The smartphone market has evolved to become a crowded and chaotic amalgamation of functionality and aesthetics. It’s no wonder that T-mobile has introduced a phone that clearly distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack. If you are approaching the end of your contract, this phone should be at the top of your consideration.
Exterior
The Sensation has a padded, glossy feel without the smudging and dirt that accumulates on the iPhone. It also grips well in the hand and so far I have not dropped it even once! Albeit, I have not had this phone for very long, in the time I’ve had my iPhone, I have dropped it 7 times, several of those out of frustration. While there is very limited color selection (the phone only comes in black), the availability of 3rd party support for cases and bags more than compensates. I enjoy the color black so I did not feel the need to embellish my phone with unnecessary weight, the cases do provide an extra level of assurance that if you do throw your phone, it will sustain considerably less damage.
The phone also boasts a 4.3 inch screen which is almost twice the size as the iPhone and the picture is several times better. I am able to watch movies in perfect picture all the way from across the room. There is very little glare when I take the phone outside in a sunny day and the exterior buttons are soft and functional. There is a micro-USB port which is not available on the iPhone, not even on the iPhone 2. The phone also fits well in the pocket, it is not the type of phone that bulges out and looks awkward in skinny jeans.
Performance
With the 1.2 GHz dual core processor and the new Android 2.3 (aka “Gingerbread”), this is the fastest phone on the market. This phone is several times faster than my desktop computer. It can load webpages in 0.4 seconds compared to the iPhonewhich takes 16.3 seconds for the same internet. In addition, movies run smoothly without any loading errors or crashing the phone. The time from off to homescreen literally takes less than 2 minutes, even with a low battery. The best part is I can switch from apps quickly without having to restart the phone each time. Clearly an improvement from previous android phones.
Battery Life
Here is one area that the HTC Sensation falls behind with its rival phones. Despite lacking 3D capability, this phone provides less than 2 hours of battery life under entertaining circumstances. If the phone only makes calls it lasts closer to 3-4 hours and a full charge with no application of the phone will last 5-10 hours. One reason is 1520mAh charge which is considerably less than the iPhone’s 3000mAh charge. If you enjoy carrying an extra battery then there usually isn’t an altercation between you and the phone, the other solution is to keep the phone plugged into an outlet at all times.
Final Thoughts
While the HTC sensation is the first 4g phone for the T-mobile market and certainly an improvement over the 2nd iPhone, it leaves many features to be desired. The camera resolution is definitely great at 12 megapixels but it will last you 1 hour of pictures. The better phone to get is the HTC Evo 3D.
Sources: HTC.com, CNET