Gadget Review - T-Mobile (HTC) Dash vs Blackberry Curve

So last summer, I compared the (new at the time) Apple iPhone to my T-Mobile Dash. I ended up keeping the Dash. I felt their uses were identical (both play video, music, navigate the internet on the EDGE network, and sync up with Outlook), but to me, the Dash was WAY easier to use. Even after 3 months of using the iPhone, I would get frustrated at attempting to type on the touch-keyboard.

So here I am now, comparing the Blackberry Curve to the Dash.

The verdict? They're pretty much the same phone! Now, you can say one is Windows-based, one has a trackball, one has Blackberry Messenger, and so on. But they're pretty much the same phones.

The Curve is a tiny bit thicker and wider. But it's a better looking phone. The Dash has a softer feel to it with a better grip, which is the reason I never dropped it. Both are equally easy to type on. And both sync up with Outlook, and can be used as 'tethered modems' connected to a PC (you would use this feature if you wanted to connect your laptop to the internet, but wasn't around a wi-fi internet connection... you could use either of these phones as 'modems' that are connected to the laptop).

My main gripe about both these phones is that they are like mini-computers. So you'll probably end up rebooting (taking out the battery and restarting the phone) about once a day. Both tend to crash if you're attempting to multi-task. I thought the Dash took a long time to reboot (about a minute), but the Curve can take up to 3 minutes to reboot. A little ridiculous if you ask me.

And the Dash has a 'task manager', much like your Windows XP PC does, so you can close programs you aren't using to free up memory. So far, I haven't been able to find that feature on the Curve.

The breakdown?

Looks : The Curve
Ease of use : It's a tie
The Interface : The Dash's is more familiar and intuitive, but the Curve's looks better
Battery Life : This is where the Dash still dominates. I can go 2 days without a charge, even with all the emailing, texting and talking that I do. I wouldn't feel comfortable going into a 2nd day without a charge on the Curve. But the good news is that the Curve charges up in no-time.
Value : The Curve is $450 + tax. The Dash is $250 + tax. For 2 phones with nearly identical uses, that seems like a huge difference. Of course, these days, you can get both for around $100-$150 with a 2-year contract.
Which One Will I Keep? : The Curve this time. Because it's a UMA phone. Which means that I can connect to wi-fi networks to make phone calls in areas where T-Mobile's signal isn't as strong. This is a great feature, and even in that little area on Front Street where I get NO cell signal, I can still connect using a wi-fi network.

T-Mobile

So this may be news to many of my friends, but I now work for T-Mobile, in addition to my career in Real Estate. It's no secret that the housing industry has been slow... but even in a weaker economy, people need to stay in touch, so I felt that the cell phone industry would be a strong one to be a part of. And so far, T-Mobile seems like a great company.

And in other news, Seattle finally saw 3 consecutive days with no rain. I think it was the first time that's happened in 2008. It's funny how Seattleites react to sunshine... all the nice sunglasses come out, as well as sunblock. And everyone washes their cars, gets out their convertibles and motorcycles, and spend a lot of time outside.

But the funniest thing to me, is that when the weather is overcast and dreary, traffic tends to be normal. But when it's either raining hard / snowing, or on any sunny day, traffic is TERRIBLE! It's like we can only drive when there are absolutely no distractions. No rain, no sun, nothing.

I'm happy though, I rode a bike for the first time in a long time, as well as played tennis for the first time in years. And I finally got some color on my skin (although not so much on my legs). As much as I miss winter, and snowboarding... I hope there are more weekends like this coming up.