We have seen a large number of premium smartphones released over the past month and two of the most impressive are undoubtedly the Galaxy Note from Samsung and the new HTC Sensation XL. Previously we took a look at the screens and processing power on these two models so here we will focus on the design and the media features of these great new phones.
Anybody who is in the market for a compact smartphone should steer clear of these two devices as they are very big phones that offer large screen sizes. 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 measurements the phone offers a relatively elegant design that is helped by the slim depth that is offered by this model. The majority of the fascia of the phone is dominated by the large screen which gives the Note a premium look. The design is also very minimal which is thanks to Samsung opting to use capacitive touch buttons in place of physical keys on the front panel. If you turn the phone over and look at the back panel then yo are faced with a slightly curved design complete with a textured finish which helps the unit feel comfortable when in use. Despite offering smaller dimensions at 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm the HTC Sensation XL actually feels a more chunky design than the Galaxy Note. This is partly down to the familiar curved design that is found on many HTC devices in contrast to the more angular design of the Galaxy. The phone does boast some attractive looks however especially on the front panel where the screen almost fills the entire fascia leaving an extremely thin bezel. The handset will also be available in a Black and a White finish although we feel the Black variety looks better with the design of this model.
One of the first areas that many consumers look for on a modern handset is the digital still camera and both of these devices offer high quality in this department. The Samsung Galaxy Note is capable of capturing still photographs and video footage. The still camera has a very high resolution of 3264 x 2448 which equates to 8 mega pixels. A huge number of features are present with the camera on this model including geo tagging, auto focus, face detection and a panoramic capture mode. With regards to video recording the device captures the highest resolution possible at 1080P. This quality is also known as full HD and ensures that video footage looks superb regardless of what device it is played back on. The HTC Sensation XL offers the same high quality photograph capture but unfortunately cannot match the Samsung when it comes to video capture. The phone does offer high definition standard footage but at the lower 720P resolution. A secondary front facing camera is present on both models to facilitate video calls.
These two devices are perfect examples of a modern large screened smartphone. Despite their obvious size disadvantage both models offer a stylish design but the Samsung Galaxy Note overshadows the Sensation XL thanks to its 1080P HD video capture.
