Despite my best efforts, sometimes hardware just needs to be given up on.

If you’ll remember, my last phone geekery post focused on my search for a good Android tweak for my phone, the Motorola Cliq XT. Unfortunately, my search brought me right up to the limitations of the hardware. I found nothing out there that would fix the auto-mute when switching from the current call to an incoming call, so I was left chalking it up to being a hardware-related problem. At work, during an emergency, I am likely to get several calls at once to my mobile phone, so this was an inconvenience.

That left two problems: slow interface response and a random delay when answering calls before I could hear the person on the other end. I found that if one version fixed one problem, it did not fix the other. I picked slow response, as Nikki found my repeated “Hello, hello?” to be pretty irritating over time.

With two of the three problems unresolvable, and our tax return in our bank account, we decided to get me a new phone. I have to admit that I’d been doing quite a bit of looking, so I knew exactly what I wanted.

As an aside, cell phone forums are as negative and soul sucking as YouTube comments. Sheesh.

I purchased an HTC Sensation, and have been gleeful with its performance since. It fits my needs now, and will likely continue to do so for the next couple of years. If and when it comes time to abandon the stock software on the phone, I’ll be more armed to find a good mod thanks to my wrestling with the Cliq XT. And whatever performance it ends up giving me, I’ll post both the positive and the negative when I review the phone on T-Mobile and HTC’s forums.