Until very recently, the HTC Sensation XE was the manufacturer’s flagship Android smartphone. Among its main features are an 8 megapixel camera with HD video capture, a high resolution touch screen and a powerful dual core processor. These features make it a versatile device, but in this article I will focus on how the phone works as a social networking device.

FriendStream

FriendStream is a widget that is optimized for the HTC Sense UI. The idea of ​​the widget is very simple; It displays data from your Facebook and Twitter account in a single feed, so you don’t have to use each app. Everything is displayed in chronological order and you can interact with most of it in the same way as when using the dedicated app for each site. For example, you can like or comment on a Facebook post or retweet a Twitter post. To perform such tasks, simply tap on the post you want to interact with and then you’ll be taken to an interface that offers all the options, most of which are the same as you can do on a computer. FriendStream can be used to show only Facebook posts or only Twitter posts, if you only use one of the two. This way, you can instantly see your Facebook news feed, for example, by using the widget on one of the seven customizable home screens of the HTC Sense UI, so you don’t have to open the app every time.

Applications

While very convenient, there will be some who still prefer to use the dedicated apps for Facebook or Twitter. The Facebook application allows you to view your news feed, profile, messages, and the profiles of all your Facebook friends. Plus, you can view events, check in to a location using HTC Sensation XE’s GPS functionality, and of course you can post status updates. There’s an Android app for Twitter, as well as a streamlined version of HTC Sense called HTC Peep. The latter is already installed on the phone and can be found in the ‘all apps’ menu. In both apps, you can see all of your followers, as well as the people you follow, with full search functionality using the search bar at the top of the app interface. You can post new tweets or retweet someone else’s post. Of course, if you post a new Tweet, the task is very simple and fast because only 140 characters are allowed, and with the on-screen QWERTY keyboard, it can be posted in seconds.

Of course, the HTC Sensation XE offers more social networking features than those described above for Facebook and Twitter. MySpace, Bebo and Friendster also have dedicated apps, and there’s a LinkedIn widget available on HTC Hub, which works similarly to FriendStream.

The HTC Sensation XE is the perfect showcase for the social networking functionality of Android smartphones. Standard Android apps, as well as HTC’s own custom widgets for its Sense interface, are easy to use and convenient for staying connected on the go.