Dash

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My T-Mobile Dash smartphone.
My T-Mobile Dash smartphone.

I upgraded my cell phone from the Sidekick 2 to the T-Mobile Dash in Jan 2007. It's a great little device, with tremendous functionality in a pretty small size. There are a number of areas that I think my Sidekick delivered a slightly better and more complete experience though.

Contents

[edit] General complaints

  • No copy/paste functionality between applications (a Windows Mobile limitation).
  • Fragile LCD causes easy hardware failure (see below).
  • No simple notepad functionality (Pocket Word is available, if you install the Windows Mobile 6 update).
  • Applications stay running and do not all have "exit" functions. You must rely on "Task Manager" to terminate applications you do not want to leave running (a Windows Mobile limitation).
  • Todo/Tasks lacks a multi-line edit control, for todo items that have a lot of text in them (a Windows Mobile limitation).
  • Battery life is very poor if Bluetooth is left enabled (less than a day).
  • Navigation between applications seems to involve more keystrokes. User-assignable hotkeys do not seem as convenient/many (holding down a digit from 0-9, vs home+letter)
  • Jogbar/volume strip is useless and sometimes annoying. It can be accidentally touched during talking.

[edit] LCD cracking problems

Unfortunately, in April 2007 my first hardware failure occurred when its LCD screen became cracked. This occurred just a few days after my 90-day purchase protection (from American Express) expired, so none of the damages will be covered and I will need to pay for the replacement myself.

Searching on the net, it seems that this LCD cracking problem occurs a somewhat frequently with the Dash phone (and the T-Mobile store representative acknowledged it too), because the glass LCD screen is closer to the plastic lens than other phones. There are companies that will replace a broken LCD for $120 to $150, or I can opt to buy a new one from T-Mobile for $250 (with a 2-year contract extension).

[edit] Comparisons

Cons over Sidekick
  • No notepad functionality (third-party or shareware is available though)
  • No SSH client functionality (third-party or share is available, but none seem as friendly as the Sidekick Terminal Monkey application)
  • Navigation between applications seems to involve more keystrokes. User-assignable hotkeys do not seem as convenient/many (holding down a digit from 0-9, vs home+letter)
  • Data storage is not backed up on server
  • No copy/paste functionality
  • No page up/down in web-browser
Pros over Sidekick 2
  • Expandable to more memory capacity with microSD cards (Sidekick 3 allows microSD however)
  • Can synchronize with Exchange without add-ons (Sidekick 2/3 has a downloadable desktop app that you can buy to allow synchronization)
  • Bluetooth expandability (Sidekick 3 added Bluetooth, but I don't think that would allow use of a GPS)

[edit] GPS support

I wanted to try to use my Dash for navigation, since it is far more convenient than carrying around another bulky device.

GPS bluetooth

I ended up buying a Bluetooth GPS device from Computer Geeks for $45. Fortunately, I found some instructions on the net about how to pair a generic Bluetooth GPS device, set up its serial port, and update the Registry to get the system to recognize it.[1] I now have Windows Live Mobile Maps and Google Maps both working with the GPS.

GPS software

[edit] External links

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