Beats-laden HTC Sensation XL officially launched, priced at P32,500

Last night at the Republiq, Resorts World, we witnessed the launching of the newest Beats-powered HTC phones, the HTC Sensation XE and the Sensation XL. We covered the HTC Sensation XE (P31,500) before so let’s take a look at the ginormous Sensation XL.

Clad in white in the same slim form as that of the Sensation, the Sensation XL has a bigger-than-usual 4.7-inch screen. Perfect for HD viewing and surfing the net on a portable device. One thing to note though is that the 854×480 (WVGA) resolution looks poor in comparison to the Sensation XE’s 960×554 resolution considering that the XL has a bigger screen. It’s like the Desire HD all over again with those big not-too-sharp icons.

The Sensation XL also packs a single-core 1.5GHz Scorpion processor with the Adreno 205 GPU. Again, a step back from the original Sensation’s (and XE) dual-core processors with Adreno 220 GPU. It has a built-in 16GB internal storage but without any provision for an expanded storage via microSD.

An improvement here is the f2.2 8-megapixel camera for better low-light or indoor shots. The Adreno 205 is probably limiting the Sensation XL to capture Full HD videos since you can only do 720p here.

Just like the Sensation XE, the XL also comes with Beats Audio inside. We talked about the difference in audio quality between a Beats-enhanced and a non-Beats HTC phone and indeed, music just sounds better with the Beats audio and Beats headphones combined. Unfortunately, you would only get the same Beats iStudio earphones of the XE on the XL, not the twice-as-expensive Beats Solo HD headphones as shown in HTC’s website.

Overall, the HTC Sensation XL could be a nice contender on the big-smartphone category with its nice, clean looks and Beats audio chip. However, the poor resolution and single-core processor will dampen its “œwow” factor. The HTC Sensation XL will have a suggested retail price of Php32,500.