A while ago we reviewed the Motorola MPX220 GSM quad band smart phone which we found to be very smart and very useful, both as a communications device, and much, much more than a personal organizer – that is if you were smart enough for it. This review focuses on the new, made by HTC, T-Mobile Dash smart phone. The Dash has been labeled the “Q” killer – that is the nemesis to the Motorola Q smart phone. A note to prospective seekers, looking for a phone – these devices are not for everyone. The Dash sports the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. In our opinion, this is a plus over any other instruction sets running a phone. Note we used the term instruction sets. The Windows OS’s are real operating systems that can be tailored to run bonafide applications. Also, there are a large number of developers supporting this OS which is actually a version of Windows CE, and thus is specifically designed for developers to be written for. Unfortunately, the engineers of the Dash decided to support a micro-SD format of storage. This format is fragile and the capacities are currently below other formats, like for example, even the mini-SD format. Nevertheless, even currently, micro-SD’s are available with capacities into Gigabytes, so if you should wish to use your phone to store MP3's, WMA’s or full feature length movies, you can.

The Dash is not a flip phone. It is thin and slick and sports a full qwerty keyboard. It's wide, but then it was engineered to contain the large display, so there's no way around that. You can't have it all. You will have to use your thumbs to use the keyboard, but you'll get used to it and will find it comfortable. The screen is very bright and is in 320x240 resolution, which is really nice. The on-board audio is acceptable and is much better than that of the MPX220. Like the MPX, this device is a phone and a personal computer, of sorts. You can easily load it up with an FTP client, a VNC client so you can have remote desktop access to your home PC or any other PC with a VNC server running on it. You can be in the field, snap a picture, and send it via email or VNC directly to your home office for review or publishing. You can be on the web in minutes. Snap away on your Nikon, take out the SD, remove the micro-SD from its adapter and plug it into the phone, and bam, you have all those pics for review on the large display, and the capabilities to send a selection right away.

The Dash also, is of course, equipped with Blue Tooth capabilities, and surprisingly with WiFi. Got an access point connected to you home network, well then, just send information wirelessly, from drive of your Dash to drive on your network. Or, use a hot-spot to get connectivity to the net if you don’t have an Internet plan with your cell phone provider.

Since this device is supported by T-Mobile, it must have passed rigorous quality control tests. No company wants a problem device in the field; however, caution to the weary, it does happen, and as of the writing of this article, there’s insufficient data as to the in-the-field sturdiness. We have evaluated two of these devices with on-board micro-SD’s and have so far found no technical problems with the device nor the media despite the caution that the micro-SD format is to be used sparingly as far as removal and insertion is concerned. The 2 Gigabyte micro-SD format is currently readily available and the cost of this media has become inconsequential. Undoubtfully, the capacities will increase with corresponding increase with access rates. The user that really needs this device, most likely, is also in need of mutli-Gigabyte storage, and then, the more the better. We carry all sorts of stuff on ours, from music, to video, to word processing files, to even code. These devices really have changed the way we function in the field, from taking notes at conferences, to dictating while driving. If you’re on the go, these devices, and especially the pinnacle of smart phones, the Dash, is good to go.