T-Mobile Dash
Price: $249 w/ one-year contract, $199 w/ two-year contract
Carrier: T-Mobile

Web site: www.tmobile.com

Those T-Mobile customers who thought about switching carriers earlier this year so they could get a Motorola Q phone have wound up with the last laugh. Though arguably not as sleek as the Q, the Dash (manufactured for the company by HTC, which has been making phones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software for years) more than holds its own against its much-better-known competitor.

For starters, it’s a quad-band phone, so you can use it in many countries around the world, provided you can find a GSM network, which are prevalent in Europe, and much of Asia. On the other hand, for now, the Q is a Verizon exclusive, and Verizon devices work on a network that’s not found outside North America.

In addition to its cellular capabilities, the Dash also incorporates a Wi-Fi antenna, so you can surf the Web and check e-mail from any wireless network or Hotspot, which is typically faster and cheaper than cell-based data plans.

Like the Q, the Dash is based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5 software, which has its strengths and weaknesses. As with previous versions of Windows Mobile devices, the phone incorporates very nicely with the Windows-based PCs, and syncing contacts and calendar appointments is a snap. However, in my opinion, the devices still lack the intuitiveness of the Palm-based Treo devices for ease-of-use, and particularly, when it comes to navigating your contacts.

One word of warning: If you’re accustomed to using a Treo, or another device with a touchscreen, you’ll have to retrain yourself—the Dash (or any other Windows Mobile 5-based phone) has one. It’s still pretty straightforward to find your way around the device, but dragging a stylus around the screen isn’t an option.

BlackBerry Pearl
Price: $199 (after rebate)
Carrier: T-Mobile

Web site: www.blackberrypearl.com

The fact is BlackBerry’s new Pearl phone speaks far more to the obvious features that BlackBerries have been lacking for years, than to any remarkable new bells and whistles that the Pearl contains. Don’t get me wrong, many BlackBerry users will be thrilled to have the ability to take pictures, and even listen to MP3s, but these “new” features are already outdated—for example, the camera can’t shoot video—and music can be a bit of a drag to navigate (though the phone does automatically pause a tune if it detects an incoming call).

Of course, the primary point of a BlackBerry has been, and continues to be, connectivity to corporate e-mail, and the Pearl continues to do the same excellent job as all BlackBerry devices at doing that. Long-time BlackBerry users will have to get adjusted to the new “pearl” trackball, found on the front of the device, which replaces the clickwheel that is a mainstay of every other BlackBerry device. The “pearl” works just fine, but it will definitely take some getting used to.

Physically, the Pearl is hands-down the best-looking BlackBerry to date, granted that’s a bit like saying to Donald Trump that his hair has never looked better. In order to keep the device 2 inches wide (the entire device is 4.2 inches x 2 inches x .5 inches), the Pearl assigns two letters to most keys, which means you’ll need to rely on the device’s “SureType” technology. Found on other BlackBerries, including the 7130, which is my primary device, the software does a very good job of “guessing” which word you’re typing, even though you press each key only once. For example, to type “phone” you would hit the following keys: OP / GH / OP / BN / ER. And unless there was another word in its dictionary that was possible, the device would simply type phone. It does take some blind faith, but more often than not, the thing works. That said, when it doesn’t, it can be a real pain, requiring a fair amount of backspacing and retyping, but in all, it’s a huge step up from any other predictive typing software I’ve seen on other devices.

At the end of the day, the BlackBerry is still first and foremost a corporate gadget, and unfortunately for RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry, the Pearl isn’t going to change that. But if you’re willing to give up the full-sized thumbboard and try out the SureType software, the Pearl will bring you up to say, 2005, from a “bells and whistles” perspective.