HTC Sensation Communicator review

Recently, HTC has started calling its devices well, oh-so-very loud 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 didn’t match their “nicknames”, then this gadget can really be called a sensation - it's 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.
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The gadget has really become 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 lies in your hand just fine - it doesn't seem like a shovel at all Apparently, because of the rounded corners and the new aspect ratio of the screen.

Inside, he really has a fiery engine - a Qualcomm MSM 8260 dual-core 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 (combination of Android 2.3 and Sense 3.0 shell) is optimized for work with two cores, and the handset will not be discharged by the middle of the working day.

With the operative, however, the network prophets did not guess a little. I would like, of course, that there was a gigabyte, but no - there is only 768 megabytes. However, I can not say that it somehow strongly influences the speed - a test sample without brakes twisted the 3D carousel of the new interface, showed high-resolution video and opened heavy websites.


The case of this smartphone is almost Unibody: in this all-aluminum frame all the filling is inserted into the case - it is very convenient.

Speaking of video! Sensation can shoot 1080p movies 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 vouch for 100 percent, but promised that such a function will be implemented.

The captured can be displayed on large screens using a wireless interface via DLNA or via HDMI. It is difficult to notice the corresponding port in the photographs and videos, but it is still there, just hidden in the micro USB connector. Unfortunately, there is no complete adapter in the kit, but it will be possible to buy 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.

Soft

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

The weather widget has become much more colorful, but the functionality has not increased.

In addition, HTC has implemented a method of typing on the keyboard, similar to the Samsung Swype, when when you do not need to take your finger off the screen. Only it is called the HTC Trace Keyboard. Another interesting solution for working with text is copy, paste, etc. gesture recognition. 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, which allows “on the knee” to mount simple videos.

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

The SMS chat interface has changed a bit. Messages no longer go off, but appear in text "clouds".

Well, for sweetness: in the engineering sample, the ability to take screenshots was realized by holding down the power button on the device and the return key to the main screen. I was told in confidence that maybe this feature will be transferred to a commercial sample.

Photo / video

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



There were no problems with photo mode. We managed to take a few 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 once again managed to wipe out everyone’s nose. Sensation is the most convenient android phone I held in my hands. Closer to June, it should appear on sale, and I think that even despite the rather big price (there are no specific numbers yet, but obviously more than 25k, because this is still the flagship) it will be in very high demand.

TTX

Screen: Super LCD, 4.3 ", 960 x 540, capacitive
Processor: Qualcomm MSM 8260, 1.2 GHz
RAM: 768 MB
Built-in 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 megapixels, double flash, autofocus + 0.3 megapixels. for video calls
Navigation: GPS, GPS
OS: Google Android 2.3 + interface HTC Sense 3.0
Sound: .aa, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma
Battery: 1520 mAh
Dimensions: 126.1 x 65.4 x 11.3 mm
Weight: 148 grams