Related
This is for comparison on brands of Android phones. Observations are from general trends across different models, odd cases or low % problems are not taken into account.
HTC
Pros:
Frequent updates to Android builds.
Teflon housing.
Good positional sensors.
Much better customer support.
Cons:
Mediocre touchscreen sensors, although new models good-excellent, older ones poor.
Samsung
Pros:
Excellent touchscreen sensors
Cons:
Poor Android build updates.
Poor-terrible positional sensors, gyroscope, compass, accelerometer.
Touch screens not scratch proof.
Havent had any experience with other brands, please discuss and I will keep this post updated.
That\s an interesting observation, though i assume the newest models of each company are better and badder
HTC:
Frequent updates to the most current version of Android
Samsung:
Few if any updates to most current version of Android. Usually Samsung devices are one Android version behind, if not two.
-HTC-
-Good build quality
-SENSE UI is great as a stock launcher
-Camera can be better
Haven't owned any other brand Androids.
What about the Nexus S as a Samsung device, or does everyone around here consider that a Google device?
HTC is constant on their updates is probably the biggest pro.
I've got since nearly an Month an HTC Desire HD.
With Custom Roms, Rooted, etc. its so much better than any other Phones I saw.
Its Qualitativly rly great, everything looks great, akkucase is great (the place where its hold in ) and dont know.
But when i buy me a new when, i would take maybe the new SonyEricsonAndroid or LG Optimus Speed (2x).
I am loyal to HTC brand phones mainly because I've had the fewest problems with them (Android or otherwise) but I would have to say for me, the biggest con for every Android HTC that I've heard of or used personally is the terrible battery life. This is especially true for a stock HTC without root.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App
Desire HD, custom rom, huge amount of tweaks....
Starholdest said:
What about the Nexus S as a Samsung device, or does everyone around here consider that a Google device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung I would say, I do own both nexuses and they each have strong similarities to other makes in the brand, the benefit though is you get android build updates asap.
ppcmaster1 said:
i assume the newest models of each company are better and badder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes but usually it happens all relatively, and I found it definitely to be the case looking into HTCs latest major phone which is the Desire HD.
I did some research on touchscreens,
Samsung get their sensors from a Taiwan company called Sintek Photronic
HTC get them from an American company called Synaptics
Nexus One and HTC Desire are using an older generation of sensors (ClearPad 2000) where Desire HD is using the ClearPad 3000. The 3000 although acceptable in terms of usability they still contain minor quirks and the vast majority of HTC phones on the shelves at stores contain the older touch sensors.
I would not say HTCs build quality is of note(yet, I need a consensus), I would put it on par with Samsung's. The teflon housing gives an impression of superior build quality although not the same thing, even though it does give the phone significant longevity, it is for the materials used not how they are put together, I have seen HTC phones with for example the track sensor not centred for the opening in the case although working, and I have heard stories of the phones screen cracking with HTC acknowledging this.
"People sometimes forget that they don't go in pockets," said HTC.
And dust under the screen issues aswell.
BTW, HTC AMOLED panels are supplied by Samsung, how nice of them.
But they have switched to Sony for SLCD due to the shortage.
HTC tend to have their CPUs run at rated clockspeeds, and Motorolla tend to underclock their CPUs according to this article on comparisons:
http://www.tested.com/news/htc-vs-motorola-vs-samsung-who-builds-the-best-android-phones/1345/
Hence the battery lives.
I Checked out my friends incredible s today, after a brief touchscreen comparison with my nexus s it felt on par with it, infact I got my nexus s to screw up a bit which I hadnt seen before, it wasnt much of a test but I think synaptics could be on its way to having possibly the best touch screens as it is a massive improvement in quality over the nexus one and even desire.
Another thing, my nexus s screen is not scratch proof.
With everything in consideration now I think HTC is far superior to samsung overall for android phones.
Compared
I also compared Samsung and HTC my sister got her HTC Desire Z 4 weeks ago and my father has his Samsung Galaxy S for 2 month or something like that he had some problems with a broken speaker and it was quite difficult to talk to someone in the helpcenter who could help him ( this time we didnt know that it was an hardware failure) My sis is not the fittest in handling with smartphones and she had some questions converning her new phone and she got very fast a employed that helped her so i would prefer HTC too
I would glue 106 samsung android phones together to make a step stool to reach 1 htc android phone sitting on a shelf just out of reach.
Personally I believe HTC blows Samsung out of the water. I've had both and the biggest downfall with Samsung is there update policy. You never get updates. I gave up waiting for Froyo so I went to the HTC Evo 4G and now with the killer Rom from xxxvirusxxx I'm running Android 2.3 Gingerbread !!
Its sad no one can offer some insight into motorolla, next time I get the chance and I have time at the shops I will try take a look at one and check out its touch sensor panel, general hardware, and check if the demo has scratches on the screen.
MaFi0s0 said:
Its sad no one can offer some insight into motorolla, next time I get the chance and I have time at the shops I will try take a look at one and check out its touch sensor panel, general hardware, and check if the demo has scratches on the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motorola has a strict policy on locked bootloaders coupled with bad update schedules. I would steer clear of them unless your buying the new Vanilla Android device coming to Virgin Mobile.
I have a samsung galaxy s captivate... one of the best phones i've ever owned
HTC produces the best Androids.
HTC would be the perfect manufacturer if they could put AMOLED back to their phones just as the good ol' Desire (before it decided to use SLCD) and unlock the phones, which they has promised.
I have a HTC Desire and a Samsung Galaxy S at work, they feel mostly the same but the Samsung is somehow a bit laggy sometimes.
And my brother has a Huawei U8800 and i would still have the HTC over that one as well.
Finally got around to checking out a Motorolla, the new Razr.
Could not really conclude much as it is a new gen phone without much to compare it with. So I am just gonna mention my observations.
It straight away looks and feels very well built but soon gave the impression of "just not a HTC".
Assembled in China is embossed into the kevlar at the back, dont know why this is not a sticker seeing as though the company is American and not Chinese.
The phone is top heavy meaning the weight is at the earpeice so when you hold it, it feels unbalanced, although not as bad as the nexus one.
They claim it is waterproof to a rating that suggests you could safely use it in the shower but I dont think anyone has tried yet and the owner did not want to be the 1st.
The volume and power buttons did not feel clicky, they rather felt rubbery, and the volume button placed in a non intuitive position as a tiny rocker, I imagine the lack of feedback on the buttons is either due to how thin the phone is or it being waterproof, this is nitpicking though but an observation none the less.
The edges of the phone are made of plastic, I imagine this is due to reception reasons or to absorb a drop.
Comparing the pentile screen to an iPhone 4 and nexus S(slcd) and Desire all side by side, the color reproduction is inbetween the nexus S and the Desire, tending more towards the Desire with overly rich but not neon greens, the white balance was also slightly off.
The text sharpness was practically as good as the SLCD nexus S and iPhone's.
The touch sensor used was quiet good, not as good as the iPhone's though which seems to still be years ahead somehow
It registered atleast 10 simultaneous touches like a tablet would, it was not impressive but could not find any major faults.
Did not get the chance to test the compass, GPS etc but will hear back from the owner and update this post.
What a beautiful phone !!
Best phone of all time ?
Well not if you want a small phone or a keyboard, but it you want a bigger screen smartphone this has to be yes!
The main thing, or the sum of the parts, about this phone, is that HTC have put all their previous experience into the form factor and it shows.
For such a large screen device it feels small and light in the hand. It also looks smaller then it it.
The alu/plastic back is the perfect shape for holding and setting down. The front glass is lovely and the way you take the back off is the best way - no slide off shell that almost breaks everytime you do it, rather a release button and a smooth slide off. Even the slide-off is confidence building - the back encircles the main phone can curves round at the top. This ensures no rattling and also sealing the internals nicely.
The build quality is light and day difference from the Samsung Galaxy SII, for example. The Samsung is light and feels cheap. Worse, the last one I looked at in an O2 shop had a piece of velcro on the back slicking it to a small stand. Repeated removal meant that the thin plastic back was warped, one corner stuck off exposing some electronics and the middle had a nasty fold down it meaning it was hardly attached.
HTC Sense is the next jewel in HTC's crown. Sense 3D is no big upgrade but after some configuration it appears as jewel like as the body (I have a B&W picture background from the HTC collection) with dual clocks on the home screen, and a swiss watch skeleton clock on the lock screen).
Operation is fast and smooth. There are occasional jerks but I am sure this will be dealt with with a firmware upgrade (after all, multi-core CPUs are just introduced to Android).
The screen is a joy. Not so bright or contrasty as a AMOLED, but fantastic in its own right. The one criticism, if a bit picky, is that the contrast drops off sharply as you look at an angle. The extra 100 pixels either way over the normal high-spec android is really really useful for surfing and email (540x960).
Main gripes:
1. Not many apps using multi-core cpu
2. Not many apps using full screen resolution
3. Volume on ear piece could be a bit higher
All-in-all a great software effort for HTC's first dual core release but hardwarewise a mature and well thought out build with real ownership pleasure.
I think you could make the Moto Cliq sound amazing. You just made me so excited to have this phone.
What a phone.
Cheers
remember dude, new phones come out every 2+ Months.. And every 6 Months to a year the technology in the phone will increase and become the norm.
Best phone of all time still is handed to the iPhone 3gs
Best android phone of all time is still the Nexus One
Best Graphics phone is the Sensation
Best Power of the CPU is the Sensation
Fastest Phone: Thunderbolt
Best Gaming Phone : Tied Sony Xperia Play / G2x
Nice try, HTC Sales Deparment.
StefanB86 said:
Nice try, HTC Sales Deparment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, I'm really open to commission if anyone is offering
dbirdflyshi said:
remember dude, new phones come out every 2+ Months.. And every 6 Months to a year the technology in the phone will increase and become the norm.
Best phone of all time still is handed to the iPhone 3gs
Best android phone of all time is still the Nexus One
Best Graphics phone is the Sensation
Best Power of the CPU is the Sensation
Fastest Phone: Thunderbolt
Best Gaming Phone : Tied Sony Xperia Play / G2x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks like a 1980s list
Sony xperia play -come on - no review says that ....
I would definitely own the Sensation over the iPhone 4, any day of the week. It's not even close. To me, that's a significant statement to make given how the iPhone has pretty much dominated.
Hey,
I've just come from having an iPhone 4(had it a year, and got bored), and this is my first Android phone. I must say i am happy with the phone, but the best phone ever? Not yet.
The iPhone has a great Retina screen and its build quality is great. But you have to jailbreak it to get some basic features, like bluetooth, customising themes, tethering etc.
The Sensation is great out of the box, not a snappy as i anticipated i think due to sense. But i has everything i need as stock.
Sound is a bit low, and crackly sometimes. But i am impressed.
Cant wait to root it and unlock the real speed of the phone
nick
dbirdflyshi said:
Best phone of all time still is handed to the iPhone 3gs
Best android phone of all time is still the Nexus One
Best Graphics phone is the Sensation
Best Power of the CPU is the Sensation
Fastest Phone: Thunderbolt
Best Gaming Phone : Tied Sony Xperia Play / G2x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah like the other dude said, this list looks... off a bit.
Sensation is beautiful but the best graphics?
3Gs the best phone ever? Really?
Nexus One, the best android phone ever? Maybe only to the dev community.
Fastest - Should read fastest data speeds, then yes I would agree with that one. In terms of overall responsiveness, then no.
Gaming phone - could be any Galaxy S1 (Power VRSGX540 is still a beast), GS2, or any tegra2 device out there. The Xperia play has an Adreno 205 GPU which makes it decent at best, physical controls and all. But it lines up with the rest of Sony's product lines - They make a lot of good stuff, just never the best.
colonel said:
looks like a 1980s list
Sony xperia play -come on - no review says that ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your lucky i didnt mention the N-Gague
BBOOZE said:
I would definitely own the Sensation over the iPhone 4, any day of the week. It's not even close. To me, that's a significant statement to make given how the iPhone has pretty much dominated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same way but..... give iPhone 4.3" screen and T-mo bands and we'll talk again. I don't like apple, SJ or their nazi ways but there's something fascinating about having a device that just. works. out. of. the. box. Mind you, this is coming from Android follower since day 1 (Got G1 on the day of the release). I'm sick of rooting phones just to make them work and I thought that Sensation will be the phone I can live with. I mean it does sound great on paper but in real life - software on it is big heaping pile of ****. I truly believe that HTC is getting too comfy being one the biggest names in Android game and they are cutting corners left and right. Guess what - it shows.
Can't wait for S-off and CM.
colonel said:
What a beautiful phone !!
Best phone of all time ?
Well not if you want a small phone or a keyboard, but it you want a bigger screen smartphone this has to be yes!
The main thing, or the sum of the parts, about this phone, is that HTC have put all their previous experience into the form factor and it shows.
For such a large screen device it feels small and light in the hand. It also looks smaller then it it.
The alu/plastic back is the perfect shape for holding and setting down. The front glass is lovely and the way you take the back off is the best way - no slide off shell that almost breaks everytime you do it, rather a release button and a smooth slide off. Even the slide-off is confidence building - the back encircles the main phone can curves round at the top. This ensures no rattling and also sealing the internals nicely.
The build quality is light and day difference from the Samsung Galaxy SII, for example. The Samsung is light and feels cheap. Worse, the last one I looked at in an O2 shop had a piece of velcro on the back slicking it to a small stand. Repeated removal meant that the thin plastic back was warped, one corner stuck off exposing some electronics and the middle had a nasty fold down it meaning it was hardly attached.
HTC Sense is the next jewel in HTC's crown. Sense 3D is no big upgrade but after some configuration it appears as jewel like as the body (I have a B&W picture background from the HTC collection) with dual clocks on the home screen, and a swiss watch skeleton clock on the lock screen).
Operation is fast and smooth. There are occasional jerks but I am sure this will be dealt with with a firmware upgrade (after all, multi-core CPUs are just introduced to Android).
The screen is a joy. Not so bright or contrasty as a AMOLED, but fantastic in its own right. The one criticism, if a bit picky, is that the contrast drops off sharply as you look at an angle. The extra 100 pixels either way over the normal high-spec android is really really useful for surfing and email (540x960).
Main gripes:
1. Not many apps using multi-core cpu
2. Not many apps using full screen resolution
3. Volume on ear piece could be a bit higher
All-in-all a great software effort for HTC's first dual core release but hardwarewise a mature and well thought out build with real ownership pleasure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't agree more! This phone has made, by far, the best first impression (and continued) of any new device I've purchased in years.
I'm not sure why the 3GS was brought up here - I went from the 3G to the 3GS and really didn't feel it was worth it (it was a free upgrade through work, so what the heck). The original iPhone can get a mention, but I wouldn't give any of the subsequent models anything special.
I was a htc fan for a long period of time. Now i'm cured..
OP: go to youtube and watch some comparison videos between sensation and galaxy s2.
How can you claim that? Damn, some people just cannot accept the reality.
How much free usable ram do you got? Can you play full hd videos with flash?
Strange...
DSF said:
I was a htc fan for a long period of time. Now i'm cured..
OP: go to youtube and watch some comparison videos between sensation and galaxy s2.
How can you claim that? Damn, some people just cannot accept the reality.
How much free usable ram do you got? Can you play full hd videos with flash?
Strange...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the galaxy s 2 is faster but perhaps new htc software will make it up
however the margin is not worth it compared to the terrible build or Fischer price os
DSF said:
I was a htc fan for a long period of time. Now i'm cured..
OP: go to youtube and watch some comparison videos between sensation and galaxy s2.
How can you claim that? Damn, some people just cannot accept the reality.
How much free usable ram do you got? Can you play full hd videos with flash?
Strange...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a d*ck move you pulled there. Go back under the bridge from which you came. The OP didn't once claim that this phone was better than the GS2. He was merely stating that he's in love with his phone. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone already knows that the GS2 is superior performance wise. Now go back to your Samsung forums and leave us be.
colonel said:
Best phone of all time ?
Well not if you want a small phone or a keyboard, but it you want a bigger screen smartphone this has to be yes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then what's this?
Smart reply what can I say..
@colonel, well sgs2 feels solid in hand. No cranks, etc.
I'm posting here just because I don't like when the true is distorted. I could easily chose the sensation but for me the sgs2 wins (raw performance, ram, storage, etc).
Have a nice day.
DSF said:
Then what's this?
Smart reply what can I say..
@colonel, well sgs2 feels solid in hand. No cranks, etc.
I'm posting here just because I don't like when the true is distorted. I could easily chose the sensation but for me the sgs2 wins (raw performance, ram, storage, etc).
Have a nice day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you come out here looking like a complete *ahem* ...wait, too late... I was ABOUT to say that you should probably take into consideration that at this point in time this IS the best phone ever available in the United States. For any of us living here, it's a no brainer. As far as the rest of the world - can't people be allowed to enjoy anything anymore?
borodin1 said:
I feel the same way but..... give iPhone 4.3" screen and T-mo bands and we'll talk again. I don't like apple, SJ or their nazi ways but there's something fascinating about having a device that just. works. out. of. the. box. Mind you, this is coming from Android follower since day 1 (Got G1 on the day of the release). I'm sick of rooting phones just to make them work and I thought that Sensation will be the phone I can live with. I mean it does sound great on paper but in real life - software on it is big heaping pile of ****. I truly believe that HTC is getting too comfy being one the biggest names in Android game and they are cutting corners left and right. Guess what - it shows.
Can't wait for S-off and CM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree about how nice it is that the iPhone works out of the box but I have to say I was able to get up and running in no time on my new Sensation just by entering my gmail account info...boom everything was there.
As for Sense I never liked/used Sense before but IF I got stuck with it on the Sensation I wouldn't be ready to kill myself. Frankly I think CM ROMs are waaaay overrated...so they are faster, great, but half the time stuff like GPS don't work. That said I will root this baby the second I get the chance.
......NOT !!!
ps: ok, maybe the best htc phone of all time.
GS2 is definitely more powerful at the moment. But after software update, hopefully the Sensation will show big improvement. I mean Sense 3.0 runs very smoothly on EVO 3d, so there's no reason why Sensation couldn't.
Sound and camera quality on HTC, however, need to be a lot better. Samsung have this, as well as sheer power and speed covered. But of course, HTC have an upper hand in the aesthetics of the phone, both hardware and software.
While I long for GS2's unstoppable power, I really cannot stand its big, non-matchingly-colorful, unpolished interface (I don't mind the plastic build). Same with the Sensation - unbelievably beautiful look of the device and UI, but things like dust under screen, dim screen (compared to EVO 3d), whispering speaker volume and average camera quality turn me off quite a bit.
So, I'm gonna stick to my good, old blackberry and wait until HTC or Samsung
address their weakness.
Which and why?
Sensation because it´s HTC
I have never used a Dual Core phone so is it MUCH faster? Is there like 0 lag in those phones? I remember my inspire couldnt play vids properly and they would lag.
I have the same question... Sensation or Galaxy S2? I'm running a T959 with Trigger, but it's time for an upgrade. Any input would be appreciated - especially comparison of speed, ease of rooting, and ease of installing custom ROMs. I use wireless tethering and GPS navigation a lot... so those 2 things are very important to me.
I really want this thread to get interesting so I'll post my two UK pennies.
I'm still deciding between these two phones. I've played with both in the shop and they're very different beasts.
The S2 is a stunning slab of a phone. It's ridiculously light and feels plasticy yet amazingly sturdy. The screen is superb. I'm coming from an AMOLED Desire (same screen as N1) and the screen is a huge step up. The WVGA res genuinely doesn't bother me in the slightest. Everything is big and clear and bright and gorgeous.
The Sensation feels a lot more solid in the hand. It's a more classy piece of hardware. It is considerably fatter and heavier than the S2 and feels like it could take some knocks. As someone who has used older versions of Sense quite a lot and not especially liked them, I found the Sensations's interface to be a big disappointment. Sense 3 felt just as slow and the earlier Sense version that ran on my Desire (before rooting/flashing). I'm sure it would be super slick with an AOSP rom. The screen is good but not a patch on the S2 IMO. The power button is impossible to reach with one hand - why HTC is still putting it on the top of the phone I have no idea.
So at this point I preferred the S2s screen (and camera by small margin from testing in the shop) and the Sensation's hardware.
In light of the court case I ordered an S2 and have now had it for 24hrs. With the exception of the lack of notification LED it's everything I'd hoped for. It's fast. Not iPhone smooth, but the closest I've seen in an Android device. Still running stock firmware.
Unlike the Sensation, it's not possible to replace the camera lens of the S2 without replacing the whole phone. The camera lens is not at all recessed and this this makes me nervous about putting it down on a flat surface. The S2 needs a case to protect it IMO whereas the HTC seems sufficiently tough to survive without one.
I'm still not 100% and still have a few days left to return the phone...
Does anyone else have experience with the two phones?
Thanks, bedeabc
orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my thoughts.
The SGSII has a much better CPU and GPU than the sensation. I don't want to get technical, but Samsung's processor is better than HTC's. I would also suggest Samsung's GPU in the SGSII over Sensation. I have had Sense and Touchwiz and Sense is very slow and a memory hog, whereas Touchwiz is light. Both phones running AOSP would be great, but I feel that the SGSII is just better as far as internal hardware goes. HTC is better at updating their devices software wise, though.
orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lowandbehold said:
Exactly my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on guys, that's lame. I too have more faith in HTC than I do Samsung but I bought the S2 because (albeit by a very small margin!) I believe that it's the better phone. That screen is just amazing. I already FAR prefer Touchwiz to any version of Sense. But obviously here I am on XDA so the root will happen tonight I hope!
biggeorgef said:
Thanks, bedeabc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now i think the best phone at sale is the galaxy s ii. Ports will obviously be easier to make with the sensation, but talking about stock roms, the s2 is by far the best phone:
More free ram (not only because of 1gb of ram vs 768 but because of sense 3), and in my opinion has a better processor.
I'm not a samsung fanboy, there are tons of things i could say they've done wrong, but i think the s2 is better.
And by the way, even though the sensation feels more solid, i'm no longer deciding for a phone due to this, not only because of coversbut because my sgs has resisted many falls, even one 3m fall and it fell on a pool for 1-2 sec and survived, it didn't even turn off, so just because of this i can say that even though it doesn't feel resistant, it may resist more. I've tried none of this phones, and i can only give my point of view from what i've read and my experience.
I don't know if samsung will do the same with the s2, but the s1 has been updated from 2.1 to 2.2 to 2.2.1 to 2.3.2 to 2.3.3 to 2.3.4, much more updates than most phones have had, and there have been many improvements even though the s2 is out there and the sgs hasn't been forgotten.
Back to htc and sense, I can also say that sense is really good, but it consumes a lot of ram and may feel laggy, but on other htc phones i've seen with sense 2.1, it was really fluid and i really liked it, more than touchwiz.
There is no real way of comparing this two phones in a fair way unless they're running the same rom.
No matter which phone you choose out of these two, you are going to get an amazing phone.
The decision is yours, so think carefully about which phone you think is best for you
bedeabc said:
I really want this thread to get interesting so I'll post my two UK pennies.
I'm still deciding between these two phones. I've played with both in the shop and they're very different beasts.
The S2 is a stunning slab of a phone. It's ridiculously light and feels plasticy yet amazingly sturdy. The screen is superb. I'm coming from an AMOLED Desire (same screen as N1) and the screen is a huge step up. The WVGA res genuinely doesn't bother me in the slightest. Everything is big and clear and bright and gorgeous.
The Sensation feels a lot more solid in the hand. It's a more classy piece of hardware. It is considerably fatter and heavier than the S2 and feels like it could take some knocks. As someone who has used older versions of Sense quite a lot and not especially liked them, I found the Sensations's interface to be a big disappointment. Sense 3 felt just as slow and the earlier Sense version that ran on my Desire (before rooting/flashing). I'm sure it would be super slick with an AOSP rom. The screen is good but not a patch on the S2 IMO. The power button is impossible to reach with one hand - why HTC is still putting it on the top of the phone I have no idea.
So at this point I preferred the S2s screen (and camera by small margin from testing in the shop) and the Sensation's hardware.
In light of the court case I ordered an S2 and have now had it for 24hrs. With the exception of the lack of notification LED it's everything I'd hoped for. It's fast. Not iPhone smooth, but the closest I've seen in an Android device. Still running stock firmware.
Unlike the Sensation, it's not possible to replace the camera lens of the S2 without replacing the whole phone. The camera lens is not at all recessed and this this makes me nervous about putting it down on a flat surface. The S2 needs a case to protect it IMO whereas the HTC seems sufficiently tough to survive without one.
I'm still not 100% and still have a few days left to return the phone...
Does anyone else have experience with the two phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, here's what I posted elsewhere:
I've got an O2 Sensation, colleague has a Vodafone SGS2
The sensation feels much stronger, she commented that her SGS2 felt like you could snap it if you weren't careful, and I have to agree, while you couldn't actually do that, it does feel like you could.
SGS2 is easier to hold though, the rounded smooth edges of the Sensation are just begging for it to slip and drop.
Not got a problem reaching the power button on the top of the Sensation even with my stubby fingers.
The speaker on my Sensation is much louder than her SGS2, she's complaining that she can't hear the SGS2 in her bag. I was surprised as to how quiet it was on max volume.
The SGS2 has a lovely screen, the Sensation has a very nice screen.
My Sensation has the landscape wifi issue losing a bar or 2 of signal. From what others have posted, the OTA update or a custom ROM can fix this rather than a warranty claim for a replacement back cover.
The lock screen on the Sensation is much more responsive and the ability to jump straight to certain apps from the defaul lock screen is great. She often has to swipe two or three times to unlock the SGS2 as she's not moving the lock screen image far enough.
Sensation has Sense 3, which for me wipes the floor with the SGS2 interface, I really don't get on with anything but Sense, however I know a lot of people don't like sense and prefer the stock Android interface.
Sensation has Trace keyboard. She's activated swype on her SGS2 to make typing easier as like me can't get on with the stock Android keyboard. Swype is much better at doing the job than Trace, but I prefer the HTC keyboard and type faster with my thumbs than with either Swype or Trace.
Don't know about battery life on her SGS2, but my Sensation is getting about a day out of it and that's with push mail on two accounts and a bit of browsing.
To be honest, the only thing that would make my Sensation perfect would be a replacement back panel with squarer sides and a better WIFI antenna.
If you try a Sensation and it isn't fast and smooth, then there's something wrong with it.
Likewise there could be something wrong with her phone with regards to the speaker not being as loud as mine.
They are both at the top of their league, and the decision will be down to which one suits your needs better.
If you're not sure, get it over the phone/web so you have 14 days to return it if you're not happy (in the UK that is)
Play with them as much as possible in shops, go to several shops too.
For Tmobile, is the Hercules going to be the S2, or am I just so retarded that I simply have no idea what I'm talking about? http://www.phonedog.com/2011/08/23/...-the-galaxy-s-ii-missed-its-window-in-the-us/
before i went to buy a phone
the best things were the sensation and the SGS2
i got the SGS2
1. i wanted a phone as smooth as the iphone in scrolling
2.very good flash player experience (HWA)
and from my knowledge the SGS2 is the only (partial) hardware accelerated phone out there the sensation is not as smooth as the sgs2 and not as powerful go watch some youtube vids out there
3.future proof (samsung gave free SGS2s to the CM team and currently we have nighties)
4.amoled screen (dont tell me about resolution what i want is the contrast that makes you think "is the phone on or is that my stupid black background pic"
+ colors are to die for
5.sturdy (this phone is solid as a rock if u try to twist it u wont hear a squeak at all its hard as a rock
cons with this phone
1.people who first got it experienced very bad battery life but after updates that issue went away for most people i can get 4 days with my phone
2.people get heating issue with their phones
but the heating issue was just a warm feeling for me near the camera lens
3.my biggest issue if you record video 720p and over (in doors ) the phone goes down to 10 fps for 2 seconds and then speeds up then speeds down etc - this issue is still not fixed - but out doors works perfectly
4.you can get finger prints on the screen if you dont have a screen protector
5. people are reporting volume issues when calling
you can fix this manually from what i understand (using a code)
6.there are a couple of high end games and emulators that have issues with the Samsung's powerful gpu
To be honest, using the two side by side, I noticed no difference between the smoothness of the two.
Didn't know that the SGS2 had hardware acceleration until today!
However, that's comparing UK phones. US phones appear to be borked by carriers as standard. No idea why, but there are more reports of slow phones from US carriers than UK ones, likewise with the amount of bloatware, US carriers (from what I've seen posted here) load phones up with it while in the UK (on O2 especially) they don't which is going to have an impact on performance.
xaccers said:
To be honest, using the two side by side, I noticed no difference between the smoothness of the two.
Didn't know that the SGS2 had hardware acceleration until today!
However, that's comparing UK phones. US phones appear to be borked by carriers as standard. No idea why, but there are more reports of slow phones from US carriers than UK ones, likewise with the amount of bloatware, US carriers (from what I've seen posted here) load phones up with it while in the UK (on O2 especially) they don't which is going to have an impact on performance.
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coudnt you notice it in the stock browser
Sensation hands down
I haven't had any experience with the Sensation, but 3 people I know have the S2 and I was playing with 1 earlier and I fell in love.
This prompted me to install 'droid on my Topaz.
joker2428 said:
Sensation hands down
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Oh that settles it then. I'm running out right now to buy one. Thank you so much!
Sarcasm out.
orb3000 said:
Sensation because it´s HTC
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what the answer~
sgsII has better hardware and better design too
hello this is my first post and i wanna know what is your opinion about My touch 4g design, construction, the name "mytouch 4g", or the mt4g logo it self.
and here is my opinion:
Design & Construction
i think mytouch 4g design is bit different with other HTC phones. most of HTC phones' design are boxy, minimalist and simple, but MT4G design is more in detail. like the phone speaker or the curved edge.
MT4G also have 4 physical buttons, which is on the new generation of HTC phones usually use touch sensitive button instead of physical button.
"My touch"
i live in Indonesia, and brand "my touch" sounds like cheap china's phones here. in my country there were tons of iphone imitations that use word "touch" for their brand. so when my friend saw this phone for the first time he ask me. "is it an i phone imitation?"
so what do you think about my touch 4g design, compared to other HTC phone or else, also the brand image in your country.
out of topic: you know what, dell's tablet "peju". in indonesia "peju" means sperm.
I think the myTouch line sucks when it comes to advertising and endorsing. And the build is great, but not as good as other HTC phones like the Legend, DHD, Thunderbolt, etc.
Tmobile really should have marketed this line a whole lot better. And the name should have been better than the "myTouch."
The Droid line is successful and popular because it has a kick ass name and good commercials.
The MT4G itself is a great phone, but to answer your question, I think tmobile dropped the ball on this one.
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mackster248 said:
I think the myTouch line sucks when it comes to advertising and endorsing. And the build is great, but not as good as other HTC phones like the Legend, DHD, Thunderbolt, etc.
Tmobile really should have marketed this line a whole lot better. And the name should have been better than the "myTouch."
The Droid line is successful and popular because it has a kick ass name and good commercials.
The MT4G itself is a great phone, but to answer your question, I think tmobile dropped the ball on this one.
Powered by a G2x
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hey i just watch mt4g commercials on youtube. they were very funny. hahaha.
i don't know what happen between at&t and t-mobile but mt4g commercials just strengthen that mt4g is an iphone copy.
mackster248 said:
The MT4G itself is a great phone, but to answer your question, I think tmobile dropped the ball on this one.
Powered by a G2x
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I agree somewhat.
The Mytouch 4g is a GREAT phone, if you get the 1 in a million unicorn mytouch with no build problems.
For others, it's an endless cycle or exchanging through tmobile/htc to get the perfect mytouch, which in my case, I still dont have. The FFC still crooked, small dust under screen... I went through 3 phones before I said F*CK it and went with this one.
Just look at the "how many times did you exchange your mt4g" thread at XDA and you will see how ****ty HTC build has become.
Sorry, but although I do like the MT4G, my next phone will be Samsung S2 or better (flame on for those samsuck h8ters)
---------- Post added at 09:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------
PS. I forgot to mention the wonderful mysense experience and bloated software of the mytouch android OS.
h22aboi said:
I agree somewhat.
The Mytouch 4g is a GREAT phone, if you get the 1 in a million unicorn mytouch with no build problems.
For others, it's an endless cycle or exchanging through tmobile/htc to get the perfect mytouch, which in my case, I still dont have. The FFC still crooked, small dust under screen... I went through 3 phones before I said F*CK it and went with this one.
Just look at the "how many times did you exchange your mt4g" thread at XDA and you will see how ****ty HTC build has become.
Sorry, but although I do like the MT4G, my next phone will be Samsung S2 or better (flame on for those samsuck h8ters)
---------- Post added at 09:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------
PS. I forgot to mention the wonderful mysense experience and bloated software of the mytouch android OS.
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You know people can hate on Samsung all they want but their build quality and quality control is WAY better than any HTC. Even Sensation owners face similar problems as MT4G such as dust under the screen, creaks, touch screen unresponsiveness etc. And the list goes on.
They may be plastic, but Samsung phones are better IMO. HTC just has better software.
i agree on the name... Mytouch sounds cheap
i wish the Mytouch in the front was changed to HTC like the Panache.
but the codename GLACIER is amazingggg
overall, VERY nice phone.
At first glance, the MT4G feels like a high-end phone. It feels great in the hand, has the metal backing, no squeaks or creaks to the case, etc.
But at closer inspection, there are a lot of little build imperfections. My particular phone has these issues:
- badly off-centered front and rear cameras
- very loud physical buttons below the screen
- the glass over the screen is not centered (it is flush with the metal bezel on the right, but there is a noticeable gap between them on the left)
- lots of backlight bleed-threw around the screen and physical buttons
There's also the issues of good versus bad eMMC chips, and a huge difference in display quality between the Sharp and Sony SLCD screens.
My opinion is that the phone was designed very well, but the production department dropped the ball when it comes to choosing good components (screen and chip) and assembling the phones (my issues above). It's almost like since T-Mobile is a "budget" carrier, HTC doesn't take phones destined for the T-Mobile network very seriously. It's amazing many MT4G's made it through HTC quality control and out the door...
My opinion...great specs (for the time), uneven execution. I don't plan to upgrade anytime soon, but my phone is super creaky (buttons, battery cover), has so much dust under the lens I can't see the notifications in sunlight and has nearly all of the battery cover coating scratched off (by my fingernail, but still, wtf?). The design is a little ghetto fabulous as well, with all the disparate materials, finishes and design elements.
The myTouch 4G is not the best phone of its generation and the low resale value is rather telling when it comes to what people think of its build quality or its limited T-Mobile-only 3G connectivity, but I think the third-party developer potential for this phone is as good or better than its fellow 2010 model year phones, and it ended up being exactly what I was seeking in my contract-free price range. The only other choices on my radar were the older HTC HD2 and HTC Desire, but the Glacier is a much better piece of hardware.
I'm sure nobody here wants to read this, but to me, the myTouch 4G bears a slight superficial resemblance to the old iPhone form factor with buttons with the rounded, chrome-trimmed bezel. However, the greater angle of the rounded edges, front camera, larger screen, and physical buttons all help give the phone its own character. The physical buttons are a plus for me because I like the tactile feedback even though we've all adapted to not feel a need for it anymore.
The design of the phone is good, but the execution and build has been inconsistent from the good and bad screens and eMMC chips to the tightness of the assembly. I'm extremely meticulous, which made getting a phone off of eBay time-consuming with all the questions I was asking the sellers. Fortunately, I got one in mint condition with a good screen, no dust, no scratches, no backlight bleed, and no creaking whatsoever. The front camera is slightly off-center, but it doesn't bother me at all. I was initially concerned about having a bad eMMC, but it didn't get in the way of rooting.
As for the myTouch moniker, it's not great, but I'm not big on names in general unless they are completely awful. This is what T-Mobile chose to name their flagship line and it is recognizable as one of the better pieces of hardware on the market at its given launch date. At least it was, until now with the new LG junk that doesn't compare to the myTouch 4G Slide. I guess it's better than the crap they've unveiled under the Sidekick name.
mniroy said:
hey i just watch mt4g commercials on youtube. they were very funny. hahaha.
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Carly Foulkes. That is all.
el_smurfo said:
has nearly all of the battery cover coating scratched off (by my fingernail, but still, wtf?).
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Honestly, keep scratching.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1030367
I own the G2 and this phone. Both had little quirks however I fixed my hinge on the g2 and as for the mytouch, you can't fix the quirks can u?
Its great, it looks pretty sexy but the logo is ugly, and mine creaks on the left side. Still no idea how to get the creaks out.
Specwise its great. Even the screen is nice, I don't have phone envy.
I feel sorry for the poor saps buying new phones just to update to gingerbread or get a faster processing speed.
Its sexier then the cellphone I used ten years ago.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
I don't have any of the problems that all these other people are experiencing. Maybe I just got lucky my phone. The only annoying thing to me is the logo an the lack of a power mat charger( I have to use the cube). My emmc chip is a good one, then screen is the better one also. Never had to change my phone since I bought it in February. No connection issues for me, better yet I never had a single issue with this phone, once.
From my fist to your face, enjoy.
I also have had zero build problems. Phone is decent spec wise for its time, easy to root and mod, and has a solid feel for its construction. I'm running Faux's CM Nexus Gingerbread 1.3.1.
The MT4G replaced my N1, which is now my back-up phone in case something does ever break. But, even though my N1 is rooted and has a custom rom (Oxygen GB 2.3.7), I find I seldom go back to it because MT4G has more ram, more storage memory, 2nd gen. processor (can OC to 1.84 but is usually at 1.1) and a far better camera for still pictures and 720p video. The only slight edge I would give the N1, which admittedly is older, is the benefit of an Amoled screen for power usage; though both screens are bright and clear enough. Otherwise, both of these phones did everything I needed them to.
screen
I just wished the 4g had 4 inch screen
Me too man, more internal storage
also. I find it funny that whenever I go on engadget (bad site I kno) and read something pertaining to android, there are so many people complaining about how it soo buggy and has so many FCs.Personally I have gotten atmost 10 FCs (mostly with this truly buggy youtube google failed on) with this phone using stock (go launcher ex tho). I have owned this phone since december, got really lucky to not have any hardware issues either. So basically I love my phone Lol!
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
mackster248 said:
They may be plastic, but Samsung phones are better IMO. HTC just has better software.
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+1... bad screens, bad emmc, off centered ffc... wtf? i don't think i've ever been through this many replacement phones...
had an allegiance to htc, but after this, i'm left wanting to try something better...
cbutt said:
+1... bad screens, bad emmc, off centered ffc... wtf? i don't think i've ever been through this many replacement phones...
had an allegiance to htc, but after this, i'm left wanting to try something better...
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I agree... quality control from HTC is practically nonexistant. I still would rather have an HTC phone though as long as it's not too bad, because I can't imagine going without their software. Sense is beautiful.
crawler9 said:
I agree... quality control from HTC is practically nonexistant. I still would rather have an HTC phone though as long as it's not too bad, because I can't imagine going without their software. Sense is beautiful.
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samsung UI is crap.
saranhai said:
samsung UI is crap.
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That's just a biased opinion.
It doesn't look as pretty as Sense, but is way faster and much smoother. Plus it has awesome video codecs that no other ROM has.
mackster248 said:
That's just a biased opinion.
It doesn't look as pretty as Sense, but is way faster and much smoother. Plus it has awesome video codecs that no other ROM has.
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if we talking about touchwiz 4.0, yes it's good, but touchwiz 3.0 is ugly.
i think Samsung's phone like a race cars, it has a powerful hardware but its interior is very simple and lack of features, its interior is designed just to make it go fast. HTC's phone is like a exotic cars with wooden dashboard, leather interior, and full of features.
then let say, samsung galaxy s II is ferari fxx, then mytouch 4g is aston martin db9.
mackster248 said:
That's just a biased opinion.
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Is there any other kind of opinion?
It is true that version 4.0 makes TouchWiz look a lot better than it used to, but it's nowhere near as nice looking as Sense.
hello
im a new user to this forum and very happy from this.
please help me for buy a smart phone.
please comparison between sensation and galaxy sii and consider sensation is cheaper than galaxy but it has the more features of galaxy
thanks alot
Sensation is better than Galaxy. Hands down.
It's not better than the Galaxy Nexus, though...
To the OP, wait until February. The Mobile World Congress takes place then and you'll see all the new handsets being released. THEN you can make a proper decision
arzbhatia said:
Sensation is better than Galaxy. Hands down.
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Not really. If I had the chance to change my sensation to an galaxy, I wouldn't doubt a second. The crappy build, and the crappy everything, makes me want to give HTC one on the head.
TheStigx said:
Not really. If I had the chance to change my sensation to an galaxy, I wouldn't doubt a second. The crappy build, and the crappy everything, makes me want to give HTC one on the head.
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If I could switch I would do it in an instant. Can't use the phone in bed due to wifi signal, random signal drops with 3 different phones with multiple roms, low res screen, etc. Its worth only 350 now too, with phones like GS2 still holding their price.
Ali_Shaikh said:
If I could switch I would do it in an instant. Can't use the phone in bed due to wifi signal, random signal drops with 3 different phones with multiple roms, low res screen, etc. Its worth only 350 now too, with phones like GS2 still holding their price.
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Absolutely !
Hmm, everyone has different choices.
Anyway, I totally agree with Eddy over here.. you should wait till Feb.
I'd go for the sensation..the GSII feels like a cheap plastic phone for little kids to play with
I own a sensation XE while my other half owns a S2. Side by side the s2 is faster by a few seconds. But thats about it. They both run the same games as well as each other. The screens both look good (better colours on the S2 but more crisp image on the Sensation. The build quality is good on both. If you don't mind the plastic. If you like a premium feeling device I would go with the Sensation.
I'd go SGS2. My brother-in-law has one and I've had a chance to play with it quite a bit. I'm pretty envious, but I would never tell him that haha.
As for why? The legend of HTC build quality just isn't true anymore. My volume rocker has started to stick after 5 months and it's annoying, my power button double presses when I don't have the case on, wifi deathgrip really sucks, and the cellular antenna design is just terrible. Integrated with the removable back cover? Really?? That's not even getting into the fact that SGS2 is just plain out faster than Sensation.
Sensation isn't a bad phone mind you. I would trade it in a heartbeat, but I still like it. It's still a very nice high end device that does what I want it to do. But if the SGS2 was out when I so desperately needed a phone 5 months ago, I probably wouldn't be posting this.
But like EddyOS said. Best thing to do is wait if you can.
I think the only differences between the SGSII and the Sensation are
SGSII has NFC, Sensation doesn't
SAMOLED+ vs. S-LCD Display
Touchwiz vs. Sense 3.0
it's comepletely up to you.
thanks from those who responded.
see,sensation has a lot of gsII's options and it's cheaper than gsII.but,galaxy had been better in the tests.i wish i made a poll to make it easier to decide.
i used my uncle galaxy sii and i hate it's user interface and i thought the htc user interface is so better and it's more beautiful than sumsong
thank's a lot.
You won't be happy with the software on the sensation. Go SG2
HTC Sensation.....FTW !!
Backthen said:
You won't be happy with the software on the sensation. Go SG2
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ok.it's personalisation that you like this user interface or that one.i think HTC company works on the software a lot and it's software is more beautiful,more performance and.... than the others.
please talk more about their hardware and thanks a lot.
Well, here's my personal experience with both devices. I believe there's also still a topic I started hidden somewhere on the forums here when I was to decide wether to go with the SGSII, Sensation (XE) or wait for the Galaxy Nexus.
Now I'm in the possession of both the SGSII and the Sensation XE, so I pretty much have the best of both worlds. Down here is a quick overview of my personal experiences and a conclusion to why I'm using my current device (the Sensation XE).
Samsung Galaxy SII - International White Edition
At first glance it seemed like a great phone, small in design and a dedicated home button which can also wake up your phone instead of having to pry around with a power button alone. However, after holding it in my hands entirely set up with the battery in it, the weight was just way to low. I actually had to check my pockets regularly just to see if I was still in the possession of my phone. Now, I can see why people would like that, but the fact that the phone is so light comes with a price.
The durability of the phone seems to be abysmal. After inserting the battery and the simcard+MicroSD I had to put the back cover back on. That went according to plan, but suddenly I felt that the back cover wasn't matching up with the phone's housing anymore. There was a slight bulge where you have to insert your fingernail to remove the back cover which annoyed me to no end. After that, I decided to get a cover for my phone so it would stop annoying me, which it did.
Then the next issue arose with the hardware of the phone. The home button started to wiggle around a bit. no biggie I guessed, and just kept using the phone as it was. After a week or 2, a cracking noise came from the home button. Seeing as I hardly use the home button, it kind of surprised me, and I decided to think of it as a way to "crack in the device" like a new pair of shoes. Regardless, after a few more days of moderately to heavily using the phone, the cracking noise only got worse, and I decided to return the phone.
The replacement phone immediately suffered the same issue with the back cover, but with my case around it, it wasn't noticable, but the thought of knowing that it's there still annoyed me. Also, I had lost faith in the home button and tried to avoid using it as much as possible, so I only used the power button on the right side to wake my phone etc. After a while, the power button started failing to wake up my phone and I was forced to use my home button once again.
As far as software goes, the standard TouchWiz interface which comes with the phone is a immense piece of ****, excuse my language. I cannot tell you enough how much I hated it. Regardless, this is all up to personal preference, but it lagged for me at times, and only a complete reboot of the phone would restore a bit of fluidity.
The screen however is amazing. Regardless of the fact that the colors are over saturated to an extreme, the pictures and browsing I did seemed clear as day. No issues whatsoever with it. The only gripe I had with the screen was its resolution. at a 480x800 resolution, text would often appear jagged around the edges and not as sharp as I would have liked it to be. Even installling the Roboto font which is specifically made for text clarity, couldn't take away the roughness of the letters.
That's when I decided to start looking into custom roms, rooting and kernels. After trying out a multitude of roms, ranging from the golden oldies which have had quite some development time behind them to the recently released ones, the only rom which made my SGSII feel as it should be was Cyanogenmod. I must say that I was impressed by the fluidity of it. Regardless, I had to give up certain hardware acceleration options just to get a more fluid phone, which is not how it was intended in my opinion. This resulted in my feeling ripped off by Samsung.
However, the benchmark scores on the customised SGSII were out of this world. once you OC the processor to it's max and run a few benchies, you'll be quite impressed by what the device is capable of. However, in day to day use, it's impossible to keep overclocking it without having an immense amount of additional batteries stowed away in your bag, which brings me to my last point.
Before I chose to go to the Android side, I used to own an i4. Yes I know, bad choice and glad I'm back on the Android side after a year. However, the i4's battery life was simply amazing compared to the SGSII. The SGSII would not last me close to a days worth of work and I often had to recharge in the middle of the day. Note: This occured even with underclocking the processor, turning Wi-fi off and all the battery saving things which have been mentioned here on XDA. Whereas I was offended by the i4 that the battery didn't last me 2 days of moderate use (some games, browsing, video's and heavy music usage) the SGSII just left me baffled over the abysmal results it was producing. This is no different on the Sensation, but more on that in my second segment.
TLDR: Plastic device with rather bad production quality with hardware failures all around on 2 seperate devices. Great screen for colors, not so great for text. Battery life leaves much to be desired and fluidity of the device could most certainly be a lot better. A definite featherweight though, and if that's your thing, this is the ideal phone.
HTC Sensation XE Edition
The hardware on the phone is simply phenomenal. The aluminium finish really makes a difference in both style and quality. The fact that the entire frame is replacable is definitely a plus for when you accidentally drop your phone and the panel is scratched. The outside was definitely hard to remove the first time, but after inserting the battery, simcard and SD card, I didn't need to reopen the device again. Once closed up the construction still feels very solid without any mishaps on production quality. The weight of the phone is a lot more as how I like it and the rounded edges make it a lot easier to hold in my hands compared to both the i4 and the sgsII with their sharper edges.
As far as the hardware goes, people have reported both light leakages and dust under the screen, but I did not experience any of those issues on my Sensation XE. The screen is still dust free after 2 months of usage, and there is no light leakage whatsoever. I inspected the device for light leakage in a dark room under my blanket with the screen on and off for an extended period of time. The softkey buttons respond well and the volume rocker is solid as I like it. The power button is slightly more inconveniently placed, but nothing to fret about.
As far as the software goes. The Sense 3.0 interface which comes standard with the phone really makes this phone as special as it is. Unable to be ported to any other manufactureres devices, Sense provided me with sleek visuals while remaining to give me a fluid experience with the device. Ever so often the device would soft-reset itself because it runs out of memory though. Which could be seen as an annoyance at start, but hasn't happened to me after the first week for some odd reason. The Sense overlay really made my like this phone, and I have since then looked upon all previous devices I owned as inferior when it comes to their individual overlays.
The screen, standing at a qHD resolution of 960x540 which is simply great. Not astounishingly great, but it simply is wonderful. While I've always been sceptic about resolution differences on phones it has become more than apparant to me that even this tiny resolution difference on this 4.3'' screen makes a huge difference. Text is sharper, images are sharper and the overall experience is far more enjoyable. Not only when browsing, but while looking at videos and pictures as well. The colors aren't quite as vibrant as on the SGSII, but that's not something I'm actually missing. There have been talks about the screen having washed out colors at certain angles, but please, at the angles where the colors start washing out, you won't be using your device anyway.
The modding community for the Sensation seems to be quite equal to the SGSII's community, but there's one difference. The Sensation mod community seems to be a much nicer bunch compared to the SGSII, keep in mind that this is a subjective view, and should not be taken as a fact. After S-off'ing the device, rooting and installing custom roms, it's hard to stick with one certain rom while thre is so much to choose from here. Ranging from the standard Sensation roms to the XE roms and kernels, there's plenty to mess around with.
The battery life however, oh oh oh HTC, you failed there. You made an excellent device and then simply mess it all up with the battery. At first I wasn't able to get through an afternoon with the device. But that was mostly thanks to my "honeymoon" period with the device where I tried to exert its every resource. After installing a couple of different kernels and roms, I've managed to get up to 16 hours of battery out of the phone, which is more than acceptable. Keep in mind though that you might want to consider getting an extended battery.
TLDR: Great build quality with a good weight attached to it. Sense overlay really is a + for me, and the higher resolution screen definitely helps the Sensation in its presentational value. The battery life and lesser amount of ram shouldn't have been there on the flagship device, but when looking at the device in it's entirety, I must say that this is the least of my worries. Definitely a worthy device.
Conclusion:
I love my Senny, the form factor and android overlay simply made this phone into my favorite phone so far. It has also refilled my trust in HTC and its products after the failure which was the G1. I currently only use my SGSII as a backup device for when my battery dies on my Senny and is pretty much used as data storage whenever not in use, as that's all what its good for in my opinion.
Do take my opinion with a grain of salt, as I'm currently quite favorable towards the Sensation XE which I own. Nonetheless both devices have their ups and downs, but the upsides of the SGSII do not outweigh the failures.
Excuse this long wall of text and the lack of english grammar, I'm not a native speaker and I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes in here!
Regards,
Vex
Please do your own research and come to your own conclusion. Try your best to get some hands-on experience for yourself with both phones, and pick whatever YOU think is better.
I don't mean this in a condescending manner. I mean this in the most helpful manner possible, because asking one particular group for just their opinions is particularly dangerous.
When you come into our forum, you are going to get a ton of biased responses making it as if our phone is the bomb. Many responses will be critical of the other phone, even though a lot of those responses come from people who don't own that phone and/or haven't even used one before. Another hugely dangerous thing is that people will give you an opinion based on what THEY value, not what you value. You will get a lot of the "SGS2 feels like a toy" responses, which indicates that that person clearly prioritizes the feel of a phone. Those voices will crowd out the few voices of people with different values (like me), who would say things like "Sensation performs like a toy". People will say run a custom ROM, OC, different kernel, yada yada, and I've done all that, and in my experience the Sensation just doesn't run as smoothly as other phones.
There are other things that have made my Sensation experience less than pleasurable. It's just overall an under-spec'd phone IMO. Less RAM than most dual-cores, undoubtedly a pathetic amount of internal storage (1 GB, really?), an asynchronous dual-core that IMO was a poor decision, a screen that lacks in the brightness department (yes, resolution is nice, but brightness is not), software that was just plain and simple horribly finished (I love Sense but I cannot stand how much of a fail it was in terms of making sure it would run well and smoothly), a horrible speaker (worst I've heard on a phone), "build quality" that makes me question why people continue to praise HTC for that (death grip that is more significant than most phones, a creaky back, dust issues under the screen, and the backlight for the capacitive buttons leaks through a tiny crack on the side of the phone, a pseudo-unibody design), and more. The Sensation is overall just a good device, a 7 out of 10 in my book. The phones of now like the Galaxy Nexus, Droid Razr, and the like are far better IMO on paper, and I'm sure if I got hands-on experience I would like them more than the Sensation.
The issue is that clearly some people who value one certain set of aspects will love the phone. Another group of people who value a different set of aspects won't like it as much. That would be me: poor performance bothers me more than plastic build possibly could (I've had a plastic Samsung phone before, and while it was nothing to look at or hold, it was tough as heck). The thing is, my opinion doesn't matter, because I don't know what YOU value. YOU shouldn't base YOUR decision on what I value.
I suppose it's OK to get opinions from owners, but you HAVE to make sure you get them from both sides, and you HAVE to take them ALL with a grain of salt. Optimally, you'll gather opinions and then get some hands-on experience to see what really applies to you.
I wholeheartedly agree with The Janitor Mop. As you can see, both our experiences differ by quite a large margin. Therefore it is of utmost importance that you try out both devices in-store yourself to draw the best conclusion for yourself.
Even though we can outline our experiences of the device with a slightly biased opinion, the truth of the matter is that none of our needs will be exactly the same as the needs you will have for this particular phone.
So, go to your local store and ask to try out both devices!
Stealing the topic from the owner..
I'd like to ask the same question. I'm going to the US in February, and i'd like to buy a new flagship for me. I had a Nexus S, and now I'm looking for the next.
So, what currently are the best phones, hardware speaking, that are available? Don't mind the OS or brand, and I'm looking mostly for a feature phone, it must be GSM. Thank you a lot.
PS: Forgot to mention, I'm on a budget, $600 tops please.
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