HTC Sensation 4G Has Great Screen, Speed GlitchesHTC Sensation 4G Has Great Screen, Speed Glitches

One of HTC's latest forays into the U.S. smartphone market through T-Mobile is the dual-core Android-based HTC Sensation 4G.

Though the Sensation 4G is a nice device, it's very similar in look and feel to my HTC Passion (and, therefore, Google's Nexus One, which uses the same hardware). They're all really very much like the original HTC EVO in my mind--almost a little too big. It might take a bit of getting used to before a device this wide feels natural in your hand.

That said, the screen is awesome and camera top-notch. Even when the device only has a decent signal--and I took the time here in Chicago to find T-Mobile's good and bad signal spots--I found the call quality to be excellent.

Speed bumps
Processor speed was immediately noticeable. Most of the time the phone zipped along at warp speed. There were, however, a number of occasions when it stopped and stuttered while playing a video or music or launching an application. I would have thought that with a dual-core processor those burps would vanish.

When asked about these issues, HTC responded with the following:

This tells me that Sense UI 3.0--and perhaps other system-level code--needs a bit of tweaking. HTC has been having trouble, as I understand it, with optimizing Sense UI and other widgets and custom software for older smartphones such as the HTC Desire. If HTC isn't careful, it is quickly going to have similar problems with newer phones such as the EVO 3D and the Sensation 4G. Sense UI is nice, but if custom interface components come at the expense of device performance, I'd rather have a vanilla Android interface.

In a separate ongoing issue, BYTE's Larry Seltzer recently reported on an HTC Android bug that exposes key log data. At this writing HTC was still working on an update that would patch the vulnerability. Until you get the update, likely via OTA, your phone will continue to collect and maintain this data.

Rooting the HTC Sensation 4G
HTC recently informed everyone that all Android phones and tablets will be shipping with unlocked bootloaders. Though this is wonderful news for all custom ROM creators and users, it appears that the HTC Sensation 4G's launch missed the deadline to be covered under the policy. As such, the new-styled bootloader of this device is currently in the S-OFF, or locked, position.

The word around the HTC Sensation forum on the XDA Developers site is that this condition will likely change in an anticipated Android 2.3.4 OTA update for the Sensation 4G. However, there's no official word from HTC on this update at this time. As an official update appears to be pending from HTC, it is unlikely that any bootloader hacking is going to take place for this device.

However, if you look at the I have S-OFF...now what? thread at XDA Devs, you'll see that not every device out there is a retail device, and many devices that are shipped S-OFF at this time were somehow obtained directly from HTC. Devices obtained at retail still appear to be shipped S-ON. My recommendation, again, is to sit tight. Someone is going to get this done and working for all Sensation 4Gs, whether it's HTC or the hacking community. It's just a matter of time.

Up close
The HTC Sensation 4G measures 5 inches long, 2.6 inches wide and just under a half inch thick. The phone looks large, and feels that way in your hands. Its width makes one-handed operation difficult at best, and I've really been trying. The Sensation 4G is definitely a two-handed device.

Compare the size of the HTC Sensation 4G (below center) to the Samsung Vibrant (left) and Google Nexus One (right).

On the back of the HTC Sensation 4G (below center) is a new feature for taking better pictures: a dual-LED flash, next to an 8MP camera lens.

Below is the left side of the three phones, from top the Nexus One, Samsung Vibrant, and HTC Sensation 4G. In addition to a volume rocker like the other two phones, the Sensation 4G has a Micro-USB port on the left side.

There is nothing on the bottom of the HTC Sensation 4G (bottom phone) but a release for the back panel.

Like the Nexus One (top), the HTC Sensation (bottom) has a smooth right side with no controls. The Samsung Vibrant has a power button.

Also like the Nexus One (top), the HTC Sensation 4G (bottom) has its power button and 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. Along with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the Samsung Vibrant has a Micro-USB port on the top.

The HTC Sensation 4G screen is an awesome 4.3-inch diagonal 540-pixel-by-960-pixel (also known as quarter HD, or qHD) display. There isn't a lot of new technology here, but it's beautiful to look at and does very well compared with the Samsung Vibrant and the Google Nexus One. It's clear, bright, and much easier to read in direct sunlight than the active-matrix OLED screen of the Nexus One.

Typical battery life--good but not great
I send and receive a lot of email. I kept my HTC Sensation 4G busy checking Google apps and Exchange accounts and, of course, there were all the background data services that HTC Sense UI uses for Stocks, Weather, Twitter, Facebook, and other widgets and apps. If I left home at 5 a.m. with the phone fully charged, I found that I needed to plug in the device to recharge before 3 p.m. Ten hours is pretty typical for me but not great, especially for a phone with a large 1520 mAh battery. After 10 hours of heavy use, the Sensation has about 25% to 30% left, which might sound like a lot--but if you're like me, you find that your charge drops like a rock at this point and you have maybe an hour left, so it's time to find an outlet.

Next I eased off usage a bit for a more typical day for a lot of people: the phone has a dark screen a lot of the time, but it's still receiving email and searching for fast network connections. Starting again with a full charge at 5 a.m. to complete shutdown, the Sensation lasted 14 hours.

My experience with mobile devices tells me that this is pretty typical, with two heavily-used push mail accounts; hourly GPS-based weather updates; mild Twitter and Facebook notifications and use; and very light Web surfing.

Finally I turned some of the Sensation's widgets off to see how much power that would save during a typical day of use, and this time the battery lasted 18 hours.

Back- and forward-facing cameras
The HTC Sensation 4G has an 8MP digital still and full-HD 1080p video camera. Though most smartphones have 5MP cameras, 8MP is becoming the new standard.

The Sensation 4G also has a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video conferencing and chatting via the included Qik app. As you can see from the shots of my daughter (click to see full-sized photos), the detail is amazing.

This is a close-up taken with the Sensation's zoom.

I took the following videos with the Sensation 4G's HD video camera. Any shaking you see is from the motions of the vehicle I was sitting in.

The Sensation 4G includes Bluetooth 3.0, with support for stereo music, multimedia, and phone calls.

The Wi-Fi hotspot feature lets you connect up to five concurrent users, but limitations on bandwidth and overall connection speed will become evident if you're either in a spotty coverage zone or in a non-3G/4G coverage area (in which case you'll fall back to EDGE). Note that hotspot applets like this might be discontinued if T-Mobile and AT&T merge, because of AT&T's more-restrictive policies about data.

Like all other Android devices, the Sensation 4G comes with Google Maps with Navigation. Unlike GPS navigation apps that come with maps preinstalled on the device (like Navigon or TomTom products), Google Maps with Navigation requires an active data connection to download maps.

Built around Sense UI 3.0
HTC's Sense UI skin for Android, along with its well-known digital clock widget with weather, has been adorning mobile devices since 2005 or so. Sense UI was so popular that HTC has built an entire smartphone interface around it. The latest incarnation, Sense UI 3.0, is prevalent throughout the Sensation, with a widget appearing on each of the phone's seven home screens.

The phone's lock screen has four draggable icons, which show counts for missed calls, new email, and text messages. Drag an icon into the circle at the bottom of the screen and the Sensation 4G unlocks and opens the corresponding application.

With the Watch widget, you can play video purchased from the HTC media store.

The Music widget lets you play music stored or purchased on your device from a home screen. Music must be DRM-free, so iTunes music might not work unless it's iTunes +.

The Pictures widget displays a tiled collage of all the pictures on your device. To look at a specific picture, tap on it. When you take new pictures, the widget auto updates by flipping tiles to display the newer pictures on top.

Tap any day in the Calendar Widget's default month view, and you're taken to the Sense UI Calendar in Agenda view to see all the day's appointments. Tap on any event to see the full details.

For a Google Android device, it's funny that Exchange sets up as the default mail profile instead of Google's own Gmail. The widget shows all Exchange mail and updates itself quickly when the home page it's on is displayed.

HTC Hub is HTC's front end for the Android Market as well as a place to shop for wallpapers, themes, and scenes.

HTC's music store, Listen, comes preinstalled on the Sensation 4G. Like competing services, Listen lets you browse music purchases, download them, and listen right on your device. There's nothing to stop you from installing a competitor such as Amazon's MP3 downloader, however.

HTC provides a complete security suite with Lookout. The malware scanner is a bit heavy handed--most people don't keep anything beyond PIM info and some Word documents at most, and mobile payments aren't there just yet. Website passwords are not protected through the suite, and a digital wallet was not included, either.

Polaris Office lets you read and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on your Sensation 4G. Don't expect more than rudimentary document compatibility, though.

For entertainment, the Sensation 4G gives you TV and two games. The phone comes with a free 30-day trial of T-Mobile TV, a combination of on-demand and live TV. You choose from Fox News, Fox, MSNBC, NBC Sports, the Disney Channel, ESPN Mobile T, and many more.

Stunning full-motion video and the Sensation 4G's big screen combine to create an amazing experience for Nova, a role-playing game included with the phone. It reminds me a lot of Doom from back in the day.

The old "keep the marble out of the holes" game comes to the HTC Sensation 4G. The game seems a bit long in the tooth, but after level 5, I found it still held my interest and was still kinda cool. The game uses the device's accelerometer to sense how to move the ball depending on the tilt of the device.

Front-facing cameras on mobile devices are old-school in Europe but relatively new here in the states. Think of Qik as a Skype competitor, but for mobile devices. Skype doesn't do video on your device, but Qik does, and it will do it over either Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. If you use the app on 3G/4G, you're going to incur some heavy data use, so beware of exceeding your plan.

The Watch widget has its own online movie store, so if you're looking to buy something, you can purchase, download and instantly watch any number of popular titles.

Information on DRM for programs and movies purchased or rented via HTC Watch is sketchy at this point. The service is still very new. However, it has been reported that up to five different HTC devices can share content. Rentals are available for 30 days but you must finished watching them within 24 hours of starting.

Wi-Fi hotspot
With the ability to host up to five connected devices simultaneously, the Wi-Fi hotspot feature is perhaps one of the best things about the Sensation (and similar devices) when you're in a solid 3G/4G coverage area. Don't try this with EDGE, though--it would hurt.

Jump to our chart for a full comparison of the Sensation and its competitors.

I like this device. The screen is clear and bright and mostly readable in bright sunlight. T-Mobile's HSPA+/4G speeds are definitely noticeable and offer a great deal of benefit if you're trying to view video, TV, or other internet intensive work, such as the device's built-in Wi-Fi hotspot.

That said, if you're due for an upgrade from T-Mobile or another carrier, keep in mind that Apple has already introduced the unlocked iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5 will be here any day.

But if you have no interest in the iPhone, the HTC Sensation 4G is a decent choice. Though the battery life might leave something to be desired, if you monitor your use, you should be able to do what you want and need to do between charges.

Pros: First dual-core smartphone on T-Mobile, with a big bright screen, and fast 4G connectivity.
Cons: Big phone, mediocre battery life, some performance stutters.
Conclusion: Quick and capable, the HTC Sensation 4G is easy to use and fast, most of the time. Speed bumps and less-than-amazing battery life are its only drawbacks.

Details
Price: $199.99 with two-year T-Mobile agreement.
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Chris Spera is BYTE's Managing Editor of Reviews. He has over 15 years of professional writing experience as a freelancer and columnist for AOL/CompuServe, Computer Power User Magazine and The Aurora Beacon, a SunTimes Media newspaper. Chris has over 20 years of senior IT management experience and can be reached at [email protected]. You can also follow him on Twitter at @chrisspera.