T-Mobile Dash Smartphone
While the T-Mobile myTouch 3G seems to be the hottest of the carrier's offerings this summer, the T-Mobile Dash ($170 with a two-year contract; price as of 6/30/09) merits attention, too. This long-overdue update of the first-generation T-Mobile Dash is slim, and it packs essential features for heavy-duty messaging at a reasonable price. But anyone hunting for a smartphone that does more may want to look elsewhere: The Dash's multimedia features aren't exciting, and its Windows Mobile-based interface lacks pizzazz.
Wed, July 01, 2009
PC World — While the T-Mobile myTouch 3G seems to be the hottest of the carrier's offerings this summer, the T-Mobile Dash ($170 with a two-year contract; price as of 6/30/09) merits attention, too. This long-overdue update of the first-generation T-Mobile Dash is slim, and it packs essential features for heavy-duty messaging at a reasonable price. But anyone hunting for a smartphone that does more may want to look elsewhere: The Dash's multimedia features aren't exciting, and its Windows Mobile-based interface lacks pizzazz.
Slideshow: Forget iPhone 3G S: Eight Great New iPhone Alternatives
Slideshow: Smartphones: The 10 Hottest Handhelds
If the Dash looks familiar, there's a good reason why: You can find three other versions of it. An unlocked version (HTC Snap) is available, and so are two subsidized versions, from Sprint (also called the HTC Snap) and Verizon (HTC Ozone). Though all are similar in appearance, the four models have slight differences in design and features.
The T-Mobile Dash is compact, measuring 4.6 by 2.4 by 0.5 inches--a smidgen thicker than the Nokia E71, but not hefty by any means. And at a scant 4.2 ounces, it is lighter than the E71 and the BlackBerry Bold (though the BlackBerry Curve 8900 wins the featherweight championship, weighing in at a mere 3.9 ounces). The 2.4-inch QVGA display takes up a little less than half the phone's real estate. While 2.4 inches is fine for messaging and e-mail (the screen can display up to seven lines of text), I found it a bit cramped for watching videos.
Below the display is a BlackBerry-esque trackball, with a cluster of six large, easy-to-press navigational buttons on either side: Call, two softkeys, Home, Back, and End/Power. You'll want to switch the trackball's sensitivity setting to Fast, rather than Normal, which is how it is set out of the box; initially I found it incredibly sluggish, but changing the settings definitely improved navigation.
HTC knows how to make an excellent full-QWERTY keyboard, and the Dash's is definitely no exception. The keys are comfortably sized (even a colleague with large hands had no problems using it), and the lettering stands out against the keys' black background. The keys have the perfect amount of clickiness, much as BlackBerry keyboards do. Button placement felt spot-on, as well, with an adequately sized spacebar conveniently situated where I'd expect it to be (I've seen way too many phones with spacebars placed in the corner of the keyboard, for example). The Dash also has a few helpful shortcut keys, including a dedicated camera key (which doubles as a shutter button), a button to launch your e-mail inbox, and a button that you can customize. My only gripe regarding the keyboard was the noticeable delay between what I typed and what appeared on the screen.
