T-Mobile Dash Press Release:

T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming availability of the new T-Mobile Dashâ„¢, a Smartphone designed to help customers master their busy home and work life. The full-featured T-Mobile Dash delivers voice calling, personal and business e-mail, and Wi-Fi capabilities in a small, sleek package.

Manufactured by High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) and available exclusively from T-Mobile, the easy-to-use Smartphone, powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push Technology, has a soft-touch exterior and full QWERTY keyboard — great for consumers who want to have their e-mail, contacts and calendar on-the-go but are looking for a sleek device they can comfortably use with one hand. The T-Mobile Dash provides quick and convenient access to personal and business e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging*, as well a great phone experience with speakerphone and Bluetooth connectivity for reliable hands-free use. It also includes a 1.3-megapixel camera for capturing those important moments and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for music and video on-the-go.

The T-Mobile Dash is a myFavesSM-enabled phone, taking advantage of the new wireless communications experience available only through T-Mobile. Customers are empowered with a fun and easy-to-use phone interface which, when coupled with a myFaves rate plan, facilitates unlimited nationwide calling to any five U.S. phone numbers (excluding toll-free and 900 numbers).

“The T-Mobile Dash empowers customers to connect easily to the people who matter most to them,” said Mike Selman, director, Marketing, T-Mobile USA. “And it gives the freedom to choose how to communicate, whether it’s calling their loved ones, e-mailing with friends, or sharing presentations with a client from one of more than 7,200 T-Mobile HotSpot locations.”

Todd Achilles, vice president of Sales and Marketing for HTC America, said, “Our goal at HTC has always been to create devices that let people communicate, work and entertain themselves whenever and wherever they choose. The T-Mobile Dash represents another major breakthrough in product design, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring our smallest full keyboard, Wi-Fi enabled device to market with our partner T-Mobile.”

Super sleek at just 0.51 inches thin and weighing 4.2 ounces, the T-Mobile Dash is built upon Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, including Outlook Mobile for up-to-date e-mail, calendar and contact information. The T-Mobile Dash also supports the Messaging and Security Feature Pack with Direct Push Technology out-of-the-box, providing instant e-mail and enhanced security features (that let you wipe a device if stolen or require high-security passwords to access information).

“Mobile devices today need to provide solutions for all aspects of life on-the-go, from business information to making plans with friends,” said Doug Smith, director of marketing, Mobile and Embedded Devices, Microsoft Corp. “We’re excited to see the launch of the T-Mobile Dash; the combination of the Windows Mobile platform, cool form factor and myFaves experience is setting a new standard for devices that navigate through all aspects of managing a busy lifestyle with ease and grace.”

Key features of the T-Mobile Dash include:

* Thin, soft-touch design with full QWERTY keyboard
* Access to personal and business e-mail as well as calendar, and contacts with Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile
* Use personal and business e-mail with accounts from Microsoft Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo Mail Plus, Comcast, EarthLink, and many more
* Support for personal e-mail and all four major instant messaging providers: AOL, Yahoo!, MSN and ICQ*
* Access to high-speed data connections virtually anywhere - at home, at work, around town or abroad with quad-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE and (with a separate add-on plan) Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
* Speakerphone and stereo Bluetooth wireless technology for reliable hands-free use
* Windows Media Player 10 Mobile to play audio and video files from the Internet, e-mail or transferred from a PC
* A 1.3-megapixel camera for capturing still images and video
* Ability to make use of MicroSD expandable memory, purchased separately, to allow users to store a multitude of personal multimedia, including songs, photos and videos
* Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 platform with Microsoft Direct Push Technology: receive e-mails in real-time and conveniently access the calendar and address book
* T-Mobile myFaves-enabled, so users can sign up for service that gives them unlimited nationwide calling to any five U.S. numbers (excluding toll-free and 900 numbers), with no domestic roaming or long-distance charges, and that lets them display these five contacts on a customizable myFaves home screen
* Large color display (2.4-inch screen with 65K colors and 320×240 pixels)
* Dimensions: 4.4 inches by 2.5 inches by 0.51 inches; 4.2 ounces with standard battery
* Battery life: up to five hours of talk time and up to nine days of standby

The T-Mobile Dash will be available exclusively to T-Mobile customers beginning Oct. 25 at T-Mobile retail stores and online at www.t-mobile.com. Prior to retail availability, customers can learn more about the T-Mobile Dash at www.t-mobileregistration.com/dash.

* Separate additional charges may apply.

T-Mobile Dash Reviews

LaptopMag has a review up of the T-Mobile Dash and writes, “the Dash was a little bit sluggish overall. We experienced a number of delays when opening and closing applications, and when we tried to open an e-mail while the device was downloading new messages, the device crashed, forcing us to reset. Some of the blame goes to the relatively pokey 210-MHz TI OMAP processor (compared with the Moto Q’s 312-MHz Intel XScale CPU), but the Windows Mobile 5 OS itself also continues to be flaky. … Overall, typing on the Dash is easier than on the BlackBerry Pearl, and the Dash offers faster Web surfing (when you’re in a hotspot). However, these perks are nearly outweighed by the phone’s less-than-snappy performance. ” Source.

PDAStreet reviews the T-Mobile Dash and writes, “Powered by a 201 MHz ARM processor, the Dash has 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of Flash ROM, though only about 20 MB is user-accessible. You can augment the storage capacity with a microSD slot that can be found inside the battery compartment, but thankfully you can access it without having to remove the battery. This gives you plenty of expansion potential, because even the Lilliputian microSD cards are available in gigabyte-plus capacities for less than $100. With a relatively slow-running processor, we thought the Dash might be a bit lethargic when running applications, but the phone was actually quite responsive. … We don’t know if there will ever be a mobile phone that can be all things to all people (or if there ever will), but the Dash comes as close as any we’ve seen thus far. Those looking for a sleek yet powerful smartphone for personal or business use should definitely give the T-Mobile Dash a look.” Link.

MobileTechReview has a review up of the T-Mobile Dash and concludes, “It’s sexy, it’s slim and light. Yet the Dash is a very powerful smartphone thanks to Windows Mobile 5 , a good application bundle and very usable QWERTY keyboard. The display is phenomenal, multimedia is good by MS Smartphone standards (that means video playback is bearable and as usual audio is quite good) and the phone offers a good mix of business practicality with entertainment value (unlike most BlackBerry phones). We really like the Dash’s rubberized coating and novel good looks, not to mention the keyboard which had us typing quickly and accurately in no time. The Dash is available at a bargain price of $199 with new 2 year contact ($249 with a 1 year contract) and the HTC S620 sells for approximately $459 with no commitment. Which is better? That depends on whether you are or would like to be a T-Mobile customer. T-Mobile’s US coverage is weaker than Cingular and Verizon’s and they don’t yet offer 3G.” Link.

PCWorld has a review of the T-Mobile Dash and writes, “Unfortunately, the Dash lacks some key software components. The handset includes Wi-Fi and its e-mail works well, but it has little in the way of office applications, bundling only the ClearVue suite for viewing-but not editing-documents. In addition, typing on the cramped keyboard is tricky, as little horizontal space separates the keys, and the tiny buttons feel all mashed together. And because I had trouble getting the Wi-Fi connection to work, I often had to resort to T-Mobile’s poky EDGE network.” Link.