HTC has announced another addition to its Sensation range of smartphones with the Sensation XL. This latest model has a 4.7-inch screen and comes loaded with Beats Audio technology, but its limited memory could make storage rather tight.
The Sensation XL has a simple, minimalist design with a slim white casing that's just 9.9 mm thick. It runs on Android 2.3 and is clearly geared up for mobile multimedia.
The large 4.7-inch screen is the same size as the display in HTC's Titan Windows Phone and is likely to please fans of games, videos and web surfing.
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HTC CEO Peter Chou (third from left) with Jimmy Lovine, CEO of Beats Audio (fourth from left).
Although the resolution of 480 x 800 pixels may not seem all that impressive given the size of the screen, the onscreen image looked perfectly sharp to us when we tried out the Sensation XL at HTC's presentation event.
However, one thing we were a bit disappointed by—especially given the phone's multimedia capabilities—is that the Sensation XL only has 16 GB of internal memory (12 GB of usable storage), which can't be expanded with microSD cards. Similarly, there's no HDMI port.
Tech specs include a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor, 768 MB of RAM and an 8-Megapixel camera for photos and video up to 720p. HTC's Sense 3.5 graphic user interface is as practical and pleasant to use as ever, and we found the Sensation XL perfectly smooth and glitch-free.
Like the Sensation XE, the XL uses Beats Audio technology and will come with a set of urBeats in-ear headphones that double up as a hands-free kit. All of that is great news for bass addicts, but the Beats Audio processing function can also be switched off if that's not your cup of tea.
The Sensation XL is a top-of-the-range handset that's due for release in November. Recommended retail prices are still to be confirmed.
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