We’ve seen a plethora of premium smartphones launch over the last month and two of the most impressive are undoubtedly Samsung’s Galaxy Note and the new HTC Sensation XL. We’ve previously taken a look at the displays and processing power of these two models, so here we’ll focus on the design and multimedia features of these fantastic new phones.
Anyone in the market for a compact smartphone should stay away from these two devices as they are very large phones that offer large screens. The Samsung Galaxy Note is physically a much larger device than the Sensation XL at 146.9 x 83.9 x 9.7mm. Despite these measures, the phone offers a relatively sleek design that is helped by the slim depth that this model offers. Most of the phone’s fascia is dominated by the large screen that gives the Note a premium look. The design is also very minimalist, thanks to Samsung opting to use capacitive touch buttons instead of physical keys on the front panel. If you flip the phone over and look at the back panel, you’ll find a slightly curved design complete with a textured finish that helps the unit feel comfortable when in use. Despite offering smaller dimensions of 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9mm, the HTC Sensation XL actually feels thicker in design than the Galaxy Note. This is due in part to the familiar curved design found on many HTC devices in contrast to the Galaxy’s more angular design. However, the phone has an attractive appearance, especially on the front panel, where the screen almost fills the entire panel, leaving an extremely thin frame. The phone will also be available in black and white, although we think the black variety looks better with this model’s design.
One of the first areas many consumers look for in a modern phone is the digital still camera, and both devices offer high quality in this department. The Samsung Galaxy Note is capable of capturing photos and video footage. The still camera has a very high resolution of 3264 x 2448 which is equivalent to 8 megapixels. A host of features are present in this model’s camera, including geo-tagging, autofocus, face detection, and a panorama capture mode. Regarding video recording, the device captures the highest possible resolution at 1080P. This quality is also known as Full HD and ensures that video footage looks great no matter what device it is played on. The HTC Sensation XL offers the same high-quality photo capture, but unfortunately it can’t match the Samsung when it comes to video capture. The phone offers standard HD images, but with a lower resolution of 720P. A secondary front camera is present on both models to facilitate video calls.
These two devices are perfect examples of a modern smartphone with a big screen. Despite their obvious size disadvantage, both models offer a sleek design, but the Samsung Galaxy Note dwarfs the Sensation XL thanks to its 1080P HD video capture.
