The smartphone market is now dominated by three main hardware makers - HTC, Samsung and Apple. Although there are other manufacturers out there, it's these three that are grabbing the attention of consumers. If Nokia and Microsoft can get their act together, then it's possible that their alliance will bear fruit.
In the hand
At 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9mm and 162.5g the Sensation XL is not small. In our testing, we found that it was a little too large to be easily used with one hand. For example, while holding it in the palm of our average-sized hand, it was difficult to reach around to the home button. However, the Settings, back and Search buttons could be easily reached.
It's inevitable that the Sensation XL will be compared to the iPhone. In our experience, despite being marginally thicker and about 22g heavier, the Sensation XL doesn't feel much heavier. Also, given its rounded edges, it feels comfortable to hold. We find the iPhone's sharper edges and chunkier style make it feel larger than it actually is.
The only buttons on the device are four touch-sensitive buttons below the 4.7-inch display and the volume control on the right-side of the smartphone. All worked reliably in our testing.
Storage
The Sensation XL ships with 16GB of inbuilt storage with no expansion. It's interesting that so many critics of the iPhone complained about its lack of an SD or other storage expansion but it's now a common feature of modern smartphones.
Depending on how you use your phone, 16GB may seem like overkill or a serious constraint. It's enough to load up several hours of music and a movie but if you're looking to store several movies then you'll hit the 16GB barrier quite quickly.
