Dash vs Blackjack

Here's some of the background research which lead to the choice I made in the "What, No Hunt?" Blog Entry.

The total contract price was not the only reason I went with the T-Mobile Dash instead of AT&T's Samsung Blackjack. If the Samsung Blackjack had really appealed to me I may have bit the bullet and gone with it, even with the two year contract. I had come across a review of the Dash and made a mental note of it before the hunt had even begun.

Interestingly enough, CNET reviews give both cellphones the same rating (7.3), but on Phonescoop.com the Dash has a slightly higher user rating.

Elsewhere referred to as not photogenic, the Dash looks far better in real life than it does in photos (see this article "Editor's Corner: T-Mobile Dash (HTC Excalibur)") on FierceDeveloper.com.

The Dash has built-in Wi-Fi, a real nice-to-have feature. The only AT&T smartphone which I looked at which had Wi-Fi was the AT&T 8525, a Windows Mobile Professional phone. This would have previously been known as a Pocket PC phone before Microsoft renamed them in an attempt to resolve the "Windows Mobile Smartphone edition" and "Pocket PC Phone Edition" confusion (see "Windows Mobile Editions Get Less Confusing Names..." on Gizmodo). I really didn't want a more powerful "Windows Mobile Professional Phone" which also happened to weigh more than the Treo 650, and cost more.

Just looking at specifications, the Samsung Blackjack appears to be a winner. It is smaller and lighter than the Dash (and the Motorola Q). However this comes at the cost of screen size (2 inches versus 2.4 inches) and a more cramped keyboard. After mentioning that some of the buttons on the Blackjack are a bit slippery, the CNET review gives the warning "...some design and performance issues trip up this otherwise sexy device."

The worst feature of the Dash is the volume touch strip. Fortunately, being forewarned, it does not bug me although it really does suck. The good thing is that it can be disabled entirely.