Blitz review of HTC Sensation

Recently, HTC began to call its devices well, oh, very big names: Desire, Incredible, and today a month ahead of schedule (by the way, why? Any ideas?) A new flagship called Sensation was introduced in London. But if the first two did not fully correspond to their "nicknames", then this gadget can really be called a sensation - it is so cool!

Iron

Almost all the rumors about him were confirmed: the smartphone is equipped with a 4.3-inch Super LCD screen with a resolution of 960 by 560 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16: 9.

The gadget really became thinner and lighter (126.1 X 65.4 X 11.3 mm and 148 grams in Sensation versus 68 x 123 x 12 mm and 164 grams in Desire HD) and it’s just fine in your hand - it doesn’t seem at all a shovel, apparently due to the rounded corners and the new aspect ratio of the screen.

Inside, he really has a fiery motor - a dual-core Qualcomm MSM 8260 processor with a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz. Moreover, according to company representatives, despite the fact that the battery capacity is only 1520 mAh, the firmware (a combination of Android 2.3 and the Sense 3.0 shell) is optimized for working with two cores, and the handset will not discharge by the middle of the working day.

With the RAM, however, the network prophets did not guess a little. Of course, I would like to have a gigabyte, but no - there are only 768 megabytes. However, I can’t say that this somehow strongly affects the performance - the test sample without brakes twisted the 3D carousel of the new interface, showed high-resolution video and opened heavy sites.


The case of this smartphone is almost Unibody: in this all-aluminum frame, the entire filling is inserted as in a case - very convenient.

Speaking of the video! Sensation can shoot 1080p videos with its 8 megapixel camera at 30 frames per second. And in the photo mode, a set of scenes appeared, as well as the ability to shoot panoramas and HDR. Regarding the latter, however, I can not guarantee 100 percent, but they promised that such a function would be realized.

The footage can be displayed on large screens using a wireless interface via DLNA or via HDMI. In the pictures and videos it is difficult to notice the corresponding port, but it is there, just hidden in the micro-USB connector. Unfortunately, there is no necessary adapter in the kit, but it will be possible to purchase it for not very big money.

Another of the new "iron" chips - the ability to work in modem mode for Apple devices and print documents on any wireless printer that can be found.

Software

But the most important thing is the new Sense. The lock screen has changed - now you can display the necessary shortcuts on it, and use a special ring to start it.

The weather widget became much more colorful, but the functionality did not increase.

In addition, HTC has implemented a method of typing on the keyboard, similar to Samsung Swype, when when you do not need to take your finger off the screen. It’s only called HTC Trace Keyboard. Another interesting solution for working with text is the recognition of gestures copy, paste, etc. To cut something, for example, you need to select a fragment, and then draw a circle on the screen and cross it out.

In Sense 3.0, among other things, there is a video editor that allows you to mount simple clips on your knee.

Finally, a convenient task manager appeared, so Sensation owners do not have to install additional software.

The interface of SMS chats has slightly changed. Messages no longer go smoothly, but appear in textual “clouds”.

Well, for dessert: in the engineering sample, the ability to take screenshots was realized by holding down the power button of the device and the return key to the main screen. They told me in secret that maybe this feature will be transferred to the commercial model.

Photo / Video

The final sample of HTC Sensation will shoot Full HD video, and the engineering sample allowed to record video only in VGA format.



There were no problems with the photo mode. I managed to take several pictures with a resolution of eight megapixels. They look good on the display of a smartphone, but if they are displayed on a large screen, strong noises become noticeable.


Open image in full resolution


Open image in full resolution


Open image in full resolution


Open image in full resolution

Summary

In my opinion, HTC again managed to wipe everyone’s nose. Sensation is the most convenient android phone that I held in my hands. Closer to June, it should appear on sale, and I think that despite the rather big price (there are no specific figures yet, but obviously more than 25k, because this is still the flagship), it will be in great demand.

TTX

Screen: Super LCD, 4.3 ", 960 x 540, capacitive
Processor: Qualcomm MSM 8260, 1.2 GHz
RAM: 768 MB
Internal memory: 1 GB + microSD up to 32 GB
Communications: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0
Connectors: micro-USB, 3.5 mm, HDMI (via adapter)
Cameras: 8 MP, dual flash, autofocus + 0.3 MP for video calls
Navigation: GPS, GPS
OS : Google Android 2.3 + interface HTC Sense 3.0
Sound: .aas, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma
Battery: 1520 mAh
Dimensions: 126.1 x 65.4 x 11, 3 mm
weight: 148 grams