Time to lace up the gloves and step inside the ropes again. A new dual-core competitor, the HTC Sensation, is challenging the current crop of flagship droids with its fast new chipset, high-res screen, sharp-eyed camera and that classic HTC charm much of which is owed to the latest iteration of Sense UI. We already took a lap around our review track with the Sensation but now the usual suspects will line up for a straight forward drag race. There'll be a series of dedicated tests and one simple rule: the first phone across the line wins. This is a dual-core rematch and this time focus will be more on the new kid, the Sensation, than the rest, which we've already covered. Different features have different value to people, so we'll have a series of tests: for the screen, the performance, the camera, GPS and battery. Based on those you can pick your own champion. We'll try to pick an overall winner but it's impossible to single out the ultimate best. For one, the metal-rich construction of the HTC Sensation puts it a step ahead of the mostly plastic-made competitors. The qHD resolution is very near the distinguished Retina display, but the screen is a massive 4.3-incher, quite bigger than the iPhone 4’s. Also, the Sense UI 3.0 is very polished - there's hardly a nook or cranny left without eye-catching graphics and 3D effects. Underneath all that gloss is tons of functionality too, like the phonebook or the awesome new lockscreen. But you'll have to have a look back at the review for a description of those, today it is all about the high-octane performance. In today’s match, we'll be using three phones primarily: the HTC Sensation, the Samsung Galaxy S II and the LG Optimus 2X. We’ve also invited several other stars for guest appearances: the iPhone 4 has a cameo in our display test, while the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc features in the still camera comparison. As you see, we have a lot in front of us and competition is quite tight. You can wave the checkered flag now, we - and the droids too - are ready to go.
HTC Sensation official photos
Display test: S-LCD vs. sAMOLED+ vs. IPS LCD
The HTC Sensation has a qHD S-LCD screen. The "q" stands for quarter: the 540 x 960 touchscreen has half the pixels of a FullHD display in each direction. As far as the aspect ratio goes, qHD screens are ideal for watching HD content. And qHD hits the sweet spot between too few pixels and too many (720p would be beyond the resolution capability of the human eye on a 4-5-inch screen).
S-LCD is a boost to the old LCD technology in terms of viewing angles. It also promises better colors and higher contrast than most competing LCD technologies.
But enough about what it promises to do, let's look at what it does.
For this test, we'll use two of the best screens in the business for comparison. The Retina display on the Apple iPhone 4 is an 3.5" LCD with 640 x 960 pixel resolution, while the SuperAMOLED Plus on the Samsung Galaxy S II is a 4.3" WVGA (480 x 800) screen.
Smaller diagonal and higher res make the Retina display the clear winner in terms of sharpness. The pixel density however is very close to the limits of the human eye, so you don't always see the difference between it and other displays. The viewing angles are great thanks to the IPS technology.
The lower resolution and ample size of the SuperAMOLED give it the lowest PPI of the three but, with deep blacks and excellent viewing angles, it's a great screen all things considered.
Our close-up shots give a good idea of the relative sizes of the pixels for each of the screens. The Sensation has about 35% more pixels than the Galaxy S II for roughly the same screen area (slight difference in aspect ratios means they don't exactly match). The iPhone 4 packs about 7% more pixels than the Sensation, but they cover a noticeably smaller area.
Still, the Sensation's qHD screen has practically the same number of pixels per inch as a 3.7" WVGA screen. This gives the Sensation enviable sharpness by all modern standards.
Close-up shot of the HTC Sensation, Apple iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S II screens
Viewing angles are not perfect though, despite the S-LCD technology. IPS performs much better, with only slight color and contrast shifts when viewed at an angle. The S-LCD on the Sensation on the other hand experiences noticeable loss of contrast along with some color distortion.
AMOLED screens don’t rely on light polarization, so SuperAMOLED Plus has no viewing-angle related issues.
The displays of the three phones viewed at an angle
So, the screen on the Sensation has its advantages and its drawbacks. It's down to the two basic characteristics of displays - brightness and contrast.
The Sensation's screen is nearly twice as bright as the screen on the Incredible S.
Actually, it's about the same as the iPhone with the backlighting set at 100%. The paler darks however take their toll on contrast ratio.
It's exactly the contrast that stands no comparison to the best in business. Competing LCD screens like on the Optimus Black, the Xperia Arc and the iPhone 4 are obviously superior.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Contrast ratio | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Contrast ratio | |
| LG Optimus Black P970 | 0.27 | 332 | 1228 | 0.65 | 749 | 1161 |
| LG Optimus 2X | 0.23 | 228 | 982 | 0.35 | 347 | 1001 |
| Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc | 0.03 | 34 | 1078 | 0.33 | 394 | 1207 |
| Samsung I9000 Galaxy S | 0 | 263 | ∞ | 0 | 395 | ∞ |
| Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II | 0 | 231 | ∞ | 0 | 362 | ∞ |
| HTC Incredible S | 0.18 | 162 | 908 | 0.31 | 275 | 880 |
| Apple iPhone 4 | 0.14 | 189 | 1341 | 0.39 | 483 | 1242 |
| HTC Sensation | 0.21 | 173 | 809 | 0.61 | 438 | 720 |
| Motorola Atrix 4G | 0.48 | 314 | 652 | 0.60 | 598 | 991 |
The screen of the HTC Sensation is not bad compared to most LCD units on the market. In some respects though (viewing angles mostly), it's a step behind competing top of the line models. It does offer better resolution than the majority of droids on the market, which should be enough for some to overlook its downsides.
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