradavon
May 29th
20. Agreed.
The Desire HD has 1.5Gb, so this is even less but it should really be 8Gb minimum nowadays. Both the Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 offer either 16Gb or 32Gb plus a MicroSD slot.
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demonhighwayman
May 29th
19. Why do HTC keep shafting customers with the internal memory ? After having both the htc hero and htc desire, i know how important it is, i won't get another htc until they sort out the small memory problem. I think the galaxy s 2 will be my next phone.
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bradavon
May 28th
18. It's clear Samsung is after customers by making the Galaxy S2 technically superior (Wifi Direct, USB on the go), whereas HTC is going for people who like the media aspects of iPhone: Buy/rent movies, edit videos, eBook reader etc...
The iPhone is lacking in social networking integration though, something both the Sensation and Galaxy S2 do well.
I wish Facebook Messaging and Chat was integrated though. The APIs are available, why not use them?
The Facebook App would be easily beaten.
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bradavon
May 28th
17. * As others have said, where's the camera section of the review?
* Where's the on-board Apps and Maps section?
* Is HTC Locations still included (or just Google Maps)? I'm guessing it is, it's on the Desire S.
* Does HTCSense.com work with the HTC Sensation? That was launched with the Desire HD/Desire Z and offers some of the functionality the Galaxy S3 enjoys with Samsung's Kies.
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