[HTC Excalibur] chemao:
HTC DASH 3G hardware review

I HOPE THIS REVIEW IS HELPFUL TO PEOPLE. I TRIED TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AND THOROUGH AS POSSIBLE. -Justin Chandler

Before agreeing to a contract and upping to the Dash 3G, I decided to buy one outright to test its functionality. I would be "upgrading" from the old dash (been using it since 06 and crappy WM5) with the XDA-Developers.com WM6.1 ROM.

Hardware review:

The new dash's design is attractive, both visually and functionally. It is all black with a very sleek and professional look. It definitely looks nicer than the old one visually. The buttons take a little time to get used to because they do seem flatter, but the larger size of them helps a lot. People with larger fingers will appreciate this, I'm sure. Also, they are very well lit and much easier to see in the dark than the old Dash1's buttons.

Though it may not actually be flatter than Dash1, it feels flatter for some reason and gives the perception of being more technologically advanced when you hold it. The rubber back on the Dash in general was well-received by many including myself, although the new rubber on the Dash3G seems a little too smooth and has a tendency to slip around in your hand more than Dash1, especially when doing single-handed typing.

The new dash [probably related to the added height], it seems a little off balance in my hands. I'm 5'8" so those with larger hands may not experience this as much.

I liked the old rubber backing because I could put the phone in a little dash box below the radio in my car and it would grip happily and never move. The new one slips and slides around like a dog on a newly-waxed floor.

What can you say about the screen? It's the same screen as the old dash in most ways, though it does seem brighter with richer colors. Again there's not much to say, but it is nicer for sure.

The control area of the dash, has been changed a lot, with different button positioning and the inclusion of a trackball. I admit I have hit the home and back keys on accident many times, trying to make selections, though you could train your hands out of that I'm sure. Many of you are likely pleased to see a trackball included, though don't be to quick here. It is nice having a mouse pointer in web pages, though no amount of tweaking with the settings was able to overcome the fact that it scrolls too many pixels at a time, often making it difficult to select a link [while browsing]. The solution is to scroll up or down the web page a little then go back down to the link so you can click on it. Also, diagonal scrolling just isn't really there. You will get the impression that the trackball only operates in 4 directions with any reliability. Perhaps someone will come up with a tweaking utility that can help overcome this. Clicking with the trackball is also a bit of a task, as the pressure spring below it is a bit too stiff so without fingernails, you may find yourself scrolling off of the point you want to click on before the click actually happens. The power button has been relocated to coincide with the red hangup key now, which is mildly convenient in some ways, but I always used the old power button [on Dash1] for a single press to bring up the menu allowing you to hit various settings, or change the profile in a pinch. I miss this menu but may find it hidden somewhere, as I've only been using the new Dash for about a week. (I HAVE looked, but can't find it, yet).

In addition to the camera and messaging buttons on the bottom right, they have a shortcut key. The email button is nice, but the sliding panel interface already made it very easy to get to messaging for me, so I never used it. The shortcut key is also very nice, though the selection list for what you can assign to it was left lacking. They should allow you to link it to any program, instead of the static list.

The updated camera is much improved. It takes reasonably high resolution photos and video, despite some phones offering even higher resolution than 2.0 megapixels. Those taking high resolution for the purpose of printing out will be using their REAL cameras, anyway. I'm definitely disappointed that they didn't add a flash to the camera, but that's likely due to a lack of real estate, because this phone is in general pretty compact and thin. Adjusting the brightness setting didn't seem to help much, either. Bring your real camera when you have a function, or you'll be disappointed with the images -- but for those impromptu snaps, it gets the job done - and well.

I found that The processor is faster, and helps things along quite a bit. I used OMAP clock at 240MHz on my old dash, and this one easily surpasses it in typical operational speed. Also, when viewing video clips, they are much smoother and skip less, though it still doesn't play streamed video clips nearly as smoothly as the much older iPhone. Expect mildly choppy video streams from Youtube or the like. I did allow full download before playing, so it was not related to connection speed. Opening PDF images and Office documents is definitely much improved and it takes less time to open and scroll through them. I'd say a win here for speed - but they still need to either optimize media content abilities or beef up the processor even more. I have to say I was definitely disappointed, as I was really looking forward to watching smoother streaming content online.

The sound quality is definitely improved, especially when using speaker phone. I still think it's weird that there is a downward-firing speaker but that's just a quirky thing I suppose. Volume was not only more clear, but louder as well. I had to turn my old Dash1 to the highest to hear clearly, and on the Dash3G I set it at about 80% volume level in most cases. They made larger openings in the case for the speakers which may be cosmetic but I believe they are also functional.

The battery cover is a single snap-on unit now, instead of the old slide-off design. While it does give a nice impression of being more refined, those that regularly swap batteries/memory cards or have to remove/replace due to Windows Mobile lock-ups will get annoyed and it will surely wear out much faster because it uses little tabs to snap into place.

GPS functionality is added to the new Dash3G! Awesome, I've been longing for this for quite some time, often jealous of my friends' iPhones and G1s that included this ability. I have a portable GPS, but I don't always drive my own car, especially in Boston, where the commuter bus and train are so convenient. Kudos to HTC for adding this ability to our beloved Dash!

Volume control also gets a thumbs up, as they have gotten rid of that crappy touch-sensitive "jogger" strip from the old phone and replaced it with buttons on the left side. First, moving it to the left side was a good idea because for the majority of people, it places the buttons conveniently for right-handed use of the fingertips. Second, those random changes of your volume while in a call with a single touch of your ear lobe is eliminated.

I am a bit upset, and you may be, too. The new DASH 3G does NOT include a belt clip. Instead, you get a simple leather pouch that is more appropriate for women with purses. This is a business phone, and the huge majority of users are undoubtedly going to be professional men, due to it's more masculine design and also it's business-oriented functionality.

Overall, I'd say it's a win in the hardware category for the new Dash 3G.

(to be continued below)