The HTC Sensation has arrived- and it’s packing a huge 4.3-inch display, with a quarter high-definition (qHD) display, perfect for video and pictures.
It’s also coated in Gorilla Glass, to protect that curved screen from anything else in your pocket or bag. The Sensation follows the styling of the reinvted Desire, Incredible and Wildfire, though the bigger screen does single the Sensation out.
Alongside HTC’s tablet, the Flyer, the Sensation has Android Gingerbread (2.3.3) that’s the bleeding edge of Android- and arrives with the new version of HTC Sense, their own extra Android seasonings.
This time HTC has added a zippy new lock-screen, where you can jump straight to four special shortcut apps.
There’s also a new on-demand video service; HTC Watch, where you can both buy and rent films and TV show episodes.
The microUSB port has MHL, meaning it will connect to any HDTVs with a HDMI connection- as long as you have the right cable.
Inside the curved unibody casing is a dual-core processor, the Sensation is packing a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor, putting it up there with Samsung’s Galaxy S2 on the superphone power benchmarks.
Can the Sensation topple the Galaxy S2? Get our review next week, and until then, click through for some more eye-candy.
Peeping out the box, the Sensation arrives just like the rest of HTC’s 2011 line-up- an understated black slider. All the accessory gubbins are hidden beneath.
From left to right; all the instructions, covering HTC Sense, general setup, T&Cs, Sensation handset, microUSB-USB cable, headphones, and AC adapter.
Both the AC adapter and headphone have the same glossy black finish. You’ll have to swap between the AC charger and connecting the phone to your PC- there’s only the one cable.
This picture shows the curved gorilla glass screen. This means you can rest your phone on surfaces without fears of ruining that huge display.
With HTC Sense on the Sensation, this means you can also mute unwanted calls with a flip.
Here’s that unibody design. Push in the ‘catch’ at the bottom of the phone and the whole backing and sides come off.
That’s an eight-megapixel camera, capable of full high-definition video recording, and packed with dual LED flash.
On the side, you’ll find the volume rocker and microUSB port- as we said early, this can be connected to a HDMI-in port with the right lead.
At the top, there’s the screen-lock and power-off switch. 3mm headphone lead’s here too.
It’s certainly not skinny, but Recombu likes a bit of weight on a smartphone.
Lifting off the unibody cover, and you’ll find an 8GB microSD card that comes with the phone, and the battery- hopefully enough to power the HTC Sensation through a few days of use.
We’ve lined up HTC’s latest with some of the competition; HTC Sensation vs LG Optimus 2X vs Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc.
Stacked together the HTC Sensation and LG Optimus 2X the difference in thickness is negligable. They both pack a dual-core processor.
It’s not going to beat the Xperia Arc; the skinny single-core smartphone from Sony Ericsson.
Here’s the Sensation alongside its tablet stablemate, the Flyer.
Aside from the obvious size difference, the internal software is almost identical- aside from the stylus features found on the Flyer.
Here’s our current obsession those beautiful weather animations. It’s sunny in Hackney. (It won’t last.)
Seattle is mostly sunny, and it’s a little earlier there. No sunset just yet.
And it’s the middle of the night in Tokyo. It may not be a full-moon though. We await the update!
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