HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio (photos)

The HTC Sensation XL is true to its name with a very large and imposing 4.7-inch WVGA LCD display. Yet, it's quite slim, and feels good in the hand. The display is very bright and colorful.

As part of HTC's recent acquisition of Dr. Dre's Beats line of headphones, the HTC Sensation XL ships with a pair of Beats headphones. HTC says these are "UR Beats" earbuds, which are unique to HTC and can't be bought in stores. That's because the earbuds work in conjunction with special Beat software algorithm that enhances the phone's audio quality. The earbuds are purportedly worth $100 by themselves.

To activate Beats audio, simply plug in the headphones, and start playing a song. You'll see a little Beats logo in the notification bar, indicating Beats audio enhancement is available.

You can enable or disable Beats audio depending on your preference. Enabling Beats audio will deepen the bass and increase the overall volume and richness of the song.

The HTC Sensation XL has a silver back along with an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-LED flash. It has a 2.2 f/stop and a slew of features and modes that include a neat panorama tool that auto-stitches panoramic shots.

The HTC Sensation XL has a power/screen lock button at the top along with a 3.5mm headset jack.

The HTC Sensation XL is quite slim at around 0.39-inch thick.

The virtual-screen keyboard in portrait mode.

The virtual-screen keyboard in landscape mode.

The HTC Sensation XL ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread plus the HTC Sense user interface.

One of the benefits of the HTC Sense UI is that you can press the Home button to see all of your home screens in a zoomed-out view.