HTC Sensation XE

Available now
14th September 2011

As you might guess from the name, the HTC Sensation XE is an update to the original HTC Sensation, coming with a faster processor and improved audio capabilities.

The Sensation XE should be the fastest smartphone on general release when it hits the markets later this month, with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor which is a significant boost to the 1.2 GHz dual-core CPU in the original. The Sensation XE also has 768MB of RAM and up to 1GB of available flash memory, plus a microSD slot with either an 8GB or 16GB card in the box.

Also new is Beats Audio, a technology that should give even clearer sound through both headphones and the internal surround sound speaker. HTC spent $300m to acquire the rights to use Beats Audio in their handsets, so presumably it is worth that money.

One other useful upgrade on the Sensation XE is the battery, now a 1730 mAh cell instead of a 1520 mAh one, bringing the talktime up to about 7.5 hours and 22 days standby time on 3G. The operating system has also been slightly upgraded to Android 2.3.4 plus HTC Sense, and no doubt HTC will have made some other tweaks too.

Fundamentally, the HTC Sensation XE is very similar to the old Sensation. There is a large 4.3" 540 x 960 pixel SLCD display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of 1080p HD video capture, plus a VGA resolution video calling camera on the front. There's an FM radio, 3.5mm audio connector, microSD slot and stereo Bluetooth as well.

This is a 3.5G capable device capable of download speeds up to 14.4Mbps, and the Sensation XE also supports 802.11 b, g and n WiFi. There's a GPS receiver as well, plus all the other features that you would expect. The overall package measures 126 x 64 x 11mm and weighs 151 grams, making it a little on the large and heavy side, but that is mostly the result of the large screen.

Because this is an Android phone then you can add thousands of applications. The ability to run those apps on the large high-resolution screen might tempt customers away from smaller tablets.

The HTC Sensation XE is an extremely powerful device, but we expect it to be an expensive one too. Although HTC haven't quoted a price, our best guess is that this will retail for around €550 at launch when it hits retail channels in late September.