I tried a T-Mobile Dash today...
But I think I'm going to take it back and get the Blackberry Pearl instead. I loved the rubber body and brushed metal front on the Dash. It feels very solid. Unfortunately, Windows Mobile sucks. It doesn't integrate well with OS X, at least not without 3rd party software. I need a device which is a phone first, not fifth; the numeric buttons on the Dash are so tiny. I found the UI difficult to navigate. Common tasks require multiple clicks, and you have to look at the screen because the icons change depending on what you've used recently. I constantly click the wrong options. The Wi-Fi sounded compelling at first, but I'm not convinced it's very useful. You can't use Wi-Fi to talk, and Edge is plenty fast for phone-based browsing. I'd also prefer something a little more Java friendly.
I'm replacing my RAZR due to the clunkiness of its UI and lack of horsepower. I want a sanely designed UI and a phone which doesn't crash when I browse simple web pages. Easier texting also sounds nice; I noticed the Blackberry only puts 2 letters on each button instead of 3. Is the Pearl a good choice, or should I consider the Samsung Trace instead? The Trace looks simple and elegant, and it has a 6 hour talk time. I do like my pocket space.
Update: I can't find much on the Trace, but almost everything I read about the Pearl is positive. Pearl it is.
9 Comments:
I recommend the Nokia e70:
http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/nokia-e70-function-over-form/view
I've got t-mobile myself and it works great. WiFi, qwerty keyboard, 640x320 resolution, webkit based browser, 2 megapixel camera, video capture, divx / quicktime playback, mp3. Plus, its not at all bulky.
If you live in the south, get the U.S. version of this from a Nokia store.
Carlos
what about the Nokia E61? It works as a normal phone, integrates to iSync, it's got wifi, and you can run python and apache on it.
Ooooo, I forgot about the e70. That is nice.
hi there. i picked up the e61 about a month ago and it's amazing. the sound quality is amazing but any PDA type of phone is going to be a phone at best 3rd place. a) it's going to be an email device b) an organizer c) a phone d) an internet browser.
personally, i found that the older model blackberry devices were better for phone/pda but the e61 is the best for web browsing/email. i prefer to have a pull email device rather than a push email device. the symbian os is very compatible with OS X and i've used the nokia e61 as a wireless bluetooth modem to connect to the internet when i had no wi-fi connectivity for the laptop.
otherwise, i haven't played much with the wi-fi on the e61 because i find the t-mobile data plan quite fast and the wi-fi connection manager software is a bit clunky.
hope that helps.
OM
Wow, the E61 is really nice. Metal casing. Big fan of Symbian. I guess it's not too late to take back my Pearl. ;)
Well, I thought the Pearl would be good for OS X as well. But sadly you need to use PocketMac and do some stupid song-and-dance while plugging in the Pearl to get it to sync.
Basically, the Blackberry is just as incompatible with OS X as the Pocket PCs are.
*sigh*
No smart phone for me.
Yeah. At least they give you PocketMac for free though.
Yea, I have the t-mobile Dash and at first it good, but then the buttons are to small and the Windows Mobile OS Sucks. Plus it takes to many steps to turn on something like BLuetooth. I bring it back to the store and instead getting the E61 the Symbian os is more user Friendly, plus the sound is amazing and the Battery Life is crazy Charge it twice a week or so.
I have the Pearl right now. Guess what, it is going back where it came from.
I'm also getting a Pearl. After using a 7105t for a year, this WM device is like having open heart surgery. Sure, it can keep you connected, but not as seemlessly as a BlackBerry.
I have also used a Nokia 6600 and the Symbian OS is great. Microsoft basically took an embedded OS and added phone capabilities. RIM built the OS around the phone.
If anyone wants to read a short review about the Dash, jump to my Blog.
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