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Upgrading to HTC Sensation

Hello all,

After limping along with my HTC Hero for 2 years, I can finally upgrade my phone tomorrow, and was thinking of getting a Sensation. I'd been stuck for what to get for a while as, although I am after good performance, I also like to go on looks to some extent (which I'm starting to worry might make me somewhat shallow) - so design, colour, size, weight etc. were fairly important to me, and with all smartphones apparently looking so similar these days it made it even harder to sway one way or another!!!
However, I do like my Hero, was keen on sticking with Android and HTC, and the Sensation was recommended to me in the shop. It's not as "dull" in reality as it can seem online, and I like the metal back and contoured glass. My Apple-nuts friends and family think I am crazy not to wait for the new iphone (which is supposedly imminent), but I already enjoy Android's capabilities and have just recently swapped all my email, contacts, calendar etc. onto Google, and so far I've been impressed with the ease of syncing everything with my phone. It's also nice not to follow the pack, so to speak.

Anyway, before I take the plunge, I just wanted to see if there were any hints or tips anyone can offer in swapping over, setting up and using the Sensation. I have done a lot of research and am pretty much aware of what it can do, but thought it was worth asking some opinions on various aspects.

For example, does anyone find it hard to deal with the general size, as I am a one-handed texter with quite teeny hands, and was wondering if this might be a problem.
Also, most of the bad reviews I've read have concerned battery life, so wondered what other users thought about this. I have found a lot of people seem to buy spare, or larger capacity batteries to cope with this, and would like to know whether I need to factor in this extra cost.
How do I transfer any apps I have on my Hero? Do I just need to re-download the free ones? And should I be able to re-download the apps I have bought using my google account details?
Music - if people use itunes on their computer, what's the best way of listening to music on their phone? I am sorry to say I have never listened to my music using my Hero as I've never really figured out how to, and don't want to make the same mistake again.
Finally, emails. I know this is perhaps down to personal preference but do people (those who use Gmail) prefer to use the Gmail app or the standard Mail app to receive emails? I am still undecided about what to use on my Hero, and was hoping someone else might offer there opinion as to the pros and cons of each. I have read that Gmail Push drains the battery and it is better to use 'Mail' and set it to sync at various intervals, but not sure if this is really the case.

Apologies for the long post. I am excited but also nervous about finally swapping my phone and want to make sure I use it to its full potential. Any further hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
I've recently upgraded from the Desire to the Sensation and I'm very happy with the phone.

I wouldnt worry about the size, I personally havnt found it a problem, and the big screen is a blessing when internet browsing.

Regarding battery, some people seem to get good batterry life and others terrible, so its a bit hit and miss. I personally find it slightly better than my Desire was, and can easily get a full waking day (roughly 17 hours) out of it with 4 - 5 hours of screen on time (as long as your not in a very weak signal area). Thats with email and weather apps etc set to update every 2 hours, lots of web browsing, quite a few texts, a little streaming audio, maybe a little youtube or angry birds etc. You just need to condition the battery when you first get it by doing 3 or 4 full charges and discharges. Also there's a Anker battery for just
 
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does anyone find it hard to deal with the general size, as I am a one-handed texter with quite teeny hands, and was wondering if this might be a problem.

Depends how big they are, but it's really not that big.

Also, most of the bad reviews I've read have concerned battery life, so wondered what other users thought about this. I have found a lot of people seem to buy spare, or larger capacity batteries to cope with this, and would like to know whether I need to factor in this extra cost.

Maybe, or carry a portable charger or something. Depends how much you use your phone. If you had no issues with the hero batterym likely to be the same with this one.

How do I transfer any apps I have on my Hero? Do I just need to re-download the free ones? And should I be able to re-download the apps I have bought using my google account details?

You can get backup apps in the market, or can redownload the free ones manually. All your paid apps are tied in with your google account, so use the same google account onyour sensation and you can redownload all the ones you have previously bought.

Music - if people use itunes on their computer, what's the best way of listening to music on their phone? I am sorry to say I have never listened to my music using my Hero as I've never really figured out how to, and don't want to make the same mistake again.

use the doubletwist app :p

Finally, emails. I know this is perhaps down to personal preference but do people (those who use Gmail) prefer to use the Gmail app or the standard Mail app to receive emails? I am still undecided about what to use on my Hero, and was hoping someone else might offer there opinion as to the pros and cons of each. I have read that Gmail Push drains the battery and it is better to use 'Mail' and set it to sync at various intervals, but not sure if this is really the case.

gmail push doesnt use battetry like people might think. Mail is pushed to it so it doesnt have to poll the server every so oftern. I use gmail sync (actually i have like 6 gmail accounts ion my phone) and no issues. Gmail just works better with android imo.
 
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I have only recently moved over to a Sensation from a Hero and I have really noticed the difference - so much smoother and better. I used to like my Hero but not any more. I could never go back, and nor will you. Yes the phone is bigger, but I have already got used to it. Having said that I am not a great texter and certainly not with one hand! But it should be OK because like the Hero the keyboard shows at the bottom of the screen.

Back up your apps using Astro just in case. Once you register with the same Google account go into market and choose my apps and all your paid for ones will be there waiting for you to download. The other free ones you can just download again, or you can use the backup apk file to install - I had to do that with a couple of mine because they are no longer available in the market.

You can use HTC Sync to sync all your music across whether it is on itunes or Windows player - that is very easy, but then I was doing it already with my Hero. I use MixZing for music

My change was made a bit easier because I moved over the 16GB SD card that I had in the Hero, so it already had my music on it. I had a slight problem with the two sat nav apps I had (Sygic for Europe and Copilot for USA). However emails to their support lines sorted both of them out. Sygic even gave me a free upgrade to their latest software (2nd free upgrade I have had from them)

The only moan I have is the battery - but I am thinking of getting the Anker battery referred to in another post. And the charger socket on the side means I can't use my HTC desk dock.
 
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Hi

I upgraded from a Desire to a Sensation a few weeks back and have no regrets what so ever. There was no way I was gonna to have an iphone as ive not been brain washed by Apple. Looked at Sensation and Galaxy S2. Not much to choose between both the Galaxy has better screen but build quality is so much better on Sensation and I wanted another HTC.

The battery isn't great but I am getting 2-3 days between charges.

Go for the Sensation you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy
 
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Hi

I upgraded from a Desire to a Sensation a few weeks back and have no regrets what so ever. There was no way I was gonna to have an iphone as ive not been brain washed by Apple. Looked at Sensation and Galaxy S2. Not much to choose between both the Galaxy has better screen but build quality is so much better on Sensation and I wanted another HTC.

The battery isn't great but I am getting 2-3 days between charges.

Go for the Sensation you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy

2-3 days between charges?! That's an expensive paper weight you have their :p

I made the same move and no regrets what so ever
 
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Thank you everyone for your advice and opinions. My Sensation arrived this morning, and after charging it up (I wasn't sure how long to charge for exactly as the quick start guide doesn't seem to say, but the person who sold it to me advised 14 hours so that's how long I left it). I finally turned it on a few hours ago. I am so pleased with it, it's fantastic, so many useful and well thought out features, like the new lock screen and instant access to whichever applications you choose. It's really quick, the screen is beautiful and setting up was a breeze. No problems texting, and I have already re-downloaded my old apps without a hitch.
My only niggle is that it has only been on 4-5 hours, and the battery is already at less than 50%. So much so I've ended up turning off the 3G in the hope it'll last til the morning. I turned the GPS off almost as soon as I had set it up.
I will give it the benefit of the doubt, as it has been on and faffed with a lot while I've been trying it out, plus it is only its first charge so I plan to run the battery down completely and fully recharge a few times like a lot of people seem to recommend to get the best out of the battery. It is very early days but it is the only tiny thing I can see getting slightly on my nerves. I know Smartphones tend to use a lot of battery, and I had to charge my Hero a lot more than my previous phone, but less than 50% after 5 hours isn't ideal. It may be my fault for not charging it long enough anyway, as I was so unsure (perhaps should've left it longer to be on the safe side, but I was itching to turn it on), so I don't want to be too quick to blame the phone!
Before the phone arrived I purchased one of the Anker batteries from Amazon based on the excellent reviews, so if I'm still unhappy after a week or two I can always give this a try rather than just keeping it as a spare.

Anyway, can't wait to have a bit more of a play and start customising it properly!!

Thanks again!!! :)
 
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