[Q] Sensation XE or SGS2

[wwfc]

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy a new phone this week, and i'm torn between the Sensation XE and the Samsung Galaxy S2. I can get them both free on a £30 per month contract with 900 mins, 5000 texts and 1Gb of data. So i'll post this on both the Sensation (since there is no XE board) and the SGS2 board. Hopefully someone on here has an XE, if not anyone with the normal Sensation please give some info as to how you've found it, same goes for owners of the SGS2.

Here is how i see it at the moment.

Screen
Sensation XE - 4.3" qHD 960x540 S-LCD
SGS2 - 4.3" Super AMOLED+ 400x800

This is one of the things i'm confused about, i mean, clearly the AMOLED display will have better contrast and viewing angles, but i'm slightly concerned about the resolution being only 480x800. On my Omnia 7 the super amoled 480x800 on only a 4" display looks pixelated. Could someone let me know whether the SGS2 uses the Pentile matrix or full RGB set-up?

Processor
Sensation XE - 1.5Ghz dual core Qualcomm MSM8260
SGS2 - 1.2Ghz dual core Exynos

The XE has a higher clock speed but I'm worried that sense 3.0 will slow it down. And also the Exynos is probably better than the Qualcomm.

RAM
Sensation XE - 768Mb
SGS2 - 1Gb

Clearly the SGS2 is better here.

Internal storage
Sensation XE - 4Gb (1Gb user accessible)
SGS2 - 16Gb/32Gb

Expandable Memory
Sensation XE - Micro SD, up to 32Gb
SGS2 - Micro SD, up to 32Gb

Dimensions
Sensation XE - 126.1 x 65.4 x 11.3 mm 151g
SGS2 - 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.49 mm 116g

Battery
Sensation XE - 1730Mah
SGS2 - 1650Mah

Camera
Sensation XE - 8MP, dual LED flash 2MP FF, 1080p video
SGS2 - 8MP, LED flash 0.3MP FF, 1080p video

So that's the specs, obviously in most categories the Sensation XE is the winner, but i would like to know what people who have actually used the phones think. There are some things other than the hardware which separate the two, such as Sense 3.0 on the XE, and Touchwiz on the SGS2. Not forgetting beats integration on the XE.

So that turned into a face off really, but still. What do you guys think? I'd love to here some suggestions as to which i should buy. I've had a Desire HD, rooted and S-Off'd obviously, and used sense 3.0 on that and it ran quite nicely, so a dual core processor should be even better. I'll stop now.

Look forwards to your responses guys Alex

 

[zorkis]

Go for the sensation XE if you get them for free. I have sgs2 and I'm reallly satisfied. But HTC is newer, got good specs. I know you wont be unsatisfied with any of them. But if i was in your shoes then i would go for htc

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[darkchazz]

Camera
Sensation XE - 8MP, dual LED flash 0.3MP FF, 1080p video
SGS2 - 8MP, LED flash 2MP FF, 1080p video

Fixed
In my opinion, the only thing better in the sensation is the build quality, the SGS2 is better in everything else, including the screen imo(+1 for full RGB setup)....

Also, the exynos SoC is better than all the crap qualcomm produces....

 

[veyka]

The sgs2 will be faster than the sensation, and the screen is great.

On rawr resolution the sensation may win, but the sgs2 has ammazing viewing angles, colour, contrast etc.

I would get the sgs2 over the sensation myself, but i don't like sense, so that's more of a personal thing.

In the end, hardware wise there both good, so it's a matter of software, goodness knows when htc will officially drag there phones to ics due to sense, i dont see samsung draging there heals so much, a lot of what was in touchwizz seems to have gone into ics.

Tl;dr both good, software I think is the deciding factor (I would vote sgs2 but that's because this is the sgs2 forum)

Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

 

[wwfc]

Fixed
In my opinion, the only thing better in the sensation is the build quality, the SGS2 is better in everything else, including the screen imo(+1 for full RGB setup)....

Also, the exynos SoC is better than all the crap qualcomm produces....

Yeah i got the Camera specs the wrong way around In benchmarks the SGS2 does seem to outperform the XE in things like linpack and Neocore. Full RGB is a plus on the screen front. I'm so confused :L I know what HTC are like though, so if i get the XE in a week or two they'll release something way better and i'll feel like a douchebag

 

[ChriisM]

Just came from a sensation to a galaxys2 today owned the HTC for 2months , all i can say is i will never miss the HTC over the gs2, your worrys about the res in the screen has no effect from the difference the SA+ screen, colors have no depth and look like they have a white glow on the sensation, mine was custom romed with beats profiles on it, it is good, however power amp does a better job. Build is good but fat and i got a slim line case and it felt like a brick. But sense 3.0/3.5 is great very flash and handy for social news feeds etc.

All i can say is have a try urself instore and make sure to look at the sensation screen compared to the gs2s ,

Oye and one other thing , my HTC from new out of the box had white dead pixels and showed up really bad at grey colours, they drove me crazy , also the HTC only has toughen glass vs the gorilla glass on the gs2 and i had a thick protecter on and it got scratched

Hope i helped

Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

 

[Kailkti]

The only thing I don't want for an HTC phone is sense. As pretty and lust worthy as it is, the performance is subpar.

 

[sn8f1st]

I had an HTC Desire for about a year and half, s-off and all that. I played with the Sensation as a few friends had them and being honest I'm happy I made the switch from HTC.

Not thinking about the UI the SGS2 is faster, I think the screen is better and everything is responsive. Rooting takes 5 minutes once you have it figured out. Ive only had it 2 weeks but its more responsive imo and using a sensation again felt like it was slow.

I'm still figuring it out really but they do feel really diffrrent in the hands. The sensation is heavier and feels more solid in the hand but also feels bigger. The SGS2 feels lighter but still tough, although it feels a bit cheaper it feels like it will last.

The Touch Wiz interface I do like. I also liked Sense with my last phone, TW is better with more options and functions as well as being fast and responsive. I'm just trying to get my head around it but I'm liking it a lot.

Oh and the battery life is awesome, a full day and half with light use and I had 20% left. I used gps, internet, made about 30 mins of calls, about 40 texts as well as syncing my gmail, hotmail, facebook, exchange email the whole time. I'm also still running the stock rom but rooted, I just use juice defender.

I hope that helps. Ask the same question in the sensation board and you will prob get the same about the HTC. It's really up to you, try both and see what you think. Look past the how the UI works and see how it feels you hand and also how responsive as well as accurate. You are going to be holding the phone for usually a year so it better feel right.



Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

 

[Galactus]

I'd get the sgs2 easily, reviews have showed the the bump from 1.2ghz to 1.5ghz hardly makes any difference on the XE, sgs2 has a better screen, more memory, is very light and with proper eq settings can easily outclass the bass heavy beats sound on the htc. let me not forget, it runs like a dream

 

[wwfc]

Iv'e confused myself even more now Just checked out the Moto Razr and it looks amazing. And its super Amoled Advanced with qHD so best of SGS2 and Sensation. Damn you OEM's! Stop making great phones i can't choose between. Screw it i'll get an iPhone............... oh no wait i have a brain.

 

[Kailkti]

The Razr has a locked bootloader so if you want to flash a custom rom onto it, the Razr defeats the purpose. Also Motorola is horrible at updates and keeping customer's satisfied. Moreover Motorola's software is even more subpar than sense.

 

[veyka]

Yeh, unlocked bootloader and no need to s-off or anything is another good reason to go samsung or nexus.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

 

[wwfc]

Iv'e got a mac though. So no way of rooting as far as I'm aware of anyway for sgs2 or nexus s etc. The Razr looks awesome too. This is a real hard decision :/

 

[Kailkti]

Iv'e got a mac though. So no way of rooting as far as I'm aware of anyway for sgs2 or nexus s etc. The Razr looks awesome too. This is a real hard decision :/

That's the thing. if you don't need to root or something similar then the razr is all yours. Just weigh out whether you need root or not.

 

[wwfc]

That's the thing. if you don't need to root or something similar then the razr is all yours. Just weigh out whether you need root or not.

Yeah i suppose. Difficult decision. Might wait to see what HTC do with ICS

 

[King Shady]

Galaxy nexus ftw. But if you cant get that than definetely get the RAZR or GSII. HTC offers great build quality but their software is buggy and hogs the battery. I enjoy TouchWiz and I also like Motorola's GingerBlur; its kind of nice.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

 

[rembrandtlnx]

Galaxy nexus ftw. But if you cant get that than definetely get the RAZR or GSII. HTC offers great build quality but their software is buggy and hogs the battery. I enjoy TouchWiz and I also like Motorola's GingerBlur; its kind of nice.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

sgs2 is superior to the htc.

Nexus Prime is the only one worth over the sgs2

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[jonny68]

I would say the SGSII for sure, i like HTC and my last phone was the superb HD2 but HTC sense is a resource hog and i always just flashed non sense ROM's but i do believe Samsung have overtaken HTC in the smartphone market and to date the SGSII is still the phone to beat.

---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 AM ----------

sgs2 is superior to the htc.

Nexus Prime is the only one worth over the sgs2

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

edit -
meant to say i disagree with this



---------- Post added at 11:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------

Iv'e got a mac though. So no way of rooting as far as I'm aware of anyway for sgs2 or nexus s etc. The Razr looks awesome too. This is a real hard decision :/

if your happy with a locked bootloader then no problem but i certainly wouldn't be.

 

[qwerty warrior]

Iv'e confused myself even more now Just checked out the Moto Razr and it looks amazing. And its super Amoled Advanced with qHD so best of SGS2 and Sensation. Damn you OEM's! Stop making great phones i can't choose between. Screw it i'll get an iPhone............... oh no wait i have a brain.

the moto will be locked down
but the international version might not be locked since they stated that the reason for the lock was because of the carriers

samsung has love for the Dev community
and dosnt ***** like HTC and other companies

havnt heard Az say one bad thing about them

---------- Post added at 12:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------

sgs2 is superior to the htc.

Nexus Prime is the only one worth over the sgs2

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

all the people who have handled the Prime say otherwise