The BlackBerry Bold 9790 should be an ideal upgrade to anyone who owned a Curve or Bold 9700 in the past, it is not quite as impressive as the Bold 9900, in fact you would find it pretty hard to tell the 9700 and 9790 apart in terms of aesthetics, but ‘beneath the hood’ there’s lots of reasons why the 9790 is a worthy upgrade – most noticeably this shiny new BlackBerry runs OS 7, which is snappier and far more intuitive than previous versions.

In terms of technical specifications there’s a 1 GHz Marvel processor, a physical QWERTY keyboard, 768MB RAM, a 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD memory card which supports cards of 32GB, a 2.45-inch touchscreen display which outputs at 360 x 480, WiFi b/g/n, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity – you can see a full breakdown of tech specs and features here. As for size it measures in at 110 x 60 x 11.4 mm and weighs 107 grams.

So how much will Three charge you for this smartphone? Well as usual you can buy it outright and opt for a pay as you go deal, but this will mean you pay £319.99 for the handset. Alternatively there’s a few different 24-month deals to check out, all of which ensure that you get the Bold 9790 for free as part of the agreement.

You can see full pricing details over at Three’s website, we’ve embedded an image below which pretty much summarizes the options available:

As you can see there’s options to suit most people. Personally I would opt for the Text 500 All-you-can-eat tariff, paying £31 for all-you-can-eat data is something I’d be interested in and 5,000 texts is a lot, also as I don’t talk a lot on the phone 500 minutes should be adequate.

My only issue is that the price tag does seem a little high, the Lumia 710 is a lot cheaper than this and Windows Phone 7.5 is arguably superior to BlackBerry OS 7 (not in regards to enterprise usage), make you mind up and tell us what you decided to buy!

The Lumia 710 isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the Lumia 800, but it still boasts some pretty desirable specifications, to start with there’s a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7″ touchscreen display which outputs at 800 x 480 and utilizes ClearBlack technology and Gorilla Glass protection, a 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of internal storage (no memory card slot), WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR.

You can buy the Lumia 710 outright for £199, alternatively there are plenty of 24 month deals available all of which will give you the handset for free as part of the agreement. The cheapest option is the Text 500 plan, this costs you £22 and gives you 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and 1,000MB of data usage. Alternatively you can pay £25 per month for the Text 500 All-you-can-eat-data plan, this gives you the same minutes and texts as the last, however you get unlimited data usage (All-you-can-eat).

The most expensive price plan is great for those of you who like to chat, text and browse a lot, ‘The One Plan’ costs you £29 per month and gets you 2000 talk time minutes, 5,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data usage.

You can buy the Nokia Lumia 710 from Three here, it is very similarly priced to the HTC Desire S and Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S – which of these ‘three’ would you buy?

So what’s the Three Web Cube? Well basically it is a lot like a wireless router, however it doesn’t connect to broadband via a telephone line, simply plug it into the mains and it connects to Three UK’s HSPA+ mobile network via the SIM card which comes installed upon purchase, it then beams out a wireless connection in your home so computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and consoles can connect to it – neat eh?

Speeds vary depending on your location, however when we tested out Three’s Huawei E586 MiFi which offers HSPA+ connectivity we achieved sustainable speeds of 5.55Mbps down and 1.58Mbps up, the download speeds were a little slower than home broadband, but the upload speeds were much faster. The good news is that in stronger signal areas you can see download speeds of up 10Mbps.

What’s great about the Web Cube is that you can take it with you, so if you move house, go to a friends or need internet connectivity at a temporary location it’s fine, just unplug it from the wall and plug it in wherever there’s a power socket and signal (Three’s mobile network has won awards in the UK so should cover most areas) and you’re ready to go.

There’s two simple pricing options available, if you want a one-month rolling contract you must pay £59.99 upfront for the Web Cube and then £15 a month for 10GB of data. Alternatively you can agree a two-year deal and get the Web Cube free, this will cost you £15.99 per month and give you 15GB of data per month – this is more than enough for the majority of users out there who just use the Internet for web browsing, watching a few videos here and there and email – in fact if I didn’t stream films via Netflix and game over Xbox Live I would strongly consider the Web Cube as I would be saving money each month.

The Three Web Cube should not be seen as an alternative to dongles and MiFi solutions, instead it should be seen as a home broadband solution which isn’t tied down to a single home, we hope that in the future an all-you-can-eat data tariff will be available as this could seriously shake up UK broadband prices in the future. Currently the Web Cube is being tested out across the UK, therefore it won’t be publicly available until beta testing is complete, we have been promised a Web Cube to test out in the future so watch this space!

Will you buy the Three Web Cube?

Currently no pricing or release date information has been revealed by the UK’s fastest growing mobile network, but as the Galaxy S Advance boasts comparably inferior specifications to the SII it is safe to say that Three will sell you it for less than its big brother. The SII currently sells for £429.99 outright or for free if you agree a 24-month contract costing you at least £30 per month – so it looks like the Galaxy S Advance should undercut this and become a good option in the mid to high-end market.

When compared side-by-side with the SII the S Advance is pretty similar, it boasts a 4-inch curved AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and a dual-core 1GHz processor. This is by no means on par with the SII’s 4.3-inch flat display, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera and dual-core 1.2GHz processor, but still pretty impressive none-the-less. Perhaps the lower-end hardware will help deliver longer battery life than the SII, this is one area where last year’s top-end Samsung smartphone was criticized.

If Three price the Samsung Galaxy S Advance correctly it could be a huge hit in the UK this year, but currently there’s nothing more to tell you. When we hear more we will keep you posted, below we have embedded Three’s video where we get a sneak peak at the shiny new device.

Bearing in mind the SII prices, how much would you pay for the Galaxy S Advance in 2012? We think £400 outright or free as part of a 24-month contract costing £25 per month could be tempting…

Currently we don’t know anything in regards to release date or pricing, but to be honest with you we’re not surprised as the Xperia S has only just been revealed to the world. A recent article of ours suggests that it will become available SIM-free on March 5 for £467.99 (inc VAT) – therefore this gives us some insight as to when it may hit Three and how much it will cost, but nothings been officially announced just yet.

If our previous post’s information is correct we would be surprised if the Xperia S doesn’t become available from Three in March/April of this year. It’s hard to put an exact price on the smartphone as there are many considerations to take into account, but Three quite often give customers high-end smartphones for free when they agree 24 month contracts costing £30-£35 per month.

You can find out why so many people are excited about the Xperia S by checking out the official website, the 12 megapixel camera, dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.3-inch 720p display and HSPA+ connectivity are just some of the things that caught our eye, however we would prefer it to launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich rather than Android 2.3 Gingerbread (which it currently runs).

Hopefully we will find out more from Three soon, when we do we will be keeping you posted so keep checking Product-Reviews.net for all the latest technology news. Below we have added Three’s promotional video where they roll of a seemingly endless list of desirable specifications – Will you buy a Sony smartphone in 2012? If so, will you choose the Xperia S?

The auction is set to be held towards the end of this year as rival companies bid to buy the spectrum that is needed to help with the demand of the increase in use of smartphones and tablets. The Guardian are reporting that Ofcom now want 98% of the country’s population having access to mobile broadband, which is up from 95%.

Auctioning off the 4G spectrum could provide the UK Government with a £3 billion windfall along with millions in annual license fees. Ofcom has revealed new rules regarding the auction that has seen earlier guarantees for two operators removed. Before both Three and Everything Everywhere was to have a certain amount of spectrum in the 800MHz band reserved.

This band is currently being used by analogue TV signals that will become available by the end of the year when they are switched off. With regards of subscribers Everything Everywhere is the largest network following the merger of T-Mobile and Orange, while Three is the smallest.

The two companies have said they should get space reserved on the 800MHz spectrum as both O2 and Vodafone currently have no spectrum below 1000MHz. Lower spectrum bands are cheaper to build as they can send radio waves over greater distances, which means less masts and cheaper networks.

Ofcom may introduce protection for Three at a later date but not Everything Everywhere. It is expected that demand for mobile broadband in parts of Europe including the UK, will increase by 500% in the next five years.

The decision to increase the coverage of mobile broadband by Ofcom for remote rural areas comes in response to requests from MPs. One of the lots of spectrum to be auction off comes with this increase coverage obligation, but whoever wins this could have access to £150 million.

Will you be glad once 4G is available in the UK?

The HTC Sensation XL is one of HTC’s first-ever smartphones which comes bundled with Beats Audio music technology and it is also the company’s first offering which combines Google Android with a 4.7-inch display. Earlier in the year we tested out the HTC Sensation and we are eager to see how the Sensation XL’s single-core 1.5GHz processor compares to the original Sensation’s 1.2GHz dual-core processor, also we are quite intrigued to see just if such a large form-factor would be turn out to be a good thing.

After unboxing the HTC Sensation XL we were initially stunned by just how large it was, I have average sized hands and when holding the smartphone in my right hand I could not easily reach the top-left corner of the display with my thumb. What’s nice is that despite the huge display the design is pretty thin and actually feels pretty nice in your hand also the build quality feels extremely solid.

When you take the back cover off the HTC Sensation XL it is very similar to the original Sensation, the back cover features copper contacts which means that it acts as an antenna. We like the way that the back cover also covers the bottom, left and right sides of the smartphone. The SIM card tray is hidden beneath the 1600 mAh battery, however there is no memory card slot. We find this pretty shocking considering this is being bundled with Beats audio as there is only 12.64GB of the 16GB internal storage available to the user – that’s not a huge amount of music, especially once you download a few large apps, take some photos and shoot some videos.

As with most of HTC’s Android offerings the power button is located on the top-right edge and the headset jack is on the top-left edge. The volume rockers are found on the upper right-hand side, the microUSB port is positioned on the lower left-hand side and the standard Android buttons are situated below the huge display – these are backlit, which is something the LG Optimus 3D could have done with. There is not a lot we would change in terms of design, however if the back cover featured some additional grip it would be nice, also sometimes when using the XL whilst it’s charging the cable gets in the way, perhaps a different location for the microUSB port would be better.

When you first turn on the HTC Sensation XL it is hard to ignore just how great the 4.7-inch display looks, the colors are great and the brightness of the display is up there with the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S II. On such a large display it is sometimes frustrating to see that you are restricted to a 480 x 800 resolution, combining the 4.7-inch display with a 720p resolution would have amazing – perhaps they are saving this for the XL2. One thing which I loved about the display is just how clear it is in sunny outdoor conditions, you need the brightness cranked up (which affects battery life), but at least you have that option.

As you probably saw further up this page HTC is keen to remind you that Sensation XL features Beats Audio. When you buy this smartphone from Three UK it comes with a free pair of urBeats headphones, these are quite similar to iBeats which would cost you £79.99 / $99.95 if you purchased them separately. They come presented in premium-looking pouch (seen below) and inside there you will find a total of 5 pairs of different ear-buds to choose from, there is also a clip which allows you to attach the cable to your clothing and as you would expect there are controls on the cable and a mic.

When you plug the beats into the HTC Sensation XL and play a track you see notification show up, if you pull down the notifications bar you can then choose to enable / disable Beats audio – there is a noticeable difference in quality when Beats is enabled (note: Beats Audio also works with other sound equipment such as my V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones) but the sound has been optimized to suit Beats Audio headphone. I listen to a lot of Hip Hop and I love the bass that the urBeats output and the depth of sound, at full volume there is no distortion when Beats audio is enabled (as long as the file playing is at a high bit-rate), however it is pretty deafening at full volume – we found that 90% was plenty! It is also worth knowing that the phone’s built-in speaker sounds great to when watching videos and playing music. The long rubbery cable seems easier to untangle when compared to other headphone cables and the only thing I would change would be to add volume buttons to the in-line controls as it is sometimes inconvenient to access the XL’s volume rockers.

The 8 megapixel on the rear is mounted centrally and assisted by a dual LED flash, results on the whole were extremely good, but not perfect. Close-up macro shots come out great most of the time and so do standard portrait photos, my biggest gripe is with results in dark conditions, they often come out hazy and have an orange tint. Every now and then the camera fails to focus quickly and images come out a little blurry (especially if your taking a photo of something which is moving), but most of the time images look sharp with pretty accurate colors. One nice touch is when using the camera the UI adapts depending on whether you are using it in landscape or portrait mode, as you would expect the software controlling the camera is intuitive and allows you to choose customs scenes, effects and settings – there’s much more at hand than the iPhone 4S offers.

Other reviews which I have read for this phone slated the video capture, yes there is no 1080p capture, so it is worse than the original Sensation and the iPhone 4S in that respect, but in my opinion the videos still looked great and we must mention just how good the Sensation XL is at filtering out noise whilst capturing crisp audio. We took the Sensation XL to a music event in London and couldn’t believe just how good the audio and video came out, this is despite lighting being poor and us being situated quite a far distance away. The best video I took captured my dog running rapidly around the living room, despite switching quickly between shady areas and direct sunlight the video came out great, the glossy look on her coat looked perfect and there was no blur even when the dog jumped right into (and almost hitting) the lens.

The smartphone’s single-core 1.5GHz processor and 768MB of RAM come together nicely to ensure that performance is good no-matter what you decide to use the Sensation XL for. Whilst commuting I often played music using the built-in music application whilst playing games such as Drag Racing and Solitaire, at times I would load up the Facebook, Twitter and Google+ apps or start browsing the web, despite doing this at once the Sensation XL coped very well and always felt snappy. Obviously the single core processor results in some limitations, however we didn’t spot anything too noticeable excluding the lack of 1080p video capture. Benchmarks show that in terms of grunt there are lots of better options currently available, but that has nothing to do with real-world performance, the fact is that it handled everything we threw at it with ease, that said the throughout next year when games and apps start becoming optimized for multi-core processors the Sensation XL will struggle.

In terms of battery life the HTC Sensation XL’s 1600 mAh battery can last a full day easily, Three UK’s superfast network HSPA+ network ensures that you should never have to turn WiFi on as even in poor signal areas we received speeds of 2Mbps down and 1.6Mbps, in better areas I received 4Mbps download speeds (my home broadband is only capable of 10Mbps speeds). By not having WiFi, Bluetooth or GPS switched on (unless required) you can squeeze lots of extra life out of your battery. We added the power control widget to our primary home screen to allow us to easily turn off unnecessary features, it also allows you to turn down screen brightness which has a massive impact on battery life. When using the Sensation XL for gaming and photo / video capture the battery does drain much more quickly, so it may not last you an entire day – installing the free Advanced Task Killer app is well-worth doing.

We briefly touched upon Three’s fast network in the last paragraph, we have to say that the HTC Sensation XL and the HSPA+ come together perfectly to deliver a rich socially connected smartphone experience which is also great for web browsing. The default browser is great (as we have seen with previous Android handsets), but just can’t wait to see what Android 4.0 brings to the table as in our opinion in terms of browsing speed the Sensation XL is faultless, sometimes scrolling and panning around a page could be a little smoother, but that’s nitpicking.

Sorry for the blurriness of this pic, my camera couldn’t capture a good still of the rotation effect.

At the time of submitting this review the sample HTC Sensation XL which we were testing out had all the system software updates installed, it was running Android 2.3.5 and HTC Sense 3.5. HTC’s Sense 3.5 UI and Android Gingerbread come together nicely to deliver a rich smartphone experience (as has been the case for a long time with Sense and Android), things we were particularly impressed by include 3D carousel effect which shows when your rapidly swipe between home screens (see below). Also when compared to previous versions of Sense we prefer 3.5′s lock screen, its new and improved widgets and the new photo gallery is great.

In terms of phone usage all calls sounded loud and clear whether you’re using the handset normally or the urBeats headphones as a hands free kit. We didn’t suffer a dropped call when in good service areas (calls only dropped when going through tunnels for us) and the person on the other end of the line said we sounded loud and clear, even when using the speakerphone. As a former BlackBerry user I must admit that I sometimes struggle with virtual QWERTY keyboards, however because of the large display the keyboard is very easy to use and when combined with Android’s great word prediction system it is no chore to send long text messages or emails.

Summary

When we first picked up the HTC Sensation XL we thought the 4.7-inch display was just too big to be comfortable, friends will mock you saying “why did you bring your TV out with you” (well mine did any way), but the fact is they are also the same friends who will be wowed by the super-bright display and the fast access to sites such as YouTube etc. After a week or so of usage you adapt the way you use your XL and use it a bit more like a tablet than a smartphone, but that isn’t a bad thing if you are a technology enthusiast. Excluding when making phonecalls I mostly used the Sensation XL in landscape, especially when using the virtual keyboard. We really like the Sensation XL and think it is a great choice for anyone who wants a smartphone to deliver great social features, fast web browsing and super sound quality – we are sitting here thinking of some reasons not to buy it, all we can say is that the only disappointments for us were the lack of 1080p video capture, the lack of a memory card slot, the battery life (when under stress), the fact that it won’t cope with apps designed for dual-core processors and also you have to remember the form factor will be far too big for a lot of people’s hands.

You can head over to Three.co.uk to buy the HTC Sensation XL on a 24 month contract from £34 per month, however we recommend the £37 per month option which gives you All-you-can-eat data. The web browsing video below is worth checking out.

Did you buy the Sensation XL? If so, are you happy with your purchase?

In the UK it is hard to find a mobile broadband solution which delivers fast and reliable service, therefore most people opt for home broadband via their telephone line, could Huawei’s E586 MiFi and Three’s network team up to change this once and for all? Here’s our review.

Opening up the packaging reveals the MiFi unit and its battery, a mains plug with a USB port, two USB cables (1 x 17cm and 1 x 1.2m), a dock / cradle, the SIM card and all the paper work. The first thing we realised was just how small and light the E586 is, in fact you could keep it in your pocket without realising it is even in there. In terms of design the face of the MiFi unit is glossy, whilst the back and sides have a matte finish, also there is a small display which shows you signal strength etc and a microSD memory card slot for storage.

The first thing to do is insert the SIM card, simply pop off the back cover and remove the battery, here the SIM card slot is located. Once you have reinserted the battery and put the back cover back on you are ready to go, simply press the power button down for approximately 3 seconds and wait a few seconds and the MiFi will start up and automatically connect to Three’s network.

You can now connect your device(s) wirelessly to the MiFi, pressing the key button on the side of the MiFi reveals the SSID and WPA key. If you wish to change this you can, however during our tests we left the default WPA key and SSID. The Huawei E586 allows for up to 5 simultaneous connections and we had no problems connecting to the MiFi at any point, it is also worth knowing that you can also change many other settings by logging in to the MiFi via your web browser, however the standard settings are fine.

On the MiFi’s small display you can see lots of useful information, this includes battery level, connection status / strength, how much data you have used and how long you have been connected. During testing it took me over a day to use up 1GB of data, this is despite accessing YouTube, Spotify and other data-intensive websites / services. For £18.99 per month Three will give you a 15GB allowance, I think that this will be more than enough for the majority of consumers.

I tried out the MiFi at different times of day and in different locations within a 5 mile radius of my home, I did find that in the evenings connection speeds decreased, but most of the time I managed to experience 5 Mbps download speeds and 1.5 Mbps upload speeds. HSPA+ is said to support speeds of over three times this (21.6 Mbps down, 5.76 Mbps up) and I don’t doubt that in other areas Three’s network delivers speeds closer to this. My current home broadband provider only delivers 12 Mbps down and 0.8 Mbps up, therefore in a year or so we may see that mobile broadband is a better option that home broadband in certain areas.

One great thing about the Huawei E586 is the fact that it can deliver an internet connection to computers which don’t have WiFi connectivity, all of the required software is located on the MiFi unit, so simply plug it in via USB and run the installer, you will then have a new shortcut on your desktop which is your new portal to the worldwide web.

The E568 is said to 100 hours standby time, but we were more interested to see how much usage you could get from a single charge. I decided to turn off my home broadband for the day and instead only use the MiFi unit, during testing I constantly accessed the web on my laptop and also also connected my iPhone and BlackBerry to the network and used those for social networking etc, it lasted 5 and a half hours before the battery ran out, which I think is very impressive. The battery life isn’t greatly important to everyone as the MiFi can be charged over USB or via the mains, but it at least means that if for some reason you are without a power source it should last you pretty much a whole working day.

When using the Huawei E586 at home simply sit it in its dock and it will keep fully charged, it sits at an angle which allows you to easily see the display and doesn’t clutter up your desk. If you are going to use the MiFi unit when you are out and about it comes with a handy 17cm USB cable meaning that it can be easily charged by any computer with a USB port.

Throughout our tests we almost forgot that we were using mobile broadband, in fact during a few days of usage it only ever failed us once, for some reason it lost connectivity to the network, however turning it off and back on resolved the issue in a matter of seconds.

Conclusion

Before testing out the Huawei E586 MiFi on Three’s HSPA+ network I was a little sceptical as to whether it could really deliver a good enough service to suit a self-confessed technology geek, well I have to say that it delivered far beyond my expectations. Sites like YouTube worked fine and buffering wasn’t an issue, also the connection is reliable enough to assure you that you have a fast web connection with you no-matter where you go (97% national coverage), the only thing that I would say is that you have to be careful not to go over your monthly allowance as you will get charged 10.2p per MB used, this makes it unsuitable for online gaming etc. As Three’s network grows stronger we are sure that speeds should get faster and the decrease in connection speed during peak times should be less noticeable, if you are looking for cheap, fast and reliable mobile broadband you can’t go wrong with the Huawei E586 MiFi on Three.

You can head over to Three’s website to buy yourself the Huawei E586 MiFi here, there are lots of different pricing options available to suit different types of users and the unit is available in either white or black.

Below we have added some more photos from our hands-on review:

The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ connectivity and Three UK has already began rolling out its HSPA+ network, this means if you want fast data connectivity you will not find a better faster network in the UK. HSPA+ is regarded as 4G and speeds of up to 21Mbps speeds are said to be possible, which is faster than most people’s home broadband connections, we really think Three UK could be onto a winner with this one.

Currently there are 15 different pricing options available to you, 5 for each capacity (16GB, 32GB and 64GB), the cheaper monthly prices will require an upfront cost, however if you agree a price of £40+ per month, upfront costs are far lower. Below we have embedded an image which shows all the pricing options, click on the image for a larger view.

The only option which doesn’t require any upfront cost is the 16GB model when you agree a contract which costs you £43 per month, this gets you 900 minutes, 5000 texts and 1GB of data. We prefer the unlimited data options, so instead you should look at the options on “The One Plan”, these give you 2000 minutes, 5000 texts and all-you-can-eat data, however you do have to pay some upfront cost (ranging from £49 to £279) – all of the deals on The One Plan will cost you either £35 or £45 per month.

We doubt that any UK carrier will undercut these prices by a lot, however when we hear prices from Orange, O2, Vodafone etc we will keep you posted.

When you pick up a smartphone for the first time and turn it on you can tell a lot about a handset, as soon as you pick up the Sensation you instantly feel just how well built it is, it feels solid, slightly weighty and well-balanced in your hand, also if you thought that a 4.3-inch display would make it too bulky, think again. I have averaged sized hands and it felt fine (see image below), one thing which bemused us a little was the location of the power button as it was located on the top right hand side of the Sensation, which we feel favors left handers, we prefer the position of the HTC Desire’s power button. The smartphone’s back cover has a neat design which actually helps you to grip the handset, this is a small, but neat touch.

The first thing you do when you get a new smartphone is put your SIM card in and charge it upthe microUSB port on the lower left-hand side of the Sensation is used for charging and data transfer, we like it’s position as it doesn’t restrict you too much when it is plugged into the mains or your PC. When we took the back cover off we were surprised to see that the back cover was not just a simple plastic cover, instead it housed the power button, volume rockers and the phone’s entire outer-edge. Not only this but there were lots of contact points which we later found out make the Sensation’s back cover act as an antenna. On the back of the smartphone you have easy access to the battery, SIM card tray and memory card slot, incedently Three UK give you an 8GB microSD card, which is just as well as the Sensation only features 1GB of internal storage.

Recently when we reviewed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play we were a little annoyed by the time it took to switch the smartphone on, the Sensation takes less time to start up than the Play, but we unscientifically tested it out and thought that the dual-core processor would boot up Android 2.3.3 much quicker than the 40 seconds it took. To be honest with you this is no big issue, but it may annoy certain people.

When you first boot up the HTC Sensation and agree terms and conditions you are greeted by a great UI which is provided by HTC Sense 3.0, in our review we won’t really go into detail about Sense as we feel it has been covered hundreds of times by other reviews, we may touch on a few highlights, but let’s just say that Android masked by Sense 3.0 is great, you get 7 home screens which allow for lots of customization, also the different scene choices which come pre-installed should cater for everyone’s needs.

As you would expect you get all of the software which you would expect from a smartphone of this nature, however we were most impressed by a simple app called Transfer my stuff which uses Bluetooth to transfer contacts, SMS and calendar events from your old device to the HTC Sensation, we wrote a dedicated hands on review of this app (which can be seen here), we were impressed by how quick and easy it was to use.

The first thing you will probably test out is the smartphone’s camera and camcorder functionality. We tried the camera out in all sorts of conditions and got mainly great stills. We found that in low-light or extremely close-up scenarios it struggled a little, however in outdoor conditions it delivered great results, we were particularly impressed by the fact that you could take multiple stills in short succession, as you would expect the software allows you to quickly and easily share videos and add effects etc. We feel that the dual LED flash plays a big part in this. All the photos taken in this post were taken by the Sensation’s camera.

The video capture in our opinion is where the Sensation really excels, the clarity of the videos is in our opinion better than any video we have ever seen a smartphone deliver, again you can add effects, but we think these are a bit of a waste of time as most people won’t use these. No matter what scene we recorded the Sensation delivered fluid results effortlessly. One thing which we did notice is that when you play back some videos you will notice noise captured from the wind, but in terms of video quality you couldn’t really question the HTC Sensation, perhaps some aspects of the captured video could be a little sharper, but that’s us being pedantic. The fact of the matter is that you will struggle to find a smartphone today which records better video than the Sensation.

Another thing which is hard to ignore is the vibrant display, we actually found that you didn’t need to have the display at full brightness most of the time, the display did struggle a little in outdoor conditions (unless at full brightness), but let’s face it this is a problem which no smartphone has truly overcome. The 960 x 540 resolution ensures that you see lots on the Sensation’s display without having to pan around, this is great when scrolling through contacts, reading long emails and viewing websites, also videos look great. Personally without such a high resolution we think that it would have hampered such an impressive smartphone. Viewing angles are great to.

The real reason we are testing out the HTC Sensation is to see how such a powerhouse of a smartphone combines with Three’s 3G network, we tested it thoroughly for two weeks and as we expect Three did not let us down. We have embedded a video below which shows just how good the network and smartphone combine to deliver a rich web browsing experience, please note that there was no active WiFi connection and pages weren’t cached, this test used the 3G connection alone and as you can see it really left us thinking – who needs 4G?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=airTuvwAFOo&w=480&h=390]

In terms of general usage we can confirm that the touch screen display is both accurate and responsive, when making calls your caller’s voice comes out loud and clear and we are told that the Sensation’s mic sounds loud and clear, we thought that the speakerphone was great to. Battery life depends heavily on how you use the Sensation, the day where we tested out photo capture, video capture, game performance, video playback and web browsing etc took its toll on the Sensation’s battery, however once the novelty wore off and we used it for standard day-to-day usage we could easily get almost two days from a single charge. The fact of the matter is that the HTC Sensation does not need to be charged every night, however if you plan on shooting 1080p video multiple times a day, playing it back and then playing games for hours on end you may have to.

Wrap Up

There are lots of great things about the HTC Sensation, so much so if Apple made Android handsets we think they would be proud of the Sensation. In terms of camera, display, battery life, video capture, performance and build quality we would say that HTC has almost delivered top marks, but that said there is always room for improvement. The power button location is odd, and close-up photos sometimes disappointed, also if you constantly have WiFi on you may notice that your battery doesn’t last much more than a day, but with Three UK’s super-fast 3G network you won’t need WiFi turned on for data-intensive tasks.

You can buy the HTC Sensation from Three here, if you agree a two-year contract it will cost you from £30 per month, or if you prefer you could buy it outright for £449.99 and get an all you can eat data plan, the choice is yours.

Below we have embedded a few more photos of the HTC Sensation.