Help Sensation vs Galaxy S II

[lob]

There have been a few threads like this around the forum, especially in the SGSII sub-forum, but I wanted to see the onion from the Sensation side.

Personally, I see the SGSII as a slightly better phone: Better processor(?), Super AMOLED+, thinner...

And I am rather bored of annoyed with HTC Sense having used it on my Desire for a few months before rooting and being amazed at the speed increase of basic things (Like getting to the settings or opening Google search app) in CM 7.

As people who presumably favor the Sensation, I ask you why?

Where do you stand?

 

[nateap87]

There have been a few threads like this around the forum, especially in the SGSII sub-forum, but I wanted to see the onion from the Sensation side.

Personally, I see the SGSII as a slightly better phone: Better processor(?), Super AMOLED+, thinner...

And I am rather bored of annoyed with HTC Sense having used it on my Desire for a few months before rooting and being amazed at the speed increase of basic things (Like getting to the settings or opening Google search app) in CM 7.

As people who presumably favor the Sensation, I ask you why?

Where do you stand?

Sensation for me. I like having the option to use the sense launcher. Plus, on newer phones, sense doesn't slow down the user experience. I personally tend to also base my choice on aesthetics. The sensation looks much nicer than the sgII. Yeah, I'm sure the sgII has a faster processor, but I'm sure the sensation will be plenty fast and don't really see a need for it to go much faster. And that's where I stand

 

[chocobosandwich]

I don't see Touchwiz slowing things down on the sgs2. And don't have a need for it to go much faster? Wat???? You should be fine with a Desire. New stuff is just a waste of money.

 

[nateap87]

I don't see Touchwiz slowing things down on the sgs2. And don't have a need for it to go much faster? Wat???? You should be fine with a Desire. New stuff is just a waste of money.

Nah. The first Gen snap dragon was slow even before the new ones came out. Its just people have been waiting a while for mobile dual core and now its not good enough because there's a faster dual core? IMO there is such a thing as "fast enough" plus I assume that eventually google will integrate hardware acceleration in one of the future android updates. Then all these handsets will be over kill. The way I see it, is even with all this advanced hardware, it only compensates for the lack of hardware accaleration. Wp7 and ios are much less laggy with way less specs. Sorry. I'm ranting because I refuse to get started on my homework

 

[lob]

Nah. The first Gen snap dragon was slow even before the new ones came out. Its just people have been waiting a while for mobile dual core and now its not good enough because there's a faster dual core? IMO there is such a thing as "fast enough" plus I assume that eventually google will integrate hardware acceleration in one of the future android updates. Then all these handsets will be over kill. The way I see it, is even with all this advanced hardware, it only compensates for the lack of hardware accaleration. Wp7 and ios are much less laggy with way less specs. Sorry. I'm ranting because I refuse to get started on my homework

Well iOS will be moving to duel core very soon with the A5. So, I guess that suggests that advanced specs are beneficial even with hardware acceleration.

And there have been a few rumors, I think, of Ice Cream being coded for duel core.

Funny.... I am also meant to be doing homework.....

 

[nateap87]

Well iOS will be moving to duel core very soon with the A5. So, I guess that suggests that advanced specs are beneficial even with hardware acceleration.

And there have been a few rumors, I think, of Ice Cream being coded for duel core.

Funny.... I am also meant to be doing homework.....

i think ios is switching to dual core more for the trend. it's not like they'll have games on it that require dual core. it's like android. we have all these awesome gpu's but really no games to utilize it that are main streamed in the market. i really feel like android needs better hardware just to be fluid. that's all the reviewers talk about with newer android phones anyways. "jumping from menus is seemless!" they never say, "we can play this game with these awesome graphics thanks to this chipset" i know i'm probably wrong but i feel like android should just refine the os and give it hardware acceleration so we can start making phones cheaper because they won't have a need for these kind of hardware. just better gpus and more ram is all android would really need after that.

 

[daivik]

There have been a few threads like this around the forum, especially in the SGSII sub-forum, but I wanted to see the onion from the Sensation side.

Personally, I see the SGSII as a slightly better phone: Better processor(?), Super AMOLED+, thinner...

And I am rather bored of annoyed with HTC Sense having used it on my Desire for a few months before rooting and being amazed at the speed increase of basic things (Like getting to the settings or opening Google search app) in CM 7.

As people who presumably favor the Sensation, I ask you why?

Where do you stand?

It depends on what you want. Personally (if i'm being completely honest) thin-ness has never been a "deal-maker" for me. I've had an N80, N95, N97 and now Desire, so I don't mind chunky.

Providing the internals are good, I'll love the phone!!

I'm sure you know the specs but the processors are at the same clock speeds (but with Sensations's having very, very low benchmarks (although this was at the release...so optimisations have most likely been made)
RAM wise, GSII has 1 GB - 700-800mb or so for apps. (200mb taken by the UI and android.) Sensation has 768mb so when the ram for android and sense (which I assume will take more than TouchWiz) is taken off, you're looking at 500mb or (more likely) 600mb.

Apparently the GPU is not as good (but i really doubt, anyone will actually be able to see the difference - so you can sorta forget that comparison when deciding)

And the BIG no, no for me was the storage. 1GB of total storage...bare in mind some will be taking up with android and sense leaving well not THAT much for apps. I am someone that gets loads of apps whereas the GSII has 2GB totaly APP SPACE. So you've got the freedom to do what you want with apps.

Also Sensation will have a locked bootloader...so that means no different UI's. Your stuck with HTC Sense...and there isn't yet a permanent root (untethered). (reboots as unrooted)

Finally the battery on the Sensation is smaller...and the Sense UI + screen would use more power i think, that the Super Amoled Plus which is meant to be very efficient. On the GSII, the pixels have be redisinged to give a 50% increase in sub pixels so the qHD resolution 800 x 480 (i think, OFC we need to wait till we can compare them both) is really equal, but it's super AMoled plus so it should be better. Truly finally now, all the android apps are still made for the common, 800 x 480 resolution so on a qHD res, they might appear stretched AND the GSII has very intelligent instant, over/under clocking, which allows the battery to last 2 days of regular usage (or something like that)

I mean I've had a desire for a year and well if you compare the looks, it's kinda the same as the Sensation and so I used to prefer the meat-y-ness of the Sensation but now i'm think....why not have a different phone and that it'd be nice to see a change. GSII is a flat glass pannel (Y)

But the sensation does look really nice, the uni-body aluminium does have a class and weight to it that feels "top-notch."

As you can see I've wasted the last 2 weeks or so looking up countless hands-ons and reviews of these 2.

and i'm really sorry. It's only now at the end, that i've actually read the very top of your post that said opinions from the sensations side.

 

[Wingedsaber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn-1dkq_dvk&feature=channel_video_title

Here is one of the first official reviews of the Galaxy S II, and what I just can't understand is, is why HTC still don't look into better battery compartments (the adapter is really cheapish and the cord is made of cheap rubber which easily wears off, the connection part with phone is also tiny and cheapish and the connection with all HTC phones isn't sturdy at all and really loose, and the connection part from within the phone isn't really constructed good and seems to be somewhat too deep inward)

And other than that the battery itself too is just again too small/low capacity for such a big juice sucking super LCD screen. And the built in system memory is also way too low. And why don't HTC seriously go look into better screen technologies and hardware like LG and Samsung do? They do have Gorilla Glass for the Sensation now but it turns out the Galaxy S II has it featured to!

I'm fully aware of the poor quality/lack of the Samsung customer support and the support with updates, and I also dislike Touchwhiz alot but if you're gonna get your phone rooted, the Galaxy S II is the far better choice of the two phones.

The RAM structure of the Sensation is also a bit old, so that means it's still not fully optimized.

This choice is very hard because as much as i'm loyal to HTC I really hope the HTC Sensation will be received good, because the Galaxy S II is just too good to leave.

 

[EarlyMon]

Also Sensation will have a locked bootloader...so that means no different UI's. Your stuck with HTC Sense...and there isn't yet a permanent root (untethered). (reboots as unrooted)

Sorry - that's all flat wrong about what's up with the bootloader.

HTCs have had locked and signed bootloaders for some time, it's not stopped us yet from full root with nand access.

The popular press has confused that with Motorola's encrypted bootloader.

World of difference.

See also - http://androidforums.com/evo-3d-all-things-root/329819-no-need-panic-about-locked-bootloader.html

BTW - Note also that depending what region the SGS2 is being sold in, it may come with the Samsung Exynos processor - or it may come with the older Tegra 2. We're awaiting details as to which region will get what processor, so maybe best to not over-generalize points too strongly on the SGS2 regarding cpu/gpu.

 

[daivik]

I feel the same sort of anger towards HTC but I think it's to due with marketing strategy and price. For example. HTC Desire was a superb flagship phone...but the internal storage was grossly over looking with a minimal 500mb or so. Same with the battery. But this allowed them to basically, when the iphone came out to reduce it to some silly price of I think

 

[EarlyMon]

But now with the bootloader/UI locking...well I really don't like that. That "lock down" approach similar to what Apple do on...well everything, really annoys me.

Good news - look up to my previous post - it's not an issue.

 

[daivik]

Good news - look up to my previous post - it's not an issue.

my bad. Didn't read your earlier comment. So does that mean, with the Sensation you could install LauncherPro?

 

[EarlyMon]

Unless there's something about it requiring some update to LauncherPro to work with a qHD display (I'm flatly ignorant if there is or isn't) - then yes, you should be able to do basically anything you like, including launcher replacements.

The new Sense 3.0 is not your previous Sense at all, however - I presume you've seen the vids on it?

 

[daivik]

Unless there's something about it requiring some update to LauncherPro to work with a qHD display (I'm flatly ignorant if there is or isn't) - then yes, you should be able to do basically anything you like, including launcher replacements.

The new Sense 3.0 is not your previous Sense at all, however - I presume you've seen the vids on it?

Yes, I have. The carousel looks really nice, but then again I've been used to the cool animations from long term usage of LauncherPro.

It's not for me because the weather, isn't really a big part of my life, neither is downloading movies because my internet is (2MB (AT BEST)) and signal in my areas is really shoddy.

But the lock screen, that I really do love! Ahh well, can't have everything.

 

[EarlyMon]

True, true - besides, choice is good, this is Android.

BTW - this was just posted over in the Evo 3D forum, don't know if you've all seen it here already or not - this is pretty promising, imo -

YouTube - HTC Sensation internet

 

[jggonzalez]

Great! I'm pretty much sold on this phone, but I still want to wait for the Bionic so I can compare the two. The Samsung is out of the running. I'm not sure why because it has a beautiful screen and seems to have a more powerful processor. Maybe because it seems bland when you look at it.

 

[XXSuntoucherxX]

I'm not sure why because it has a beautiful screen and seems to have a more powerful processor. Maybe because it seems bland when you look at it.

Or maybe because Samsung is awful at pushing out updates, supplying carriers with those updates thus forcing everyone to use Kies. Perhaps because the battery life leaves more to be desired, or that Touchwiz is a horrible interface that hogs resources. Maybe it's all the preloaded bloatware. I could also be the incredible lag their phones get after while. Now that I think about it, perhaps it's the way it can't handle sub class 6 SD cards. Actually, maybe it's because the new phones don't even have removable SD cards!

Samsung makes incredible looking phones, (and at times even more incredibly powered phones.) but then again so does Apple. Unfortunately, occasionally with maybe 1 obvious exception, it's about as useful as an iPhone over time.

 

[daivik]

Or maybe because Samsung is awful at pushing out updates, supplying carriers with those updates thus forcing everyone to use Kies. Perhaps because the battery life leaves more to be desired, or that Touchwiz is a horrible interface that hogs resources. Maybe it's all the preloaded bloatware. I could also be the incredible lag their phones get after while. Now that I think about it, perhaps it's the way it can't handle sub class 6 SD cards. Actually, maybe it's because the new phones don't even have removable SD cards!

Samsung makes incredible looking phones, (and at times even more incredibly powered phones.) but then again so does Apple. Unfortunately, occasionally with maybe 1 obvious exception, it's about as useful as an iPhone over time.

Respectfully I disagree with many of the points. (of course they're your opinions) but some of them aren't true.
For starters, Samsung get them out fast and the European carriers push them on the the customers fast. It was only the USA that had a long lag time to get the updates. In the case of Sensation - SII, the SII has a bigger battery and more efficient hardware. Does HTC not have HTC sync as the only syncing program? TouchWiz doesn't look the best (we all know that), but 4.0 is VASTLY improved, ask anyone! And I can't speak for 3.0 but TW 4.0 doesn't hog as many resources as Sense 3.0! Sense 3.0 takes up about 360MB of RAM (no apps running). It leaves you with 197mb to play with, which rapidly gets reduced when you actually begin using the phone...let alone background applications. yes there is pre-loaded bloatware, such as the 4 hubs, which are rubbish. But 1GB of RAM ensures that they don't ever come in the way. And incredible lag, 1GB of RAM, I don't think so. OFC if your referring to the SGS, then yes, the software (or something like that) was horrendous...but that's why they bring out a successor which rights all the wrongs. The GSII has a removable SD card. Okay, so it's not easily accessible, but it's there and you've got 11GB of storage so it's not SUCH a requirement to have an SD card. Sorry to rant, but Samsung have made their fair share of mistakes, but they're not as bad as you described.

 

[jggonzalez]

I think I'm willing to give it a try. The Sensation has 4 GB of internal storage, 3GB of which is reserved for Sense 3.0 and the other stuff, so that leaves 1 GB for the user. If I add a class 10 16gb or 32gb card I should be okay. For some reason I like the feel of the HTC stuff in the hand. I just got back from the mall and the Thunderbolt felt way better in my hand than the Samsung Charge and GS. I guess the Samsungs were just too slick and plasticky. The Thunderbolt felt grippier for some reason.

 

[ash_ep3]

It's horses for courses at the end of the day...

My gf was given the SGSII as a loyalty reward by Orange (very generous!) which I thought she would actually like (given she's had Samsung phones in the past)... but it appears she doesn't like it at all and is sticking with her HTC Desire HD!!!???

I quote "it feels like a plastic toy phone" LOL

Truth is the SGSII is the better phone (in terms of hardware anyway)... but for me I much prefer the look and feel of the HTC Sensation / HTC Sense... In terms of phone looks I'd also say the HTC Sensation is better looking as well.. So cosmetically in terms of both Hardware and Software the HTC Sensation is ahead...

I actually used the SGSII (whilst my gf briefly had it...) and truth is that whilst I thought the screen was ridiculously clear I also thought that it was far too light and the overall look and feel of the software wasn't as good as the HTC...

 

[daivik]

I wonder how long it'll take HTC to realise that they can't rely on their past reputation forever.

 

[EarlyMon]

At the end of last year, HTC announced to their suppliers to expect HTC to triple their volume of smartphone sales - not just all phones - smartphones.

As of the first quarter of this year, they were on-target for their growth expectations.

Don't know where you're getting the impression that HTC is fading in the wildnerness of their reputation - but unless those numbers turn around, then the idea that HTC is just coasting is pure FUD.

HTC is a much smaller company than Samsung so no telling how they'll end up in world market share compared to the gorilla in the room.

But consumers voting with their wallets suggest that your idea on their momentum is not accurate.

 

[daivik]

At the end of last year, HTC announced to their suppliers to expect HTC to triple their volume of smartphone sales - not just all phones - smartphones.

As of the first quarter of this year, they were on-target for their growth expectations.

Don't know where you're getting the impression that HTC is fading in the wildnerness of their reputation - but unless those numbers turn around, then the idea that HTC is just coasting is pure FUD.

HTC is a much smaller company than Samsung so no telling how they'll end up in world market share compared to the gorilla in the room.

But consumers voting with their wallets suggest that your idea on their momentum is not accurate.

Didn't mean it in the sense that they were becoming crappy, I meant it in the sense that I have heard, "GSII has better specs but I like the Sensation because it looks better" SO MANY times on the forums that I was (attempting) to make a point about the lack of innovation. i just wish they would combine the specs with the looks - but their current strategy is still keeping people happy and raking in sales.

Apologies though, my previous post was poor.

 

[EarlyMon]

No worries mate, sorry if I'd read too much into it.

Don't know if the Slashgear SGS2 / Sensation comparison has been posted:

HTC Sensation Review - SlashGear

It's an eval of the Sensation in light of the SGS2 being the reigning top dog.

I think this was a good indictment on HTC following through for the user:

What the raw figures don’t communicate is how responsive the Sensation feels in daily use. Side-by-side with the Galaxy S II, and it’s hard to tell the difference between the two phones: apps load quickly, webpages render at the same pace (in fact the Flash-heavy NYTimes.com frontpage finished on the HTC before it did on the Samsung). Even loaded down with simultaneously running apps, we didn’t feel like the Sensation was gasping for breath (or, indeed, for more RAM).

Sounds like two good phones, good consumer choice - Android wins!

 

[daivik]

Finally a full review! :-d