HTC Dash / S620 / S621 (Excalibur)
Average Ratings
AVOID PHONE AT ALL COST!
I first purchased this phone in September of 2007, it was the only smartphone my carrier offered at the time. The only problem I had at first was the volume would always turn down due to the jogger. Then I attempted to use the WI-FI on it to find out at the end of the month that even though wi-fi was on it was using my wireless carriers internet also. then problem after problem kept occurring, many that have already been mentioned on here. Then it quit vibrating, so I had to get send off and this is what made not want to have another HTC. They told me at first 6-8 weeks, then 8-12, 12-16. Finally my Carrier just gave me another one that had most of the same problems minus the vibrating issue. Now eight months later the screen has gone bad on this one. my wireless carrier offered to send it off, but i declined and opted to get the NOKIA E71. I would suggest this phone or a blackberry any day before this one.
What was I thinking?
I've had this phone for over a year now, and it was just a downhill battle the whole way. It finally died today, and I'm reluctant to indicate whether or not it likely made it to cellphone heaven.
From day one, the phone was sluggish. I just decided to deal with it. But the problems didn't end there. The alarm will sometimes go off day after day after day, even if there is no alarm indicator on the home screen. Not to mention that the alarm setup in and of itself is absurd. The only options are Everyday and Weekdays. Really? And I can only set one alarm at a time! Not at all practical.
But alas, it did not stop there either. It began shutting down at random intervals. Not even as a result of floating around in my bag or anything! I would have it sitting on the table next to me and all of a sudden it would just power off. And anyone who has this phone KNOWS it takes approximately ten years to power this thing up.
Internet worked maybe 15% of the time.
Occasionally would tell me I had a text message but there would be nothing in my inbox.
Camera quality so-so.
Cannot hold a charge at all, even on standby.
Volume pad on the side of the screen a real hassle. Many many times had to stop a conversation to turn the volume back up.
And then it finally happened. The speakers started going a bit wonky and high-pitched.
I left it to charge, picked it up in the morning, it was VERY hot, and now will not even power on fully. Not to mention that my SIM card is most definitely damaged from the heat.
Pretty convenient the death of this phone happened not even a month after the warranty was up.
PROS:
1. Calendar is pretty cool.
2. Can hold a lot of text messages, provided you spend the extra money on a memory card or the phone just gets even MORE sluggish, which in my mind is just baffling.
3. It's dead now.
Not so Smart Phone
It was stolen from me a couple of months ago and in some ways I'm relieved. Battery life is good if you don't play videos, listen to music,use the blue tooth or wifi if you do then prepare to take the charger everywere you go.
dash review
well heres my review on this phone. my first windows phone so far. i picked it up for $99 to upgrade from my BB curve.
pros:
windows mobile 6
light and thin, easy to hold
nice crisp landscape display
qwerty keyboard
ringtones loud
alarm works fine (in response to some of the other reviews complaining about it)
plenty of RAM if you know how to tweak your OS, i usualy run around 21k at start up(i recomend sk tools)
programs install easily
i can remove the sd card without removing battery
cool themes can be found online
tons of 3rd party apps
shortcut keys helpful
quick start up
push mail works good
solid build of phone
usb port: charges on computer or with most usb chargers.
stereo bluetoth sounds great
cons:
jogger bar in a bad spot but can be disabled
keyboard buttons slippery and not comfortable
memory leak, i usually have to reset twice a day or more
some much needed options missing like a screen dimmer
task manager has to be used to close some programs
IE browser sucks: bad rendering, lack of settings and features, no page up or down so long pages take forever to navagate
some stock apps like the media player or aim are MASSIVE memory hogs
bluetooth is glitchy: my stereo head set connects for music but not for phonecalls, but sometimes connects during the call.
camera is horrible compared to other phones with a camera, contrast is bad and colors seem bland and washed together (think of a vga camera on a cheap prepay phone).
battery life full to empty: 8 to 10 hours with light to moderate use-charging takes forever, im going to have to get the extended life battery to get throughout the day with it.
the best phone
i love this phone its the best phone its got folders like a real computer you can name your folders its like carrying a laptop only in your pocket
the ringtones forget it there is so many ringtones you can get on this phone ive had this phone for so long that the battery was done for.
so i had to buy a new battery i would definitly recommend
anyone to buy this phone its the best thing ive ever got and the email and internet is great i had so many songs on this phone it was like an ipod i would never get rid of this phone.
Worse than a MotoRazor
The keys are tiny but you get really use to texting on them after a while. The phone looks really cool and sleek, which was the main reason why I was drawn to it. But from day one, there was always one problem after another with it. It is too slow, low memory, and needs to be rebooted after freezing up every once in a while. When in the middle of texting someone, the phone will randomly switch itself to "vibrate" mode. When a text message comes in, you have the ability to click on a link called "message" to take you directly to the new text but half the time it doesn't work. Sometimes, the phone will not allow you to view the text at all. The camera works good, except it only works when there is enough free memory. The only thing you can rely on this phone is locking it and unlocking it without any problems. Good luck if you get the phone.
Great
Personally I think that this is one of the greatest phones anyone could get for t-mobile. Even with all the newer phones that have been released such as the blackberry curve, t-mobile wing, sidekick lx, or even the HTC G1 the dash definitely manages to stay in the competition with these phones. I see a lot of people on the internet talking about how the keyboard is to small for the fingers but i think the keyboard is awsome on the dash and i can type extremely quick on it (much quicker then i could on the sidekick or the lg voyager).
Don't Do It!!!
I recently switched to T-Mobile (in search of a better price) and purchased this smartphone to accommodate my needs as a budding entrepreneur. Well... At first, it seemed like a great idea. The price was ideal ($150 out the door with a $50 mail-in-rebate), it was thin, the data plan was only $20/mo, full keyboard. Couldn't go wrong, right? Not so fast... Since I got this phone (top of June), I've had the handset replaced once, SIM card replaced once, and I've wiped the device 7 times. The interface is SLOW compared to the Blackberry and it's highly prone to lockups. One frequent issue (that resulted in the 7 device wipes) is that the phone will lock at a black screen. From there, you'll power cycle the phone (usually via battery removal since the power button is non-functional at this point), and the phone will go into a constant reboot loop. The only workaround seems to be wiping the device... not good. Additionally, I attempted to load Goodlink software to sync with my corporate email which slowed the phone down even further (try 30 seconds from the time you press a button to dial a number till the number appears onscreen).
Before I purchased this P.O.S., a guy who owned it told me to go with the Blackberry instead. I didn't listen. Well... I'm listening now. After speaking to a supervisor at T-Mobile, they've agreed to allow me to "upgrade" to a blackberry. Hope this works because if not... I'm going to follow my first inclination to go with the iPhone on AT&T.
PS... if you have a Mac (which I do)... you'll find that Microsoft never intended on your "smart"phone touching a Mac. The data tethering function only works on PC and you will need a program called "Missing Sync" if you plan on syncing with your . Take my word... DON'T DO IT or this review will haunt you!!!
wish i could dash back to the store and return it
I got this phone in late April and after 4 months of use, I have had to call customer service so many times and had the headset replaced 3 times. I had the Nokia 5300 and I loved it, but us young people have to switch up every once in a while and try something new so I did.
PROS:
-email works like a dream, its so cool to have on your phone and extremely easy to set up
-t9 surprisingly works well, correctly predicts what I am going to say
-QWERTY keypad, im in love with it
-home screen, all the things you need to know, calendar, profiles, messaging, even a music plug-in
-office mobile-as a college student it is so cool to have this one your phone. You can study before class, even review powerpoints
-handango is right on the phone, purchase and download it right on the phone
-livesearch, what a cool idea!
-voice-command works well
CONS:
-call quality, the biggest of them all!
why create a phone that doesnt even work that well as one
-messaging-sometimes after reading a message the phone freezes
-memory-every time i get to enjoying the phone, it says I have to clear the memory
-camera, super blurry and the worst 1.3 mp i have ever had
-music player, spontaneously stopping in the middle of a song
-the cost of putting games on this thing ranges from 10-20 bucks
-internet explorer, for 20 bucks a month it should work fast and everywhere I go
-costs extra money to sync to a Macbook
-instant messaging doesn't work everytime I try to sign in. I sometimes get error messages
-signal although the reception is perfect at school in Richmond, VA, back home in the suburbs of Washington DC metro area, I can barely maintain 2 bars
But I'm going to keep this phone until the HTC Dream comes to T-Mobile. I can't wait.
Amazing Phone, 21 months and going strong
I got this phone the day it came out the end of October 2006. I will admit, that initially I thought the phone was 'alright' but now I think its simply amazing. The tmobile version is slightly 'played down' than a true HTC version. Such as the touch volume slider. There is actually 4 buttons on the 'jogger bar' and it can be used for much more than just volume.
Straight stock, out of the box, the phone is decent, but play with it a bit, learn about it, tweak it, add some programs, and there simply isnt anything better.
Don't know what i'm talking about...check out the "Dash faq" on howardforums.com, or shoot on over to xda-delevopers.com and check out the roms by kavana or rickywatts.
I used the phone 'stock' with just updated programs and whatnot that i found from the dash f.a.q. on howardforums up until 2 weeks ago and thought it was great.
If you have some tech skills, and want to totally customize your phone, check out those roms from kavana or rickywatts on xda-developers forum. The dash will run so much faster, have more available memory, its like someone just through a turbo into it.
You can do literally EVERYTHING with this phone, so whatever negative things people say are just from not being educated about it, or just not liking how windows mobile itself runs.
pros:
screen is great, play videos in perfect smooth quality
phone has wi-fi, and its fast
keyboard layout is great, i dont have huge fingers, i could see it may be an issue for some
size and shape, its small, but the slight rubbery texture gives you a good hold on it
its DURABLE! i've used it everyday for almost 2 years, i've dropped it, i've gotten it wet, it works PERFECTLY still. the rubber texture almost kind of fixes itself after it gets scuffed
cons: (nit picking for these)
video recording is kinda laggy
if its insanely sunny the screen can get difficult to read
big screen gets 'cheek grease'
volume changes during call cuz your cheek rubs the volume slider
after 18 months battery died
