I’m really scratching my head over the “new” T-Mobile Dash. Perhaps it’s because my Dash offered me one of the best Windows Mobile experiences in a phone back in the day. Sure, for some it might not compare to the newer HTC offerings like the Touch HD and Touch Diamond, but HTC had a winner in the Dash from where I stand. The device was thin, well designed with a usable keyboard, and was rock solid; especially after it saw an update to Windows Mobile 6.
So why am I bewildered and confused now that T-Mobile has a brand new Dash available for $99 after rebate and commitment? Let me run down the new features and you’ll see why: the small silver plate from the front is gone so the handset is now all black. To quote a famous cartoon line: “That’s all, folks!” OK, it has Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of Windows Mobile 6, but all that’s going to do is enrage current Dash owners if they can’t get the update or don’t know about the XDA-Developers site. ;)
It wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch for some under-the-hood improvements like a camera sensor bump or the like, but there’s one missing update that shouldn’t have been ignored: 3G. The Achille’s Heel of my old Dash is no 3G support: you get WiFi and EDGE. After years of playing the 3G laggard, T-Mobile finally got their 1700MHz network going in 2008. You’d think that in 2009, they’d leverage it a bit by adding more 3G handsets to their stable of devices. With such a great device in the Dash, this looks like the first missed opportunity for T-Mo in 2009.
Comments have been disabled for this post