Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Sensation? Daddy, or chips? Dual-core phones are already dominating the mobile landscape, and we’ve pitched two such titans against each other to see which one will emerge the victor. Can HTC win back some of its battered pride with its HTC Sensation, or will Samsung’s era of smartphone dominance continue with the critically-acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S 2? Read our blow-by-blow account of the contest to find out.
Further reading:
Screen
Samsung’s challenger uses the company’s much-hyped Super AMOLED Plus screen technology, which provides one of the brightest and most vibrant screens in the business. It measures a colossal 4.3-inches and has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, making it more than suitable for playing games, surfing the web and watching movies.
Not to be outdone, the HTC Sensation also boasts a 4.3-inch screen, but this one clocks in at an impressive 540 x 960 pixel resolution. The drawback here is that it uses Super LCD technology, and while this offers a perfectly acceptable picture , in practice, it’s just not up the standard of Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus variant.
Operating System
Both phones are rocking the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, which is codenamed Gingerbread but is more officially known as Android 2.3. This means both devices will benefit from increased speed, refined power and vastly improved task management capabilities.
What really separates the two phones are the manufacturer-made skins, which sit atop the Android OS and offer exclusive embellishments such as custom widgets and apps. In this regard, HTC is the clear winner. Its Sense UI is more attractive and intuitive than Samsung’s occasionally clunky TouchWiz interface, making a better stab at integrating your Facebook friends and Google contacts.
Under the hood
At the vanguard of the CPU revolution, both the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S 2 are fitted with 1.2GHz dual-core processors. This means increased power for running multiple applications and taxing 3D games. Sammy’s slice of smartphone wonder scores higher on benchmarks, though it does have fewer pixels to push, and the HTC Sensation is certainly no slouch.
Both phones also feature the ability to upgrade their internal storage with MicroSD cards, although in the case of the Galaxy S 2 may not be necessary as it comes with either 16 or 32GB built-in (depending on which version you purchase). The HTC Sensation on the other hand only comes with 1GB internal storage. Another big plus for the Galaxy S 2 is the inclusion of Near Field Communication technology, or NFC for short. This allows you to exchange data wirelessly, and will form the basis of the contactless payment system that is allegedly set to revolutionise the way we shop. Whenever that happens.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S 2 is the undoubted winner here: while both shoot eight megapixel stills, it’s the stills on Samsung’s model that impress the most, with crisp clarity. The full HD video is smoother too:
Samsung Galaxy S 2:
HTC Sensation:
Verdict
On paper, the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S 2 appear fairly evenly matched, both offering dual-core power, Android 2.3 and cavernous 4.3-inch screens. While HTC’s phone arguably has a more attractive user interface in the form of HTC Sense, the Galaxy S 2’s larger internal storage and brighter Super AMOLED Plus screen just about swing it – although we have to admit, we found the HTC Sensation to be more of a looker in purely physical terms.
