Review: HTC Sensation XL

HTC Sensation XL Review

As a virgin to phone reviews here at GeekTown I was given the opportunity to get my hands dirty and stuck into HTC’s Sensation XL. Having previously owned an HTC Wildfire I knew where I stood with the HTC brand and it’s lineup of phones. HTC has been hitting headlines with staggering profits in the last year and if you take the time to look at the phone portfolio you can see why. They offer a competitive spectrum of phones ranging from low-end budget smartphones for the everyday user to high-end, high spec and high performance smartphones for the modern user with a busy lifestyle. The HTC Sensation range is exactly this.

HTC Sensation XL Review

Spec

Now, you would think that by having more letters the Sensation XL would be an upgrade upon the HTC Sensation. It isn’t. Although this doesn’t mean the phone is in any way inferior. It’s specs are capable to cope with the heaviest of users. It comes packed with a 1.5ghz processors, 768mb ram and a lovely 4.7inch screen which, whilst comparatively low on resolution to other phones at that screen size on the market it’s S-LCD screen certainly makes up for in clarity and colour. There is virtually no difference between it and the AMOLED screens used and hyped about in various Samsung phones. The phone feels quick and responsive and has no problems running HTC’s sense 3.5 on Android 2.3 gingerbread. Yep I did say 2.3 but rest-assured HTC have announced it will be upgraded to Android 4.0 otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich in March.

HTC Sense – UI

HTC Sense UI

Sense is what we call in the Android world a “Skin” or “Custom Rom” that sits on top of the default android interface. Manufacturers build and incorporate their own apps and widgets into this skins to enhance the users experience of the phone in ways they feel are necessary or perhaps lacking on the standard stock version of Android. I find them to be hit and miss at times. Whilst it really hits with elements such as the multifunction lock screen allowing you to access you camera, messages etc by dragging their corresponding icons onto the lock ring, I feel it misses aesthetically with the transparent glossy nature of it’s widget, menu items and buttons as well as the uninspiring app draw. That doesn’t mean to say it lacks. Something I’ve not seen on phones since “feature phones” like the old Sony Ericsons and Nokias, is the use of themes. This is where it comes into it’s own allowing you, with just the press of a icon, to change the look, feel, sounds and even the home-screens and their widgets so that you have what you want and need to hand that is relevant at the time, such as a work profile. Ultimately for me it’s essentially the form over function and if it’s the same for you I suggest downloading a custom launcher such as LauncherPro, so you can make full use of the specs and not be put off, if at all, by HTC’s Sense launcher.

Camera

For me this is an area this phone excels! The 8mp camera with dual flash is stunning. It takes great quality shots and you can easily adjust the focus of a photo by simply pressing an area you wish to be in focus and the camera then adjusts ensuring you bring out the best of the situation you’re shooting. HTC have also taken advantage of and utilised having the fast processor by allowing the camera to generate live effects such as distortion, vignette, a range of filters and even “depth of field”, which lets you blur all but a region of the photo in real time to highlight a focal point or point-of-interest. You also have a 720 HD video camera to make sure those moments in film get caught too.

Beats Audio

Beats Audio

Another use of the great spec the Sensation XL packs is through Beats Audio integration. Beats by Dr Dre offers superb sound quality not only on the phone via it’s sounds boosting decoders and filters but also via the supplied beats headphones which alone are not cheap and feel really comfortable to have in your ears and listen to music to with ease. I even replaced my usual headphones with these during my testing period.

Storage

Speaking of audio, the Sensation XL comes with 16gb of internal memory, which is plenty for those that use their phones as an audio device. Though bear in mind you will never have the full 16gb to use as the software and pre-installed apps will already be taking up some of that 16gb and rather surprisingly you cannot expand this memory, as there is no SD card slot. Also, of that 16gb non-expandable memory, 1gb is dedicated to apps. This sounds plenty however I recommend you make sure any apps you don’t use that often or perhaps not at all after a few plays, weeks or months to get rid of as they are take up valuable space and eat into the phone’s performance if they run in the background. After all it is a computer and you don’t want to clog it up and grind it down.

Apps

Did someone mention apps? Well Android excels with it’s selection of apps in the market place, around 400,000 to be exact and you will find that many of the premium apps that are in the Apple App Store are in the Android Market free of charge such as Angry Birds for instance. You will also find that generally all the major apps are in the Android Market, give or take one or two such as Instagram, however they have confirmed it will be coming to Android and they have two dedicated Android developers working on it right now.

Connectivity

If you’re going to be downloading and streaming from apps you need have peace of mind that you can always be connected and more importantly via the fattest methods possible. The sensation XL has the usual micro USB socket, Bluetooth and WiFi. Furthermore it comes with HSPA or 3G+, which most Android phones at this level have had for well over a year now, something Apple have only just brought to the iPhone 4S. It is essentially a very fast Internet connection, the fastest you can currently achieve in the UK, rivaling some users home networks with speeds possible up to around 14mbs.

Conclusion

All-in-all this is a very decent, high performance, capable and responsive phone to someone who is looking to be able to shoot and snap quality photos on request, view and stream video on the move and keep up-to-date with the world and make sure the world is up-to-date with you. It’s great as an iPhone alternative as it packs almost identical features and specs and is perfect for those looking to upgrade from the lower end to the higher end of the phone scale to meet more demanding user needs.

7/10 – HTC Sensation XL is a high performance, capable phone & a great iPhone alternative.

Leave your old PC in 2011. Time for an upgrade without breaking the bank!

Time to upgrade your PC?

So new year, new start. You have made a list of things you will change in 2011 and you are positive about this promising year. Yet, the one thing that is holding you back, is the one thing that should be your trusted tool, your PC!

While your computer may have been your best friend for many years, technology can move so fast, you are bound to need an upgrade eventually. If you have been getting by using old versions of applications for email, word processing, web browsing and spreadsheets, eventually you will run into problems, so make this the year you upgrade.

Upgrading your PC can be extremely expensive, so below are 3 ways to leave your old PC without breaking the bank.

Part exchange your PC

Many tech companies now run a part exchange programme as part of a conscious effort to recycle computer parts and reduce e-waste. For example, HP work with PC Part Exchange to run this service. You can choose any HP products that are part of the trade-in offer and exchange your old computer for cash regardless of the original manufacturer.

For your old computer to qualify for HP’s minimum part exchange value it must be operational and include the following:

• Desktops: Base Unit, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Kettle Leads & Restore CDs.
• Laptops: Working Battery, Power Supply with Mains Leads & Restore CDs.

It may be worth also looking around to get quotes from other companies offering this service to make sure you get the best value.

Upgrade the software

If you want to use the latest version of your computer’s operating system, this can be less expensive than purchasing a new computer, depending on how much you might spend on installation. It might not be compatible with the processor your computer currently has, so you will need to swap it out with a new central processing unit but again, if you shop around, this does not need to cost the earth.

To turbocharge you PC upgrade the RAM and you should see improved performance. When your computer has a small hard drive, you may find yourself running out of storage space for files. Instead of deleting files, you can install a second internal hard drive if your computer can accommodate it, or add an external hard drive.

Buy a new PC but use it to find fantastic deals and reap back the costs

If neither of the above options work for your situation and you truly want to buy a new PC, then perhaps you can ‘offset’ your purchase by using your new computer to take advantage of some of the amazing deals on Groupon.

There are a wide range of deals on this site, from gourmet restaurants, to adventure days out, to relaxing spa days and beauty treatments. The range of vouchers assuredly is endless. You can save up to 90% with Groupon deals in London and around the rest of the country. Bookmark the site on your new PC now!

Roundup of 3D from Samsung’s 3D Pros

Recently was sent this interesting roundup of various areas 3D advancing the entertainment industry. Samsung’s 3D Pros and gives a preview of what’s happening in 3D TV, gaming, film and sports.

Personally i’m not totally sold on the idea that every movie needs 3D, but unlike some film critics (Mark Kermode being a well know detractor of the medium), i do feel it has it’s place in the movie world.

That inevitably will filter into TV, and gaming as time moves on. You only need to look at the huge amount of attention the 3DS is getting to see that people want the technology. It’s going to be very interesting to see where the technology ends up leading.

GeekTest: The HTC Desire HD Review

HTC Desire HD Review

I was recently sent one of the new HTC Desire HD mobile phones for review, but i’ve been putting off writing it. Not because I’m not sure what to say about it, or because I dislike it. But mainly because, once I write this, i’ll have to send it back to the PR company. As someone who’s an avid iPhone user, and who’s current phone is the iPhone 3GS, the Android driven Desire HD rather took me by surprise. Every time i review a smart phone for the site, i’m obviously going to compare it to the iPhone, and nothing has really come close enough for me to want to switch from Apple’s cool designery grasp. Until now…

The Spec

HTC Desire HD Spec

The 164g HTC Desire HD comes with a 4.3 inches (480 x 800 WVGA) touchscreen, in a 123 x 68 x 11.8 mm case. Some might say that’s a little on the large size, but it actually feels fine in your hand. The screen takes up most of the front of the phone which is great for watching movies or tv shows on. Across the bottom are 4 touch-sensitive buttons that go to home, back, bring up the menu, or search.

It has a nice high spec 8 megapixel camera with auto focus and dual LED flash, and can record video in 720p HD quality. Inside there’s a 1 GHz Scorpion processor, with 1.5 GB (expandable to 32 GB via SD cards) and 768 MB of RAM.

Connectivity

For connectivity, the HTC Desire HD has a micro USB socket, and runs Bluetooth, EDGE, WiFi, and 3G. But this is no ordinary 3G… This is the enhanced HSDPA 3G, and frankly, it’s incredible. It’s effectively like having WiFi access from anywhere with a normal phone signal. It’s completely capable of streaming 480p video from YouTube without so much as a small stutter.

The Interface

HTC Desire HD Interface

The HTC Desire HD is running Android 2.2, which has been enhanced even more by HTC’s Sense UI. This allows more widgets and screens to play with, and more customisation to your home screen. One of the things that has always bugged me on non-Apple smartphones is the unresponsiveness of the interface. Thankfully there’s none of that on the Desire HD. The touch sensitive and animation is as fluid as anything Apple produces, and is a joy to use. The interface is also highly customisable, with you no only being able to change ringtones, but whole soundsets, giving you complete control over every little bleep and chirp the phone makes. One more feature which really impressed was the boot time from the phone having been totally switched off, which comes in at 7 or 8 seconds. It’s a small thing, but just adds to the slickness of the experience.

Contacting People

HTC Desire HD Contacts

Of course, it’s all very well it being slick and a great mini computer, but what about it’s primary function – actually contacting people. One handy little feature is the ability to sync your phone contacts with your mail and social network accounts. This allows you to use any contact info from their facebook or your gmail account directly in your phones contact list. This also allows you to pull pics from those accounts to use as the contact’s icon if you want to.

The sound quality of the phone itself is perfectly fine when talking. There’s also a rather nice feature if you choose to use the phone in your car, where it’ll give you a screen of nice chunky buttons for key functions, making answering hands free calls much easier.

Email (via POP3, IMAP or Exchange server) and social networking accounts are easy to set up, and typing out messages on email or SMS is straightforward on the iPhone-like virtual keyboard.

Internet Access

As i mentioned earlier, the 3G on steroids (HSDPA) makes browsing ridiculously quick for a mobile device. The in-built browser is also fast and responsive, and supports HTML 5, and Flash. This means video can actually run on the page without jumping out to a separate media player like it does in certain fruit based mobile devices. Having said that, videos do still run better if you use the separate media player which bypass the appalling Flash code (which is a problem with Flash/Adobe, and not the Desire).

Media & Camera

HTC Desire HD Camera

The 8 megapixel camera gives decent enough still photos. Good enough for any quick snaps you wish to take, and the LED flash is perfectly acceptable, and can double as a flashlight if needed.

The sound quality for the music has been enhanced from previous models with Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual surround sound. It’s a little tinny, but good for a phone. Music can be browsed through using the Apple-esque cover art mode, and also has a link to the Amazon MP3 store allowing you to download music direct to the phone.

Video playback on the 4.3 inch screen is great to watch. I could be a little picky about the contrast or the colour, but really it’s fine. It also has this nifty little trick which allows you to wirelessly stream video from the phone to a DLNA enabled TV. It also means you can stream media from DLNA enabled devices such as a PS3.

The Battery…

So this is my only real negative of the phone. The battery life sucks. From my experience of the testing model I had, it would be very easy to drain the life out of it with a reasonable day’s use. It’s the one part of the phone that really lets the whole thing down. Of course, using less video or music playback on it would expand that life, but it’s slightly annoying to have a great device somewhat crippled by sucky power usage. It will usually last the day, but you’ll find yourself leaving it charging every night.

Apps

Since it’s running Android, the HTC Desire HD gives you access to all the apps on the Android store. It also comes with a few of it’s own, such as news & weather, or the Shazam style SoundHound which will try to recognise any songs you play to it (that includes you singing/humming to it!). It comes with a google maps app, but also HTC’s own Locations app, which is built in association with TomTom. The basic set up is free, but there are a bunch of premium addons (like speed camera locations, traffic etc…) which you can buy if you so wish.

Conclusion

The HTC Desire HD is a fantastic mobile device, which really made me look at the iPhone and think very hard about which one i’d want. The only thing that really lets it down is the battery life. In all other areas it really gives the iPhone some serious competition.

For more on the HTC Desire HD on the Three network, click here.

9/10 – A superb phone that just need a better battery.

The Sony Bloggie Camera

Sony have recently released a new version of their video camera aimed at the online community, called the Bloggie™ Touch. It has a 3 inch touchscreen, a built-in USB connector, automatic uploading to sites to YouTube and Facebook and can take HD 1080 video. Also, with the addition of a 360 video lens kit, can shoot 360 degree video as well.

For more info, and to discover how to create unique and inspirational film using everyday objects on the Bloggie™ Touch, visit facebook.com/sonyuk

Sony Ericsson Announces the Xperia arc

It’s a new year, and Sony Ericsson today unveils a new phone – the new Xperia™ arc. Its running Android 2.3,  and is super slim and light (just 8.7mm at its thinnest part) and has a extra wide 4.2” multi-touch screen. The arc is created from premium materials and with a stunning arc body creating a  sleek, strong design which should fit perfectly in the user’s hand.

The display uses Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine, designed for exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image and has Sony’s award-winning Exmor R for mobile sensor with the f/2.4 lens enables the capture of high quality, bright pictures and HD videos even in low light. All pictures and videos can be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector.

Xperia™ arc will launch on the latest version of the Android platform providing access to Google Mobile Services and the myriad of applications available on the Android market.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ arc – Key features

• Slim, lightweight and strong, with perfect ergonomics
• Extra wide 4.2” multi-touch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine to ensure ultimate multimedia and viewing experiences
• Sony Exmor R™ for mobile: for best-in-class low-light photography and video capture
• 8.1 megapixel camera and HD video recording capability
• Android Market™ – thousands of applications to keep you entertained

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ arc will be available globally in selected markets, including Japan, from Q1 in the colours Midnight Blue and Misty Silver.

Check out the Sony Ericsson Product Blog for more information: http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products