As an avid Android user, when I was able to get my hands on the HTC Sensation, I could not wait to see if I would be happy with this new phone. It already had one upped the competition in the 4.3 inch smart phone debut date, but was it a phone that would satisfy me as a user?
Battery Life
As phones have developed, they offer us more and more options in the area of apps, features, and picture quality but that has come at a cost. The battery life of a smart phone seems to never be long enough for me. When using the camera on the HTC Sensation, whether it be for video or still shots, it does use a noticeable amount of battery life. However in all other aspects it seems to use less power than I expected. Most noticeable for me, was the fact that the Sensation retains battery life when being used sparingly. With my Gmail and Facebook updating and the random text message, the battery life is a lot longer than I would have expected.
Display
As I said in the opening paragraph this phone is a 4.3 inch phone which leaves a lot of room for viewing. In addition with a resolution of 960 x 540 the picture quality is vivid. The combination of the two provides for a better viewing experience with apps, internet, and video in terms of the amount of material you can view at once. On the other has the viewing angles on the sensation are not great and although it is a great viewing experience, I don’t think it is a perfect one.
Camera
With an 8 megapixel camera, this camera is no slouch. The new Instant Capture software makes taking pictures a blast, it has seriously reduced the lag time between pictures. In addition the picture quality in most cases was noteworthy, on occasion there is a color/tone issue. The video quality is also an advantage of this phone, the quality is clear and the blurry motions are minimized. It is worth noting it is a camera phone. If you want professional looking pictures you’ll need a ‘real’ camera; but as far a cell phone cameras go, this one is top notch.
Sound Quality
I realize this is not a deal breaker in most cases, but I think it’s worth noting that the sound quality on this phone is a relatively good experience. In my opinion the speakerphone works great. Whether placed right side up or upside down it seemed to have the same sound quality for both myself and the person I called. The earpiece generally has good sound quality, but it’s position for me, was a bit high. When I was talking it was in most cases above where I would have gotten the best sound. The loudspeaker worked good, but as a whole the earphone experience was the best. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound quality experience when listening to music through my earphones.
Performance
As you can tell from the previous sections, there are very few complaints I have about this phone. The apps open quickly, video viewing is sensational, and the speed with which all aspects of the phone work is enjoyable. Overall its a great phone, you can find fault if you dig enough, and although it’s not a perfect experience, it’s as close to perfect as you can get. (Until the next new phone comes out of course)