sensation

In 2011 HTC released two premium smartphones that included a high quality set of Beats Audio headphones. Thanks to the excellent sound quality that is reproduced by these headphones the HTC Sensation XL and XE have become a major success with consumers purchasing a mobile device for its music playback facilities. It now seems that HTC are to join forces with Beats Audio once again to launch a new service providing a huge choice of music to owners of devices such as these.

Music streaming platforms have become increasingly popular over the last 12 months with many consumers happy to pay a small monthly subscription which enables them to access millions of tracks. HTC and Beats Audio are looking at launching a platform of their own which should rival some of the very best that are currently available. The advantage of a service such as this that Beats Audio specialise in enhancing the sound quality of tracks rather than just providing the music. It is hoped that users of this anticipated service will be able to enjoy a huge choice of music with the sound optimised to sound superb on their HTC Sensation XL handset. Jimmy Lovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen who are heavily involved in the Beats Audio service recently stated “We have very big ambitions for Beats beyond headphones. Music has got to succeed on the phone or else the record industry will never thrive”.

HTC are not the only mobile phone manufacturer who have turned their attention towards providing a music streaming service. Last year Sony launched the Music Unlimited service for Android phones while Blackberry have also recently unveiled their own BBM Music application. Although devices such as the HTC Sensation XL do offer a large internal storage capacity there is obviously a limit to how many songs the device will hold. Streaming services remove this restriction by enabling users to pick and chose the songs they want without having to physically store them onto their device. The service is dependant on a good data connection but this should not prove much of a problem with most areas offering a good 3G signal or WiFi hotspots. The music player that is built in to the phone offers a great alternative to streaming services. It is ideal if you do not want to use up your monthly data allowance and is also perfect for long commutes when streaming may be interrupted by a decrease in signal quality.

The HTC Sensation XL offers superb music facilities and the proposed new Beats Audio streaming service will deliver a huge selection of music to users. The audio enhancement that this new service is set to deliver should see the application prove a huge success with many consumers.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Sensation XE are available now.

The new HTC Sensation XL is a mobile device that boasts superior audio performance to many of its rivals thanks to the incorporation of Beats Audio technology. The handset really does excel when playing music files on the music player feature that is installed on the phone and a number of new applications that enable users to stream music to their device also benefit from this enhanced sound. We take a look at the revamped Rdio application that offers super features in this area.

Rdio has been available for several months now but many users found the interface more complicated than what was on offer with alternative applications. The developers took note of this and completely redesigned the app and the end result is very impressive. The main home page highlights tracks that are currently trending with other users and also a selection of new releases. This immediately gives users a chance to experience songs that they may not have ever heard before rather than opting to find artists and songs that they are familiar with. A number of social networking features have also been added which allow you to create your own profile and list your favourite tracks. You have the option to browse other users profiles and can even add them as a friend if they have similar musical tastes to you. This new version of the application also lets you control music playback directly from the lock screen on the Sensation XL which saves the user time and makes the whole user experience much easier.

The Rdio application for the HTC Sensation XL boasts a huge database of songs that cover all genres of music. Over 12 million individual tracks are available and users can choose whether to simply listen to their track of choice or compile a playlist that incorporates it. If you choose to make a playlist this is automatically available every time you log into the service. Rdio is a subscription based service but for a relatively small monthly outlay you have access to a massive selection of music. Once you have signed up you can even access the service from a PC or laptop so you can download music from the site and edit playlists that you have already created. If you find yourself hooked to the service there are even devices available that let you access the facilities on a television while linked to a home audio centre to give you the ultimate sound experience.

The new Rdio application offers some useful new features that make using the service a real pleasure. A massive selection of music is available and the new social features further enhance the appeal of the application. The HTC Sensation XL is the perfect mobile device to use with this service as the audio performance enables you to enjoy your music in the highest possible quality.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Sensation XE are available now.

One of the key features on many modern smartphones is the excellent camera facilities that are on offer. As the camera features have improved in quality the number of applications available to enhance these facilities has also increased. The iPhone has typically had access to the best software in this area but a new Android app named Paper Camera has been released which is perfect for devices such as the HTC Sensation XL and Sensation XE.

There are numerous applications available that enable you to manipulate how your photographs look. Many of these are very poor in quality but occasionally one comes along which produces superb results. Last year we saw the Instagram app for the iPhone 4 become a global success thanks to its beautiful visuals and simple interface and now Android have a similar option in the shape of Paper Camera. Rather than confuse the user with multiple options and effects this new software is very simple to use which is why it will appeal to many Android consumers. The attractive thing about Paper Camera is that it applies the effects to your photograph in real time. What this basically means is that you can see how the image will look before you actually take the photograph. This is a much quicker system than what is offered by alternative software which relies upon you capturing the image and then applying the effects afterwards. Some of the effects that this application produces look superb. The sketch option looks artistic and has a retro feel while another option multiplies the image by four and applies a different colour filter to each individual picture. The result of this is a modern looking image that is reminiscent of something that may have been painted by Andy Warhol. Thanks to the high quality displays used by devices such as the HTC Sensation XL and XE the results look fantastic.

The Paper Camera application for the HTC Sensation XL uses an interface that phone users of all ages will find easy to navigate. Rather than present the user with a complex screen full of various effects the interface is very minimal. In an attempt to make the software look totally different from many rivals the developers have given the home screen a design that looks as though it has been roughly sketched on a notepad. This gives the application a unique look and feel which feels a million miles away from the copycat interfaces used by many similar systems. Retrieving your images is also a very simple task. Rather than final photographs being stored within the software itself they are placed directly into your photo gallery so they can be viewed alongside all of your other images. Although the application may be a little basic for photographers looking for more advanced results it will appeal to the majority of Android users and the fact that it has already gained over half a million downloads supports this fact.

Some premium Android devices such as the HTC Sensation XL and XE combine very high quality camera facilities with displays that offer extremely high resolution. Such handsets are perfect for applications such as Paper Camera which give you photographs a fun and attractive twist.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Sensation XE are available now.

The new HTC Sensation XL comes complete with a wealth of excellent features that users can experiment with the minute they take the phone out of the box. There are some new features that are being introduced throughout 2012 and one of the more impressive looks set to be the Snapdragon Game Command application from Qualcomm.

Qualcomm produce the Snapdragon processor chips that are used inside all premium HTC models and the new feature aims to showcase the power of the chipset with some superb games titles. The software will only be available on handsets like the XL that incorporate the Snapdragon chipset. The service includes over 100 games titles and each and every one of these titles has been optimised for use with the more powerful processor. These optimisations range from exclusive content to improved graphics which will make the title stand out from alternative versions available on less powerful handsets. There are several elements to Snapdragon Game Command with the most obvious of these being the opportunity to download titles to your handset. There will also be the facility to stream the latest trailers to your handset so you can see which games may take your fancy. The software will also feature a section where you can view all content that you have purchased and downloaded. A key factor to this new service is discovering titles that may be of interest to you. The software links to ten individual RSS feeds that keep you up to date with new arrivals on the platform and each individual game has an indicator that highlights exactly how the title has been optimised for the platform.

The HTC Sensation XL runs one of the very best Snapdragon chipsets which makes it the perfect device for this new service. The processor part of this set up is the MSM8255 chip which boasts a very fast speed of 1.5Ghz. This makes the processor one of the most powerful currently available despite the fact that it is only a single core chip rather than one that boasts dual cores. There is also an excellent Adreno 205 graphics processing unit present which does a superb job of making everything displayed on the screen look smooth even when it incorporates very fast movement. The phone also includes a very large display which is perfect for the multitude of games that are on offer. This screen measures 4.7 inches and displays a very high resolution of 480 x 800 which enables the phone to show 199 pixels per inch.

The new Snapdragon Game Command Service looks like an exciting introduction for users of this device in 2012. The HTC Sensation XL is the ultimate device to take full advantage of the service thanks to its powerful processor and superb quality large display.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Desire S are available now.

Over the past 12 months there is no doubt that the two mobile handsets that have gained the most media attention are the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the iPhone 4S. The Samsung model broke sales figures in the earlier part of the year and went on to become the biggest selling phone of the year whilst the iPhone 4S captured the publics attention in September thanks to some excellent software. A brand that has been somewhat overshadowed by these two heavyweights is HTC. We look at the sales figures recorded by the the firm for the 3rd quarter of 2011 and see what to expect over the coming months from models such as the HTC Sensation XL.

HTC have been steadily expanding and their range of mobile devices and their encouraging sales figures for the 3rd quarter of the year suggest that the smartphone market is certainly not a straight head to head race between Apple and Samsung. HTC managed to shift 13.2 million handsets during this period which is a massive increase of 93 per cent on the same period in 2010. In terms of net income this rise in sales signified a 68% increase. Smartphone sales are currently huge for all manufacturers thanks to more basic feature phones being replaced by smartphone varieties. A spokesperson for HTC stated that the success achieved by the brand over recent months can be attributed to “strong brand recognition” together with a “leading product portfolio”. HTC certainly do offer a varied range of models from the newer entry level devices to the recently released Sensation XL premium device. Looking at the mid range sector of the market we must not forget that HTC boast the award winning Desire S and the popular Wildfire models.

Thanks to the launch of new models such as the HTC Sensation XL and the Sensation XE it looks as though the fourth quarter of the year may prove even more fruitful for the company. HTC themselves are remaining cautious about the forthcoming months by stating that they expect to sell a similar amount of handsets as they did in Q3, however do not be surprised if these two big new releases see a further improvement in sales. The Sensation XL sports a huge 4.7 inch display together with some impressive camera features that include an 8 mega pixel primary camera and 1080P video recording. The Sensation XE uses a smaller 4.3 inch display and is a model that is aimed at the mainstream market rather than the more specialised multi media users that the XL is targeting. Both of the models operate at great speed with the XL utilising a great 1.5Ghz processor while the XE uses a more powerful dual core chip of the same size.

HTC have continued to steadily grow within the smartphone market and the two new Sensation models look to further enhance the growing reputation of the brand. The HTC Sensation XL will appeal to people wanting to use their phone for gaming and movie playback while the Sensation XE is a more compact device with a smaller screen but boasting a more impressive chipset.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Sensation XE are available now.

HTC have recently established themselves as one of the leading mobile phone manufacturers. The company focus purely on smartphones to meet the requirements of a broad spectrum of consumers from first time owners to experienced users. The current range of model features something for everyone so we take a quick look at the current range and see what is on offer.

The range starts with the superb HTC Explorer. This model is intended to be a perfect first smartphone and is ideal for anybody upgrading from a feature phone. The model runs on the popular Android operating system and incorporates a 3.2 inch display capable of showing a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. In the processor department the model makes use of a 600 Mhz Scorpion processor which operates at a good speed although multi tasking does slow the handset down a little. A 3 mega pixel camera is fitted on the phone which is perfect for uploading snaps to Facebook and Twitter. If you are taking your first steps in the smartphone world then this model is perfect. The Explorer has also found itself popular with an older generation of user that requires smartphone functionality but in a very basic form. Stepping up the range a little we find the HTC Wildfire S, a model that offers the same screen technology and processor speed as the Explorer but offer improved camera features. The camera on this model can capture shots at 5 mega pixel resolution and also video footage in VGA quality at a rate of 24 frames per second.

Sitting nicely in the middle of the HTC range is the Desire S, the update on the best selling Desire. Not so long ago this model would have found itself at the top of the range but with the ever improving technology available it is now an attractive mid range phone available at a good price. Screen size jumps up to 3.7 inches on this model and resolution is also boosted to 480 x 800 pixels. Digital still photographs are captured at the same 5 million pixel resolution as the Wildfire S but video capture has been boosted to 720P high definition quality. In the engine room of the phone there is also a substantial upgrade to the processor with this model offering a powerful 1Ghz processor.

At the very top of the range we find the two newest models, the HTC Sensation XL and the Sensation XE. Both of these models use considerably larger screens with the XL utilising a massive 4.7 inch display and a slightly smaller 4.3 inch screen on the XE. Thanks to these large displays both of these models will appeal to fans of multi media services and both devices acknowledge this by including some excellent features. Digital photographs are great on both models thanks to very high 8 mega pixel resolution while video capture is equally impressive at 1080P resolution. One area where these two models offer features that outshine all of their rivals is in the audio playback department. HTC have opted to incorporate Beats Audio technology into the models which helps a more deep and natural sound be reproduced when using either headphones or the loudspeakers that are fitted on each model.

HTC really do offer a model for every type of customer. The HTC Explorer and Wildfire are perfect for younger teenagers or people wanting a cheap and simple smartphone while the HTC Desire offers a blend of great features and modern design at a competitive price. The new HTC Sensation XL and Sensation XE are the two premium models in the range and feature the very latest technology for smartphone enthusiasts everywhere.

The HTC Sensation XL and the HTC Sensation XE are available now.