cellphone-review.net

In keeping with its name, the T-Mobile Dash is very slim and can sit comfortably in ones pocket or hand with its rubbery finish. It is only 4.4 x 2.5 x 0.5 in inches but has all the applications that one may need in a smartphone, like a built-in QWERTY keypad, Push-email technology and Wi-Fi connectivity.

It also has a Bluetooth 2.0 option that also allows wireless connectivity over a given range. However, the Dash has no infrared port. The Dash’s front has a great QVGA display, but it is not a touch screen. Its keypad and function buttons are all on the front of the phone as well. The only control on its spine is for the volume located on the left. While its headphone jack and synchronization port are both hidden from sight.

The limited key size and spacing on its keyboard requires a bit of adjusting to for some users, for them to do typing in the desired speed. It helps though that this phone has a predictive text feature to make typing faster. The T-Mobile Dash runs a Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, a technology specifically made for smartphones that have no touch screen. Its processor is a 201 TI OMAP which holds up well even when checking email while listening to music. Its RAM is 64MB and has 128 for non-volatile internal storage. There’s a slot under the battery cover for microSD expansion in case there’s a need for more storage space.

The Windows Mobile operating system allows T-Dash users to use their smartphone for emailing over POP3 accounts and making changes on their Outlook’s contacts, tasks and appointment tools by synching with the use of Exchange Server. It is also bundled with a modified Internet Explorer for smaller screens and a Windows Media Player version for listening to MP3s and watching videos in WMP.

For viewing Adobe, Excel, PowerPoint and Word files, the T-Dash uses a ClearVue Suite. Unfortunately, this does not enable users to make changes to what they’re viewing. The T-Mobile also has a camera with 1.3 megapixel for simple picture-taking in a well-lighted environment. Users must keep their grip steady and have lighting in mind as this smartphone does not have a flash feature.

When web surfing and emailing, users need to remember that the T-Mobile Dash only uses a 960 mAh battery which will run low in a day’s time if all the smartphone’s functions are utilized.

read comments (0)

BlackBerry 8820 held a record in BlackBerry history for being the first unit of its kind to have an integrated Wi-Fi. 8820 retained a number of features that were present already in previous BlackBerry units and what emerged was a smartphone targeted to corporate users who valued performance more than entertainment values. 8820 is released under AT&T.

BlackBerry 8820 is reminiscent to the design of its predecessor, the BlackBerry 8800. With the following measurement: 4.5 x 2.6 x 0.5 inches, the black and sleek 8820 weighs 4.7 ounces. The phone being somewhat wide as compared to a majority of smartphones makes phone calls and texting a bit uncomfortable for users. Its 2.5 inch screen features 65K colors at a resolution of 320 x 20 pixels. Texts and images look vibrant and automatic backlighting adjustments are also included in the unit.

Below the screen is a full QWERTY keyboard that is identical with the BlackBerry 8800. It also includes the Talk and End Keys, Menu and Escape buttons and the trackball navigator. The right portion of the phone is where the volume controls are located, while in the left are the mini USB port, 2.5 millimeter headset jack and a pre-defined key that launches the PTT or Push-to-talk services of AT&T. A microSD expansion slot is located behind the battery.

The top portion is where the power and mute buttons are located. As mentioned earlier, the BlackBerry 8820 doesn’t include a camera. What will always remain as the best feature of the BlackBerry 8820, or any BlackBerry phones for that matter, is its excellent e-mail features. The e-mail application is very easy to set up and users can load up to ten e-mails accounts.

Synching the phone to users of IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange or Novell GroupWise is possible with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server subscription. A preloaded BlackBerry Messenger is also included and users can easily download versions of AIM, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger for every user’s instant messaging needs.

The 8820 supports Wi-Fi connectivity and T-Mobile HotSpot. Thanks to EDGE connection, loading with sites such as ESPN and CNN using the 8820 is faster. Viewing web sites with 8820 is possible with Page View or Desktop View options, although its always recommendable to use the Desktop. A built-in GPS support is also included that is very helpful for drivers.

Even without the camera, the 8820 still walks up a notch in mobile technology by featuring multimedia features. It includes a media player that can play MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, and eAAC+ music formats and MPEG-4 P2, H.263, and WMV video formats. It also offers music streaming via XM Radio although BlackBerry asks for extra charge for such features.

read comments (0)

RIM BlackBerry 8700g marked the reborn of BlackBerry in 2006 after almost a year of not releasing a new line up of products. Released by T-Mobile, BlackBerry 8700g is also known as 8700c under Cingular, exceeded a number of expectations since the release of BlackBerry 7290. Among BlackBerry 8700g’s cool features are the QWERTY keyboard, EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0.

One of the biggest improvements of the BlackBerry 8700g is its more sleek and compact package, although its square design could still be a little bulky and uncomfortable at times. It has a dimension of 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches and a weight of 4.7 ounces. This black-silver gadget features a bright, 2.5-inch QVGA display with 65K colors at a 320 x 240 pixel resolution that surely make texts and images look sharp and clearly-defined. A light sensing technology is also included to automatically adjust the brightness and contrast of the screen according to the environment. A small LED is also installed above the screen. It will flash various colors depending the nature of an alert: network activity, message notification, low battery or Bluetooth connectivity. 8700g’s spacious QWERTY keyboard below the screen have resulted to mix reviews. Some have commented with its slippery feel it while others claimed that they had no problems especially with sending e-mail messages.

Aside from the QWERTY, the phone also includes a dedicated Call, End and soft keys. A USB Port and headset jack is located on the left side while the mute button is on the top edge of the device. Connectivity options with 8700g are one of its greatest assets. It supports T-Mobile EDGE which results to a better and faster web browsing and downloading.

BlackBerry’s e-mailing capabilities have always been fantastic and have become better with the inclusion of the push e-mail technology for bringing and sending messages in real time, as well as supporting Yahoo Web mail accounts. 8700g also accommodate ten e-mail accounts and supports Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, IMAP and POP3 e-mail accounts. An attachment viewer for popular file formats, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and JPEG is also included. 8700g also includes the following applications: calendar, web browser, tasks list, memo pad, alarm, and calculator. Multimedia capabilities with 8700g are limited as it lacks audio and video player. Only one game is also included in the unit: Brick Breaker.

Calling with 8700g is never disappointing as the call quality has always been good. It can get about four hours of talk time and five days of standby time. Its lack of pre-installed instant messaging software may appear disappointing at first, although users can choose to download Oz’s instant messenger client which also supports AIM, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ and MSN.

read comments (0)