In our HTC Sensation XL review we look at the larger version if the HTC Sensation, which comes with a larger display and some upgrades over the original HTC Sensation.
As the name suggests the HTC Sensation XL has be super sized over the original Sensation, the Sensation XL features a 4.7 inch touchscreen display, as opposed to a 4.3 inch display in the original Sensation.
The HTC Sensation featured a qHD display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, where as the Sensation XL features a lower resolution of 480 x 800 pixels.
The 4.7 inch display makes the device pretty large, have a look at the photo below, which compares the Sensation XL to the iPhone 4S, which has a 3.5 inch display, this will give you a good idea of just how large the HTC Sensation XL is.
HTC Sensation XL Hardware Specifications
The HTC Sensation XL features a 4.7 inch Super LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, processing is provided by a single core 1.5GHz processor and it comes with 16GB of built in storage.
There is no microSD card slot on the HTC Sensation XL, which means you are limited to the 16GB of built in storage, and it also features dual cameras, with a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat and a rear facing 8 megapixel camera for photos and video.
You also get 768MB of RAM, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, HSDPA and HSUPA, plus 802.11 b/g/n Wifi, DLNA, plus a micro USB port, it also comes with Beats Audio, and comes bundled with a pair of Beats Solo headphones.
HTC Sensation XL Design, Display And UI
The HTC Sensation XL features a 4.7 inch WVGA Super LC display, which has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, as opposed to the qHD resolution on the original HTC Sensation.
The display looks pretty good, it isn’t one of the best displays we have seen, although it certainly isn’t the worst, and everything looks pretty good one the display.
Colors look bright and vibrant, and although the device has a lower resolution that the original Sensation, things actually look better on the Sensation XL’s display.
The handset certainly feels like a well made device, it features a metal casing on the back along with some white plastic bumpers at the top and bottom of the handset, which you can see in the photo below.
The HTC Sensation XL features HTC’s custom user interface HTC Sense, and the version on the device is HTC Sense 3.5, although HTC recently released a new version with their latest devices.
HTC Sensation XL Processor And Camera
The HTC Sensation XL features a single core 1.5GHz processor, which does a good job at a variety of tasks, but isn’t exactly the fastest on a smartphone we have tested out.
The Sensation XL features two camera, up front there is a 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat, which does a pretty good job and exactly what you would expect.
The rear camera on the device is an 8 megapixel camera, which unfortunately is limited to 720p HD video as opposed to 1080p video in the original Sensation.
It also doesn’t feature any sort of image stabilization, it doesn’t do a bad job at taking photos, have a look at the sample photo below in full resolution.
Video isn’t bad, but certainly not as good as other devices, have look at the video sample below which was recorded on the HTC Sensation XL, with the standard settings at the maximum resolution of 720p.
The HTC Sensation XL has another feature for video recording you can record slow motion videos, although this is done at a lower resolution.
HTC Sensation XL Battery Life
The HTC Sensation XL features a 1,600 mAh battery, and considering the large display, the battery didn’t do a bad job, although if you area heavy user you can expect to charge the device once a day.
More moderate users might get about a day and a half out of the device, although it really depends what you are using it for, watching videos on the large display seems to drain the battery more than anything.
Conclusion
The HTC Sensation XL has some good points and also no so good points, the camera is fine for photos, but not so good for recording video, the display on the device is pretty good though and this is one of the devices plus points.
Overall the HTC Sensation XL isn’t a bad Android smartphone, but considering its price there are definitely better Android smartphones out there for the same money.
The model we tested in this review was from UK mobile operator Three, who have the device available with a range of monthly contracts, the handset is also available from a range of other carriers here in the UK, as well as being available SIM free from a number of online retailers for around £400.
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