Nokia Lumia 800 vs HTC Sensation XE

By Luke Westaway on 11 November 2011, 5:24pm

Two phones enter, one phone leaves! Click play on the video above to witness CNET UK's own Amie Parker-Williams pitting the Nokia Lumia 800 against the HTC Sensation XE. We're going to decide which is the better phone, and why, so get involved and hit that play button right now.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is the bad boy of blowers, a handsome outsider sporting an operating system so hip and trendy it makes all the lady phones swoon. With a chiselled body and a slicked-back 8-megapixel camera, this moody mobile wants to kickstart Nokia's ailing motorbike and roar out on the road to success.

But does this plucky Windows Phone device have what it takes to overthrow the horde of Android phones out there? There are some pretty mean mobiles powered by Google's green robot that would happily see the Lumia 800 removed from the planet entirely.

One such Android phone is the HTC Sensation XE. And take our word for it, phones don't come much more muscular than this monster.

With a shockingly powerful 1.5GHz processor and Beats audio tech, this broad-chested smart phone packs a 4.3-inch display that makes the Lumia 800 look like a pasty nerd, ripe for the wedgie-ing.

The HTC Sensation isn't all brawn and no grey matter though -- it's rocking HTC's Sense interface on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich pencilled in for early next year.

Which phone will achieve glory, and which will be fired unceremoniously into the Sun? It's time to find out.

What do you think of our verdict? Let us know what you think of these two mobiles in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.

Comments 17

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1000105421 11 November, 2011 17:36

Amie, I love your style!!
Good comparison, though I'm surprised you guys decided to let the XE win the round on hardware: a LCD display has to be lower quality than an AMOLED, and yes the L800 has 1.4GHz single core, but with Windows Phone being so optimized and smooth, that's more than capable of handling the phone OS buttery smooth.

:-)

anonymous 11 November, 2011 17:50

Really irritating, mannered delivery.
Way too 'yoof' for me and the majority of potential buyers.
Please save this style for Blackbery reviews.

anonymous 11 November, 2011 21:46

I like the Nokia Lumia 800 design it comes well with the Windows Phone OS. The size is perfect for me. The specs are just fine, nothing to add there. For the HTC Sensation XE is a good device, but I was never fan of Android OS.

anonymous 11 November, 2011 21:59

"Haytch Tee See"...?? Eugh.

baeta 12 November, 2011 00:24

I just bought this phone a week back, I have to say ( as a previous iphone and blackberry user) it is very good. Screen is a very nice size for browsing and HTC sense's graphics are breathtaking. I am also reliably informed that it is alot faster than the likes of the Desire HD. Android itself feels like being let loose as supposed to being walled in- IOS. Only real gripe I have is that the battery life is pretty rubbish, standby is very good, but as soon as you actually use it, that battery percentage monitor rapidly comes down.

mclarke661 12 November, 2011 02:05

Exactly the two phones I had to decide between recently

I went for the Sensation XE. It's a european exclusive and also more value for money than the Nokia 800 (for features anyway). Even the head of Telefonica said Nokia is charging way too much for its handsets recently.

I personally prefer the Nokia design and windows OS. But I like the headphones the HTC comes with (great bass) and the dual core processor, along with front facing camera and availability of apps.

Early days, but glad I went with the HTC sensation XE

anonymous 12 November, 2011 10:24

definately nokia because none of the apps have malware unlike android. and its on windows and is more fast

anonymous 13 November, 2011 11:24

Love HTC Sensation XE,its 80% better then Nokia Lumia 800

anonymous 13 November, 2011 13:01

Great comparison and delivery Amie. The HTC Sensation XE and L800 are the two phones I've been considering. I think I'm going to go for the l800 though. I've had so many Nokia phones over the years and above anything they are reliable. It's great to see Nokia are finally back in the game. The L800 has a nice design too.

Thomas Christopher Jack Wood 14 November, 2011 13:09

i disagree with this, pure Mango interface and beautiful mono body design on the Lumia wins out for me over the ridiculously big display, skinned android and (in my opinion) ugly HTC design. Just placed my order for a Lumia 800 and can't be more excited!

smalltownanimal 15 November, 2011 12:28

It's the Nokia for me. Ditching my iPhone. I thought that Mango looked a little plain when I saw it on a flat image but I've since used it and watched it move. It's without doubt the prettiest phone OS around at the moment. Makes IOS look quite dated.

anonymous 15 November, 2011 15:55

Superb delivery, felt like I had both phones on my palms comparing them. Good job.
definitely getting the HTC.

anonymous 16 November, 2011 10:37

Great review.<br />
Personally I prefer the Lumia. Nokia are truly reliable phones, hardware/software are the best in mobile phones. HTC photos and vid's are ok nothing special, however Nokia photos & vid's are truly excellent better than some video cam's that sell at the same price. <br />
My next phone definetly te Nokia Lumia.