The HTC Sensation XL has been doing the rounds this week, first popping up on Three before going over to say hello to Vodafone. We’ve just taken delivery of our review model here and have snapped away at what comes with it in the box.
As you’d expect, there’s Beats Audio headphones of the urBeats variety, apparently different to the ones which came with our HTC Sensation XE.
We’re not sure what the difference is besides the name and that the multi-sized rubber earbudas here are white instead of black, matching the pearly hue of the Sensation XL.
Other than these rather fetching looking cans there’s not a huge amount that comes in the box besides the now-standard multi-part USB cable and mains charger.
This Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread-running phone, as you might have heard by now, closely mirrors the specifications of the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango-running HTC Titan.
This means that you get a large, 4.7-inch screen and a powerful 8-megapixel camera with a back-lit sensor for night shots and a panoramic sweep mode. This also means that some of the Windows Phone hardware restrictions – chiefly a WVGA 480 x 800 display res and no micro SD slot – have survived the jump to Android.
Dropbox comes pre-installed, which will give you some measure of cloud storage for your files, and you get a healthy 16GB of internal storage as well. You ought to have plenty of room for your playlists here and if the audio performance is anything like that of the HTC Sensation XE, then we’ve got another great music phone from HTC on our hands.
We’ll be getting to know it a little better over the weekend before we post our review. Until then, we’ve got our usual What’s In The Box? shots for your delectation. Have a good weekend, see you on Monday.
HTC Sense (version 3.5 for those that are counting) is a little different here than it is on the HTC Rhyme. The launcher at the bottom is cut from a differnet cloth although we like that the smaller, less in-you-face clock returns here.
The regular Android buttons in their usual HTC configuration – home, menu, back and search – present and correct on the HTC Sensation XL.
Also present and correct is the Beats branding. It’s less overthere than on the Sensation XE, which had a full-on black and red respray; just a subtle red icon on the back here.
Dropbox comes pre-installed here on the Sensation XL, alongside HTC familiars including HTC Watch and the more utilitarian Flashlight and Mirror apps.
‘8.0 Megapixels’ is etched on the glass around the lens cover of the camera. On paper this is the exact same camera as the one in the HTC Titan; dual LED flash, back lit sensor and 720p HD video. We’re expecting some good night shots form this phone.
Yep, the camera is exactly like the one in the Titan, function-wise at least. You get a panoramic shot mode that stitches pictures together and a burst option for action shots.
The action burst mode takes five snaps in quick succession, like so. As well as this, the colour/effect enhancement options of the HTC Titan also present, for fun post-photo editing.
A close up look at those urBeats ‘phones. That’s a portmanteau of ‘urban’ and ‘Beats’ right? And also a signifier that they’re yours/’urs’.
There’s a handful of interchangeable rubber buds designed for all sizes of lugholes. USB wire and the mains adapter up the top there (in case you were wondering).
Like the HTC Sensation, XE, Evo 3D and Titan, the battery cover pops off by way of a small mechanism at the bottom. It’s a thin piece of metal (like on the Titan) with a plastic white accent at the base.
The HTC Sensation XL’s gizzards. Not at all unlike the inside of the Titan if we’re honest. It’s a very slim and tightly packed phone.
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