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So, I’ve had my new phone, the HTC Sensation, for about a month now and I think I’m getting the hang of using it. There are still some things about it that annoy me, but some of the things that I initially thought were stupid are actually quite nifty.

The first thing you do when you get a phone like this, after you move across all your data from your old phone, is download a bunch of apps. Now, it’s great to have a variety of apps on your phone but it’s pretty pointless if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, you can’t custom sort the app drawer as you like. You can only have it alphabetically, oldest to newest, or the reverse. This meant I had to resort to an app that categorised them with a bunch of icons on one of the home screens to access each category. This was annoying initially, but I got used to it quickly and it actually feels easier to get to than going through the app drawer, even if it had been sorted how I wanted it. I later realised that you can actually use the built-in feature of folders to do the exact same thing, so I started doing that instead and it actually works better than the app.
Another thing that tripped me up initially was that if you tap a contact in your call history, it calls them rather than giving you details of the call or about them. This gave me a fright the first time it happened but since I’ve realised, it’s actually handy to be able to call someone right back without too much looking around.
The HTC Sensation is unusual now in that it has four buttons across the front: home, menu, back and search. After a week or so of use, it felt like there was some redundancy in having all four of them. But now I’m used to them, it’s useful to have the options of all four, so I can choose exactly what I want to do. If you want to go back just a little bit, like to the last page or whatever was just open, use the back button. If you want to escape from all open apps, hit the home button. If you want more options, press the menu button. Now, search seems like the obviously redundant button, but it’s much better to be able to just press it to open a search box in whatever context rather than try and find it and have to tap on its tiny icon. It’s also convenient as a “hard” button for the camera.
That said, the home button being on the end can be a real danger because I’ve found that I have a tendency to accidentally tap it with the side of my palm when holding it in landscape. This means, I’ll be in the middle of doing or watching something, and suddenly everything is closed. I think this has to do with the screen being a bit too sensitive at times, and reacting to even the slightest brush. This is quite the opposite to some reviews I heard and saw on the internet before I bought it, however from the video I saw, I think the problem in that case was incorrect technique for using the screen.
On the other hand, the sensitivity and responsiveness of the touch controls is a positive feature of the HTC Sensation. It’s very good at picking up your taps, but it doesn’t always seem to get them in the right spot. I’m still not sure if this is my fault, because the buttons are so tiny or it’s the phone’s calibration. Although I have found you can calibrate the keyboard, at least, in the keyboard menu, so that’s good.
One of my favourite things about the HTC Sensation are the quick access to settings in the notifications area, although it sometimes it seems to be missing one or two. The phone charges quite quickly, usually nearly a full charge in just over two hours. This is really handy if you ever forget to charge it of a night-time, and wake up to find it’s only got 15% left, because you can charge it most to all the way up before you leave in the morning. And if I don’t really use it much it can last me up to 3 days, but usually the battery last a day comfortably. This means you have to close anything that’s not necessary when you’re not using it, like turning off the Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi is probably the biggest battery killer of them all.
Another great thing about this mobile phone is the way all the contacts you may have through various email accounts and Facebook etc. are correlated and linked to those in your phone book, to give you a more whole view of them. It’s neat being able to see someone’s picture when looking for them in amongst your contacts.
There are lots of other little great things about this phone which are rather new to me, being the first smart phone I’ve used. But I’m getting use to it and finding my way round those nuisances too.

If you have any smart phone questions, especially about the HTC Sensation, I might just be able to help you, so you can contact me in the comments or on the “Contact Me!” page above.

Post again soon,

P.S. If you’ve got any ideas for a better sign off line than “Post again soon,” drop me a line, and there will be a prize in it for the one I choose!