HTC Sensation - The Sensational Android

Creating an Android Sensation

Smartphones powered by multi-core processors are slowly but surely conquering the mobile industry as we move into the second half of 2011. In fact, as early as February, NVIDIA showcased its next generation Tegra processors which were well-known to comic book fans.

Regardless, let us bring you back to the present, where dual-core smartphones are becoming the norm in new high-end smartphones. Just a few months ago, we've featured two smartphones that have gone to market with NVIDIA's dual-core Tegra 2 processor. The first of which was the . This was soon followed by the , which utilized the processing power of its Tegra 2 processor as the brains behind the .

With both LG and Motorola offering up its dual-core smartphones, there's no doubt that its competitors such as HTC will up the ante from its lineup. True enough, the HTC Sensation is the Taiwanese company's answer to the growing dual-core smartphone portfolio.

Key Features of HTC Sensation

Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon 1.2GHz processor Qualcomm Adreno 220 GPU 1GB ROM / 768MB RAM Google Android 2.3 with HTC Sense 3.0 4.3-inch qHD S-LCD Gorilla Glass display / 960 x 540 pixels 8-megapixel camera / Dual-LED flash 1520mAh battery Google Android 2.3 OS

Once we held the Sensation in our hands, we felt its solid build quality which oozed class. Weighing in at 148 grams, the Sensation's generous 4.3-inch display filled our palms easily, giving us a good and firm grip. Four well-spaceed touch buttons are located right below the display, with the usual physical buttons controlling the volume on the left, and a power button situated at the crown of the device. Ports are minimal, with a 3.5mm audio port on the top and a microUSB port parked further below the volume buttons.

Curves are prominently featured on the body of the Sensation, with a fine mixture of plastic and metal forming the chassis. From afar, the Sensation has a seemingly unibody design. This is technically true, given how the casing, which also includes the speaker grille and borders, can be separated from its display. Removing the body, however, was quite a challenge. We had to press onto the catch deeply, gripping the borders with our palms before we managed to pry the chassis away. Once that's done, a hot-swappable microSD card slot is immediately spotted, with the SIM card slot hidden underneath the battery.

A Keen Third Sense

HTC is known to put some spark into the Android interface, and we've seen that happening with HTC's Sense user interface. Over the years, the Sense UI has seen some incremental changes, slowly added onto HTC's ongoing lineup.

As such, the Sensation's Sense 3.0 (first seen on the HTC Flyer tablet) builds upon its previous siblings' interface, adding on more elements to enhance the overall usability. Sense 3.0 also provided the opportunity for HTC to introduce a new lock screen that's both customizable and interactive. Much like what we saw on the HTC Flyer, the device is unlocked by pulling the lock ring upwards. You can also gain immediate access to four apps of your choosing by dragging the app icon into the ring.

Besides the four customizable app shortcuts, Sense 3.0 also lets you add another layer of interactivity to the lock screen. This is achieved by pulling relevant materials from apps such as the Friend Stream, Gallery, Stock and even Weather, which are promptly displayed on the lock screen. As such, you can choose to scroll through the latest social network updates, or view a stream of photos from the album straight from the lock screen. Further to that, the abovementioned widgets can also be dragged into the lock ring, which brings you straight to that specific update or photo.

Widgets have always been one of the key focus points of the Android platform. With a wide variety of widgets found on Google Android 2.3 and from the accompanying apps within Android Market, the choices won't end there on this smartphone. Within the Sensation, we found a total of 83 HTC widgets preloaded onto the device. The usual Music, Calendar and many more basic features are given the widget treatment. Some of which are essentially a combination, like the Social Clock that displays the current time and latest update from your social networks.

Certain elements, such as the Quick Settings tab integrated into the notifications system, remain on Sense 3.0. This provides you with immediate access to wireless features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Hotspot and GPS. If you're particular about keeping the Sensation as efficient as possible, you can also access the task manager to kill unnecessary apps running in the background.

Double-Up

Unlike the recent Android devices from LG and Motorola that allied themselves with NVIDIA, HTC continues its long standing partnership with Qualcomm. As such, the Android 2.3 device is loaded with the latest Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon dual-core 1.2GHz processor, coupled with 1GB ROM and 768MB RAM. To translate the above specifications into something more tangible, we subjected the Sensation to the standard series of benchmarks on the Android platform.

• The first benchmark is Quadrant, which measures the device's performance based on its CPU, I/O and GPU. Simply put, Quadrant is a benchmark that gives you a general idea of how your device performs against other Android devices.
  
   
• The second benchmark is NeoCore, targeting the device's GPU performance. This is especially important for the Xperia Play and its role as a full-time Android gaming smartphone.

These benchmarks, as we've mentioned in our earlier reviews, are a rough gauge on the device's performance. Its usability varies according to user preference, but it does provide a median performance level. Our tests were conducted from a fresh reboot of the Sensation.

Comparisons are inevitable, and fortunately, there's sufficient dual-core smartphones in the market for us to see where the Sensation stands against the competition. This includes the earlier LG Optimus 2X and Motorola Atrix, with the Samsung Galaxy S II being the most recent of the lot.

With a score of over 2000 on all four dual-core devices (considering how single-core variants manage only below this mark), the Quadrant benchmark did not deviate much from our expectations. Putting the Sensation against all three other devices gave us a clear indication - the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8260 chipset faltered against the likes of NVIDIA's Tegra 2 and Samsung's own Exynos chipset. With only 768MB of RAM available on the Sensation against the Galaxy S II's 1GB offering, it's not surprising to see a lower Quadrant score from the Sensation. But more than memory availability, it seems the processor's capability resulted in the score we're garnered.

Its NeoCore scores, however, is subjected to discussion. With the LG Optimus 2X being the only device breaking the 60FPS barrier, we wonder if the devices are capped at that particular frame rate. As mentioned, these numbers aren't an accurate depiction of the device's performance. Nonetheless, the Sensation's FPS score of 59.9, against earlier devices that went between the range of 20 to 40, shows a marked improvement in its GPU performance.

Ultimately, it's the user experience that matters. With a juiced up dual-core CPU and GPU installed on the Sensation, it's not surprising to see the graphics intensive Sense 3.0 UI running smoothly on the Sensation. There were no visible lags as we continuously scrolled through pages of apps and widgets.

Apps were loaded within a snap of the finger, which is a testament to the dual-core processor running the show. We spent a generous amount of time on games such as Angry Birds and Dungeon Defenders with numerous apps running in the background. Fortunately, the Sensation survived the ordeal without any apps crashing on us. Still, due caution still has to be taken to keep the amount of running apps low. But that is where the task manager comes in useful.

Mobile Cinema Sensation

Similar to the Atrix, the Sensation moves into the qHD resolution realm, with 960 x 540 pixels being spread across its 4.3-inch S-LCD display. Coupled with SRS audio enhancement, the Sensation also comes with a 5.1 surround sound mode, which is only applicable when you plug in your earphones. When we ran a movie trailer with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, we were not prepared for the cinematic experience that came with it. The strong, powerful booms from the audio enhancement made a world of difference while we watched the movie clip.  Needless to say, the generous 4.3-inch display makes it easy on our eyes, and we are quite pleased with the details and colors from its 960 x 540 pixels resolution.

Armed with an 8-megapixel sensor and a pair of LED flash, the Sensation also comes with 1080p video recording capabilities. These imaging specifications are nothing short of impressive, but can it perform to our expectations? Our imaging tests will answer that question with the following test pictures.

On closer inspection, the resolution chart did not return results that impressed us. The final imaging results were average at best, with a decent amount of details and sharpness seen in the images. Color reproduction was mostly flat, lacking a strong vividness to its hues. At an 8-megapixel resolution, you might be adverse to a significant amount of noise found on the final image.

The final performance test we performed on the Sensation is the battery test. with a selected group of devices chosen based on their similarities across battery capacities, display sizes, resolution and processing power. Our testing methodology involves test video with a 480 x 800 pixels resolution looping under the following conditions:

• Screen brightness and volume at 100%
  
   
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection active
  
   
• Constant data stream via email and Twitter

To ascertain how well its dual-core processor will handle its power management and battery mileage, we compared other similar dual-core Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, Motorola Atrix and LG Optimus 2X.

After all the praises we've sung for the Sensation, this is the part where the HTC smartphone faltered. The combination of a dual-core processor and a 4.3-inch screen with a higher resolution put the Sensation's battery mileage at slightly less than four hours. The stark contrast between the Sensation and Galaxy S II is very obvious, with the latter clocking in with twice the numbers from the Sensation. A power efficient Super AMOLED Plus display, with a slightly higher battery capacity on the Galaxy S II, does make a whole lot of difference.

Though the Sensation and Motorola Atrix share the same screen resolution, we see a two-hour gap between both devices, with the Atrix taking the lead. While the most likely answer to the Atrix's higher battery life comes from its generous 1930mAh battery, a smaller screen size at 4.0-inches for the Atrix the NVIDIA Tegra 2 are also likely factors to consider. The same can be said for the LG Optimus 2X, which also utilizes the same NVIDIA processor. In short, against Samsung's Exynos' and NVIDIA's chipsets, the Qualcomm Snapdragon option could be a damper in your battery mileage.

Another obvious point to note is the Sensation's portability, given how its overall dimensions and weight are somewhat on the higher range. Coupled with 220 minutes of battery time clocked on it, the Sensation had the lowest portability index amongst the dual-core smartphone lineup, making it the least likely choice for someone who values a fine balance between mileage and ease of carrying.

For its real world usage, the Sensation was subjected to the usual calls, SMS, web browsing and apps loading on both the Wi-Fi and 3G networks. It managed to reflect our earlier numbers, with no more than a full working day (approximately 16 hours) before we depleted the charge.

A Good Blend

As smartphones continue to break the barriers of multi-core processors and faster clock speeds, some distinguish themselves from the competition. The HTC Sensation is one such example.

Its solid build quality and 148g weight does well in portraying a robust and powerful feel out of the Sensation. While HTC markets the Sensation with a unibody design, you can still separate its chassis to access the removable battery. The experience isn't pleasant though, mixed in with frustrating moments as we tried to pry the chassis open with difficulty.

The Sensation is more suitable for power users who wish to get the most and the best out of their smartphone. With Google's Android 2.3 operating system as the backbone, HTC adds more bells and whistles with its intuitive and updated HTC Sense 3.0 user interface. Sense 3.0 provides users with immediate access to four apps of your choice. By simply swiping the app icon towards the ring, you save on a few extra steps to unlock and access the app from the home screen or menu.

Home screen access is also enhanced, with a carousel interface that lets you continuously scroll through the seven different home pages on the Sensation. From its notifications, we also noticed more enhancements in the form of recent apps and a Quick Settings tab. This tab brings up a list of common features such as Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot, Bluetooth and even a task manager to monitor and close idling apps in the background.

In reality, we weren't too concerned with killing apps on the Sensation. Thanks to its 768MB RAM, multi-tasking was well handled with minimal lag observed. Furthermore, the Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon dual-core 1.2GHz processor, coupled with Qualcomm's latest Adreno 220 GPU, served up a smooth experience with the HTC Sense user interface.

Imaging is nothing to shout about, seeing how its 8-megapixel camera returned images with a lot less attention to details and vividness than what we've seen on other cameras. While it does come with 1080p video recording capabilities, you won't get quality close to dedicated 1080p video cameras.

As a media player, its 4.3-inch S-LCD display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels gets the job done well. Coupled with SRS audio enhancement and a 5.1 surround sound mode with a 3.5mm earphone, the Sensation managed to create a cinematic experience. Its battery mileage bordered slightly below our expectations of less than a day for casual usage. With its 1520mAh battery, we managed to get moderate usage out of calls, data services and multimedia playback on it. Where its battery life was working against the plus points of the device was when we looped a video continuously to mimic constant intensive usage.

Considering the amount of hardware and software enhancements loaded onto this Android device, the $838 pricing (without contract) makes it one of the most reasonably priced high-end smartphone to date. That's just the suggested retail price and it gets even more tantalizing when you consider its street price as shown in our latest price option above.

In short, if you're looking for a high-end smartphone with a perfect balance between features and performance that won't burn a hole in your pocket, the HTC Sensation is a good fit. It definitely presents great value in its category of devices and hence we've also bestowed the Sensation with our Best Value award for a high-end smartphone device. Just take note that its battery life isn't as ideal we would have hoped for, but if you often charge your phone at work and office, this shouldn't be too much of a concern.

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