Description
The HTC Sensation is certainly extra-large, but does it live up to the rest of its name? With its giant 4.7-inch screen and Beats Audio headphones, the XL gives us a tingling sensation.
The styling is certainly larger-than-life. The XL is draped in crisp white with a glossy edge-to-edge screen and matte aluminium rear. The silky screen and muscular metal casing combine in fine style, and it's solid too: there's no flex or creakiness to the body.
One section of the back is made of plastic, a necessity since the phone signal can't fight its way through metal. The XL neatly compromises between the strength and allure of a metal body with strong, consistent reception.
We found the size wasn't a problem to hold, but it isn't suited for dainty hands. The power button's positioning at the top is a little awkward to stretch to, and could have been better placed on the side of the phone.
The Sensation XL is an Android-powered version of the Titan, another oversized smartphone from HTC. If you're trying to decide between the Titan and the XL, the biggest difference is the software on board. Where the Titan runs Windows Phone with its big colourful squares on screen, the XL runs Android.
Android is based around home screens that you can fill with shortcuts and apps. It's more flexible than Windows Phone, offering more scope to personalise what you see on screen and tinker with what's behind the scenes, but we'd argue it's not as simple and clear to use.
The XL runs version 2.3.5 of Android. It's no longer the latest version but is still packed with features. HTC adds to Android with its Sense interface, which gives you a nifty 3D effect to the home screens, nicer icons, and one-touch access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Airplane mode.
Another clever feature is the option to reject a call with a text message saying "I'm busy, I'll call you later", which you can change to your own personal message.
The Locations map app can download maps in advance of a journey and saves them on your phone so you don't need to connect to the Internet as you're travelling. That saves on data charges, especially useful if you're travelling abroad.
Both the Titan and XL feature a decent eight-megapixel camera. And both are powered by the same single-core Qualcomm processor, which is fast and powerful. True gadget fiends may prefer a dual-core chip though.
Neither phone lets you add a memory card, so when you've filled the 16GB you have to start deleting photos, music and movies or juggling them between your phone and your computer. There's plenty of space for music, but the screen entices you to watch lots of full-length, high quality movies and a few of those will fill the space fast.
The screen is fantastic for watching movies and videos, or playing games. It isn't as crisp as other phones like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which boasts high definition detail in a slightly smaller display. But the quality of the XL's screen even makes the phone's incidental animations look a treat - a particular highlight is the weather live wallpaper, which fills the screen with a glorious rendering of the current conditions where you are, even switching between sunlight and moonlight depending on the time.
But it's when watching movies that the XL comes into its own. The screen is so big that you can't help but be drawn into whatever cinematic masterpiece you happen to be watching. Usefully, you can view trailers and download movies straight to your phone thanks to the HTC Watch service.
So the XL looks great, and it sounds great too. It comes with headphones made by Beats Audio, the headphone brand developed by hip-hop legend Dr Dre, and there's Beats software built-in to the phone itself. Plug in the white and red in-ear headphones and a Beats logo glows red in the notifications bar, letting you know that your tunes are being beefed up Dre-style. What that amounts to is fuller, richer sound with extra bass.
If that doesn't sound like your kind of sound, simply turn the Beats enhancements off and enjoy your music on the headphones, which even without software enhancement are still a cut above the shoddy earbuds that come with most phones.
The Sensation XL is little short of sensational. Taking a big bright screen and the flexible, intuitive Android as starting points, the XL adds a tasty dollop of Sense and a sprinkle of great Beats Audio sound. The lack of a memory card is a disappointment, but if you're hands are big enough the XL is a perfect fit.
Look and feel
The sleek yet brawny styling balances size and comfort, but it's not for smaller hands
Ease of use
HTC smoothes Android into an attractive and simple proposition
Features
Music lovers will love the Sensation XL, but not the lack of a memory card slot
Performance
Speedy and capable
Battery life
For a smartphone with a power-sucking huge screen that cries out for extended movie-watching, lasting the day earns our respect
Pro
