T-Mobile Dash may not be getting an overhaul, may not be in stores now
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Dec 22nd 2008 8:45PM
posted Dec 22nd 2008 8:45PM
Did we just blow your mind with this all-black T-Mobile Dash? Besides sporting a new look, this furtively shot handset seems to confirm details we received from a tipster over the weekend. According to the source, the new phones have been seen in a few T-Mob stores across the country, and they're sporting Windows 6.1 and a camera upgrade of some sort. We're light on details, like whether or not this bad boy is 3G, but then again there's no telling whether or not any of this is even for reals. But that is a picture, isn't it? We'll just have to wait and see.
[Thanks, Scott K]
[Thanks, Scott K]
I am very confused.
There is nothing, I mean nothing new about it. I'm a retail rep, and saw the spec sheet recently... it'll debut at the same price as the current Dash. I'm pretty surprised by this, especially with rumors flying around the internet about a Dash 2.
This isn't surprising considering T-Mobile's track record of shitty phones. Android is great but even the G1 is a rather lack luster device; especially for a "flagship" product.
It the time since I sent you that original tip, it appears that this has been confirmed as nothing more than a color change on the device. While there is a software update available for T-Mobile Dash owners available at the link below, it's not the WinMo 6.1 update people were hoping for.
http://www.t-mobile.com/wmupgrade
Does anyone know where I should go to get the WM 6.1 upgrade on the Dash?
There is no official upgrade to 6.1 for the Dash, but as with most HTC phones, there is a vibrant ROM cooking community over on XDA-devs. I am using NRG Rose Rom v1.7 - remade by Ricky and Stylez for the HTC Excalibur which works and looks great.
As noted above, pretty much same device/new packaging. The new Dash (let's call it Dash-b) comes with WM 6.1, which is also freely downloadable for the prior Dash (Dash-a) iteration.
No, the Dash isn't an *exciting* phone, but it is a solid performer popular with a lot of fans. Many businesses have standardized upon the Dash and from their good experiences with it continue to specify Dash to their employees. Just-folks appreciate the full keyboard, battery life, and PDA features. Some use it as a texter's phone with email & web added in, others use their Dash as a portable extension of their desktop-based address book & calendar.
The thin body, full keyboard, vertical orientation, candybar design are a good comparison on the Windows Mobile shelf to it's bulkier Blackberry Curve counterpart and helps sell both phones. Overall Shadow / Dash / Wing make a good range of Windows Mobile devices, if not exactly cutting (bleeding?) edge.
By the way, this'll be the second refresh for the Dash-a; it also saw a firmware update about six months ago. The first one fixed some memory-leak issues (MS's fault), this one is a revision point release and highly recommended. As Scott K. helpfully posted it's freely downloadable at .
I'd buy it (again) if it had 3G.