Rob's Rants

It’s been 1 month (as of tomorrow anyway) since I’ve owned my new T-Mobile Dash 3G. I figure that’s enough time to start to understand some of the ins and outs of the phone and give a decent summary of my thoughts so far.

Hardware

Overall, I’m impressed with the size, shape, and feel of the device. The keyboard is more compact than a blackberry or my previous T-Mobile Wing, but it didn’t take too long to get used to it. The phone feels solid — not plasticy. the keys press nicely, and for the most part the trackball rolls smoothly. I say for the most part because I did go through a period where it seemed like the trackball had some dirt in it and it would jam in the vertical axis. But that issue resolved itself after a couple of days and hasn’t come back since.

The processor is speedy and the data radio seems solid. I tether this phone all the time and run multiple applications while doing it and nothing seems to slow it down. I currently have my laptop tethered to the phone with GPSed, Google Maps, and Facebook running and I just sent and received a message like nothing is running at all. There is also plenty of memory, both program and storage. This is the first Windows device of this type that I actually believe could be run decently just with the built-in memory.

The screen is OK for what it is. And what it is a QVGA display. This is clearly designed to be functional rather than the selling point of the phone. It’s bright, and the color reproduction is good. But it’s small. There’s just no way around it — it’s 320×240. This is an iPod display, not an iPhone display. If there was anything I would improve about the hardware, it would be the screen.

As a phone, it works great. Call quality is clear, the speaker is loud and clear — the speakerphone works well. No complaints at all on the phone.

Battery life is pretty good — I’ve never been one to push the limits of a cellphone battery though. I usually charge each night and then plug in again at my desk at work. But on the few occasions where I’ve had to go a whole day without plugging in, the Dash 3G hasn’t run down below 55%, even with moderate use.

The GPS has me concerned though. Most of the time, and with most programs, I have a terrible time getting an initial satellite lock. Inside a vehicle it can take 10 minutes to lock, if you can get one at all. Under an open sky, it can take 2 to 3 minutes. But other times it gets a lock in 30 seconds. I’ve tried to be consistent in my use to narrow down what helps and what doesn’t, but I can’t seem to get any consistency out of it. This is an area I will continue to experiment with.

One thing that I find annoying, but may be a little too sensitive about, is the position of  the volume rocker versus the USB port cover. They are exactly opposite each other on the side of the screen and I can’t seem to do anything with the USB port without changing the volume. While this isn’t a big problem by any means, it is annoying.

The camera is decent for a 2 megapixel camera. It does an OK job taking pictures in decent light, but doesn’t stretch well when the conditions get tough. Cameras on most BlackBerries are definitely better. The camera controls are definitely lacking — the settings are few and difficult to find. The menus aren’t really easy to navigate and changing settings quickly just isn’t possible. But once set to some middle of the road settings, snapshots will turn out looking decent.

OS/ROM

Windows Mobile 6.1 is a decent operating system and T-Mobile’s implementation of it is solid. The phone isn’t loaded with too much crapware (aside from the obligatory Handango-in-hand app and T-Mobile’s TeleNav navigation app) and the apps that T-Mobile does provide are useful (like the account status app). Windows Mobile does certain things very well — it integrates with Exchange servers easily, it tethers to Windows computers easily, and has a decent implementation of Pocket Outlook for mobile e-mail. What it doesn’t do is look particularly good. The new sliding panel home screen helps, but there aren’t a lot of programs that integrate well with the sliding panels yet. So, it is what it is — a regular Windows Mobile implementation without a lot of bells and whistles.

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Related posts:

1. Another Dash 3G Update – Upgrading the Radio
2. T-Mobile Dash 3G — Another Short GPS Update
3. Essential Windows Mobile Software For My New T-Mobile Dash 3G
4. The T-Mobile Dash 3G Summary Post
5. T-Mobile Dash 3G — First Impressions