HTC Sensation 4G for T-Mobile Reviewed

Build Quality and Design

The HTC Sensation is by far one of the best designed Android phones we’ve seen to date. It employs a very unique unibody aluminum casing that essentially splits the phone into two pieces. The battery and the aluminum Unibody backing also double as a battery door. This is in contrast to previous HTC designs which usually have either a large back piece of plastic, or a battery door that also provides access to the memory and SIM cards. With this design, though, HTC has fixed an irritatiting issue. Now, the memory card is not hidden behind the battery, but rather to the side of the battery. This means you can swap memory cards without having to take out the battery and power down the phone. This may not be a big deal for some, but for someone who switches between phones or memory cards often, it is an attractive feature. They also made part of the back of the aluminum back piece slightly rubberized so that it can be held easily. These are the corners where you’d find yourself most likely to grip the phone, whether you are a left- or right-handed. Furthermore, it provides the covering for both the speakerphone and earphone.

Pictured Above: HTC Sensation, Nokia N8, HTC G2

The phone itself is not too large, and it is very ergonomic and comfortable. The design itself is attractive and functional, but lacks a hardware camera button which would have been much better for taking photos and videos. We’ll get into this more as we delve deeper into the review. The phone itself looks like it is hybrid of HTC design and Samsung design. The quality of the phone is solid, and nothing feels flimsy or too plastic. The aluminum backing of the phone gives it a rigid but comfortable feel, and seem durable enough that the phone would not break if dropped. However, with such a rigid design there are also risks. If the back piece gets cracked or broken, it would likely be expensive to replace it as it houses the antennas for the phone. If the phone is held with the backing, it gets full HSPA+ (‘4G’) reception, but without it, it loses 3G and 4G reception and reverts to 2G. This is a point of contention consumers should be aware of when buying this phone. The back piece of the phone is EXTREMELY important and cannot simply be replaced by a 3rd party battery door.

HTC Sensation and HTC G2 battery cover comparison

Packaging and Accessories

The packaging is fairly minimalist, and it includes information about the contents of the box and what the main features of the phone are. The box contains the phone with the battery, charger, headset with audio controls and clip, USB charger (USB cable + wall plug), the Manual/Quickstart Guide and the Terms and Conditions booklet. T-Mobile also offers you the opportunity to easily recycle your old cell phone in order to be ‘green’ which is a great effort on their part, although they likely make money off of recycled phones and consumers are probably better off recycling it for money through a kiosk like EcoATM.

Simple Box, Detailed Specs and Box Contents (Power, USB, Headset)