Even though all eyes are on the Galaxy Nexus right now, HTC has just announced one hell of a phone, the Sensation XL. This handset packs a massive 4.7 inch display, 1.5 GHz single-core processor, Beats audio support, and your very own unicorn. (Unicorns in limited quantities)
This gorgeous handset is one beast of hardware that showcases what HTC does best, which is make incredible hardware. The 4.7 inch display is massive but is a bit of a miss when it comes to resolution. The XL ships with a 800×480 resolution, which not only is a downgrade from the original Sensation but spreading the pixels across such a large display may leave you wanting something with a little more umph.
The XL is only 9.9 mm thin yet packs a punch like you wouldn’t believe. The Qualcomm MSM8255 1.5 single-core processor may lack the allure of having the extra core we’re used to seeing in most high-and Android phones today but it should still make for a pleasant experience through and through.
While we’re not completely sold on HTC’s 300 million dollar investment for Beats audio support but we can’t certainly can’t say it’s a bad thing. There’s enough going on in this phone to make it a worth competitor to a good chunk of Android smartphones today and beats may just be the cherry on top for some. Still, I wouldn’t be rushing to grab a handset solely on the fact that it has Beats audio.
As you’d expect, the XL ships with HTC Sense and love it or hate it, it’s one of the best Android experiences around today. That said, Sense is more than bloated and offers up a handful of applications you’ll probably never use. Either way, bloated or not, the Android skin is slick and looks great on the sexy aluminium handset.
I can live without a dual-core CPU in favor of a 1.5GHz single core, but what really gets me is the resolution of the display. Such a massive screen deserves a decent resolution and while I doubt it will provide a bad viewing experience, we were hoping for a better pixel density with the XL.
Expect the Sensation XL to land on Vodafone in the UK sometime this November.
So what do you think? Is the XL a must-have or just another Sense phone?