T-Mobile Dash Mini Review

This is my own review of the T-Mobile Dash smartphone on WM5.

Specs:
Size: 4.4 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches (112 x 62 x 13 mm)
Weight: 4.2 ounces (120g)
Included battery: 960mAh Li-Ion
Talk time: up to 5 hours
Standby time: up to 9 days
Band (frequency): 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz
Display: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 65,536 (16-bit) 320 x 240 pixels
Memory: 23 MB

Screen:

The screen has a 320x240 resolution. It is very bright and clear. As a previous XDA Mini and T-Mobile SDA user, it quite a change for me to use a phone with landscape view as a default.

Menu:

The start menu items are arranged in 4 columns and 2 rows. Shortcut keys to launch the menu items are the keys QWER and ASDF.

Clearvue suite is already included in the ROM.

There is also a built-in instant messenger application for YM, AOL, and ICQ.

Keys:

When looking at pictures, the keys may seem too close for people with chubby fingers but in actual usage, they are quite accessible and very tactile. One hand typing is also easy.

There is a dedicated key for launching Tmail.exe on the keypad.

JOGGR:

The JOGGR functionality is very convenient for one hand operation. Just slide your finger up/down twice for continuous scrolling. There are also two buttons located on top and on the bottom of the JOGGR strip. They are used as Home and Back functions.

If the JOGGR function is turned off, the strip can be used to turn up/down the Dash's earpiece volume.

What annoys me though is that i sometimes accidentally touch the JOGGR strip and execute the buttons' functions.

Camera:

The camera UI is different from previous smartphone camera applications i've used.

It has 2x digital zoom, self-timer, brightness adjustment, time stamp, and the other usual camera adjustments for WM smartphones.

Picture quality is ordinary, just like all the other HTC smartphone camera captures.

Sound:

Audio out is very loud compared to other devices. The only problem is that the speaker is located at the back of the unit. When you put the Dash in a holster, the speaker is partially covered so the sound volume is muffled.

Miscellaneous:
The Dash is very slim, it even feels lighter than the T-Mobile SDA, although is is actually heavier.

OS performance is average. When i open a folder, it feels like it takes a little longer to open than that of T-Mobile SDA.

For people who like to remap hardware keys, there are only 3 buttons which can be changed: Top and bottom keys of the JOGGR strip and the T-Zones key on the keypad.

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