T-Mobile Dash Cell Phone Review - Software
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 22, 2007 Comment on this |
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OS (8.0)
The T-Mobile Dash runs Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone Edition. This version of Windows Mobile 5 is different from that found on devices like the Treo 750 or Cingular 8525 in that it does not have a touch screen and has slightly scaled back functionality. It does however still provide a powerful operating system for a smart phone, including the ability to install third party programs that can extend the functionality extensively.
Windows Mobile 5 is a big step up from previous versions of Windows Mobile and provides much more stability. Getting around is fairly straightforward, with a Start menu that lists all of your programs, as well as shortcuts to your most recently used applications at the top of the home screen. Windows Mobile 5 is also a mult-tasking operating system, allowing you to run several programs at the same time just as you would on your desktop PC. We award a standard score for the more advanced smart phone operating systems.
Home Screen Score (5.0)
The home screen of Windows Mobile devices like the T-Mobile Dash is called the Today screen. The default screen displays a bar with shortcuts to recently used applications on top, with a shortcut to control Wi-Fi and other wireless services below it. The time, date and network are listed next to this. Below you will find a list of your upcoming appointments from the calendar, and below this a shortcut to set up your email. At the bottom you will find a bar that displays your current profile, and that allows you to change your profile when activated.
The Today screen on Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition devices is not as customizable as that on Pocket PC devices. There is no simple interface to turn plugins on or off. You can edit the screen if you know XML coding by changing the appropriate text file. The Dash does however ship with 10 different home screens that you can change in your settings. These home screens provide differing functionality and organization for your screen. You can also install third party applications that can add functionality to your Today screen, check out Papyrus from SBSH software for an example.
Overall we found that the home screen on the Dash provided much more functionality than regular phones, but is not as customizable as some other smart phones.
Extensibility (7.0)
As a smart phone running Windows Mobile 5 the T-Mobile Dash is extremely extensible. There are literally thousands of native third party applications that you can install. There is also a midlet manager installed on the Dash that allows you to install java programs such as Opera Mini, this is something that the Motorola Q and the Treo 750 are both missing. Overall we were very happy with the Dash’s extensibility; it lives up to what we expect from a smart phone.
Customizability (3.0)
The T-Mobile Dash offers only limited customization options. You can change your Today screen to one of the presets, change the color screen and choose between two different font sizes. You an also customize the device by adding speed dials for programs that you use often and adding a custom photo as the background for your Today screen. These options are not much better, and in some cases worse, than the options you would get from a regular cell phone. We expect more from a smart device.
OS Responsivness (6.0)
Windows Mobile 5 on the T-Mobile Dash is very responsive, noticeable more so than the Motorola Q. We did notice some lag at times, especially when running many applications or doing processor intensive tasks. The operating system was not as responsive as the Blackberry OS on the 8703e or Palm OS on the Treo 700p.
Gaming (5.3)
The T-Mobile Dash ships with two simple games that are standard on most Windows Mobile devices, Bubble Breaker and Solitaire. Although both of these games can certainly be fun for awhile, neither is very impressive.
As a Windows Mobile device there are hundreds of native games available for purchase and download, but be sure you are purchasing for the Smartphone version, not the Pocket PC version. Because the Dash also comes with a java midlet engine it can also play some java based games, of which there are many. We tested a simple bricks game and the midlet manager handled it just fine.
The controls on the Dash, although not designed for gaming, are comfortable and easy to use. We liked the room D-Pad and easy to access soft keys. We did find that it was a little too easy to hit the back key on accident.
Overall we were pleased with the Dash’s gaming capabilities. It’s not going to replace a PSP, but it will certainly do for light gamers who want a range of options.
Browser Features (7.0)
Internet Explorer Mobile on the T-Mobile Dash is a fairly fully feature mobile web browser. It can render both WAP and HTML pages, shows pictures and handles encryption and cookies. It does not handle more advanced features such as javasript, RSS feeds or flash. Compared to the basic browser found on most phones Internet Explorer Mobile is a step up, but compared to the very advanced browser found on Series 60 phones it has a long way to go.
Browsing Interface (6.0)
Internet Explorer Mobile on the T-Mobile Dash provides three view options, single column, default and desktop. You move around the page using the D-Pad which moves link to link. You can also scroll up and down using the 2 and 8 keys. You can increase the size of the font used on the screen using the zoom option.
The browser history is a simple chronological list of the urls you have visited. History is saved between sessions. Favorites can be organized into folders. You can edit the favorites and change their folder location, as well as create new folders.
The left soft key on the browser gives you access to the menu where you can access browser functions. The left soft key is assigned to bookmarks, while the back key takes you back to the previous page. The options are limited, allowing you to manage your cache, history and cookies, and set options such as accepting cookies or playing sounds on web pages.
No advanced features like tabbed browsing or full page viewing and zooming as found on Series 60 browsers is available. We found the browser to be more fully featured than on most regular cell phones, but only middling for a smart phone.
Browser Access Speed (6.67)
To test how easy it is to access a browser we count the number of steps it takes to go from the home page to our own website. We use steps in this situation instead of a timing test to account for network issues; some phones require you to go to their captive home page before you can enter a URL. Entering the url is counted as a single step. The T-Mobile Dash took 6 steps to get to our website. The Dash was helped by the fact that when you enter the Start menu it is one of the first programs and can be launched by hitting the “S” key. As with all applications on the Dash you can launch it more quickly if it is listed in the recently used programs list at the top of your home screen.
Calculator (4.0)
The calculator on the T-Mobile Dash is very simple, allowing you to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. When in the calculator you can use the number keys to enter digits while the period, *, /, + and – keys insert their related function. No advanced functions are available. The Dash was not able to handle our more advanced test formulas which require things like taking the square root of a number. If you want a more advanced calculator you can purchase one such as HiCalc from PPC.
Alarm (2.0)
We were quite disappointed at the alarm program on the T-Mobile Dash. Unlike the excellent program found on Pocket PC devices, the alarm on the Dash only lets you set a single alarm that goes off daily at a set time. Again you can upgrade with third part software, but you shouldn’t have to.
Document Software (4.0)
Unlike the Pocket PC Edition of Windows Mobile the Smartphone Edition found on the Dash does not include document editors. Thankfully the T-Mobile Dash does comes with the ClearVue Document Suite installed. This third party software allows you to view Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF documents. You cannot edit any of these documents. If you need editing capabilities you can wait to purchase a Windows Mobile 6 device, which adds this functionality or you can purchase Documents To Go from DataViz software.
Additional Software (3.0)
In addition to the software we’ve discussed already the T-Mobile Dash comes with several other pieces of software, both standard to Windows Mobile and added by the manufacturer or carrier. These include managers for T-Mobile hotspots to use with your Wi-Fi, a manager for your SIM contacts and a program to reset the device to factory settings. There are three pieces of software we considered to be worth additional points, the built in file manager, comm manager and the task manager. File managers are not often found on cell phones, but especially on smart phones they come in extremely handy, allowing you to rename, move and copy files. We appreciate that there is a file manager installed on the Dash, as we missed on the Treo 700p for example. A task manager is an important feature for power users, it allows you to quickly switch between tasks, shut them down or shut them all down. It also helps you keep track of the amount of RAM you are using. These are all important features that are not included in Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition by default. The comm manager is also not included in Windows Mobile by default, but its presence is important as it allows you to manage all of your various wireless radios, including the voice, data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
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