Hard to believe, it’s been a quarter-shy of three years since T-Mobile released the HTC Dash. Back in late 2006 we praised the Windows Mobile smartphone’s build-quality and in-hand feel; since then, rivals have brought faster connectivity and slicker OSes to the table. Now T-Mobile and HTC are back with the smartphone’s successor, the Dash 3G: can it pick up where the original left off, or has it simply arrived too late?

Design-wise, the Dash 3G is relatively sober with a plain black and red color scheme. The left side of the handset has the volume rocker, which is usefully broader than on other models from the company. However unlike most HTC smartphones the charging/headset port is on the right-hand side of the handset, not the bottom. This makes no real difference when recharging, but does get in the way somewhat when using the supplied hands-free headset. T-Mobile also include a headset adapter in the box with the Dash 3G, so that you can use your own headphones; it’s a nice addition, but it does protrude significantly from the side of the smartphone making the whole thing unwieldy.

Up front, there’s a 2.4-inch 65k color LCD display, running at QVGA 320 x 240 resolution. It’s a bright panel, certainly, but compared not only to other Windows Mobile devices but to rival platforms it looks small and light on pixels. Happily the trackball makes navigation relatively speedy, but we did find ourselves wishing for at least a 480 x 320 panel.

The QWERTY keyboard takes up the lower half of the Dash 3G, and here the phone really shines. The keys are hard rubber and domed so as to increase the feeling of space between them, and manage to be both quiet in operation and yet offer plenty of tactile feedback. Backlighting is bright and even, and there are some useful shortcuts along the bottom row for the camera, messaging and silent mode, among other things.

HTC equip the Dash 3G with a microSD card slot, which is a good thing as onboard memory is just 256MB. To access it you have to remove the back cover, but happily you don’t need to remove the battery. Also on the back is the 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with no flash.

To say Windows Mobile 6.1 is looking old-in-the-tooth is an understatement; it looked that way six months ago, now it’s holding on by a thread. The UI is the same as has always been featured on non-touchscreen “Standard” devices, and loses HTC’s InnerCircle modifications. That feature, introduced on the Snap, allowed you to nominate key contacts and have their communications – such as emails – prioritized to the top of your inbox. Given the relatively pokey display, we wish T-Mobile had left the feature in place.

Still, the Microsoft OS supports Exchange email with push, POP3 and IMAP accounts, and includes a useful wizard to make setting up those accounts straightforward. T-Mobile deliver the Dash 3G pre-loaded with AIM, Windows Live, GTalk, and Yahoo! and MySpace IM clients, and you also get the carrier’s MyFaves app to prioritize certain contacts. As with any other smartphone using Windows Mobile there’s a basic media player with audio and video support; audio quality through the supplied headphones is reasonable, but plugging in your own set shows the Dash 3G is capable of decent sound. Similarly, using Bluetooth A2DP with wireless stereo headphones presented no problems. As with other HTC devices we’ve seen lately, there’s also a dedicated YouTube client which goes some way to making up for the lack of Flash support in the smartphone’s browser.

Our expectations for the 2-megapixel camera were low, but the results were surprisingly good. Lacking a flash and autofocus this is the very definition of point-and-shoot, and obviously benefits from plenty of natural light, but colors are generally accurate and there’s reasonable detail. Video recording is less impressive, with blurring and smudging in all but the stillest scenes. As with other Windows Mobile phones you can quickly send images or short clips as MMS messages or emails, but T-Mobile also throw in access to their own T-Mobile Album.

Performance from the new 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor presented no issues, with the smartphone proving snappy in navigating between apps and loading pages. Battery life is rated at 8.5hrs GSM talktime (5hrs 3G) or up to 15 days GSM standby (20 days 3G); we’re still putting the battery through its paces, but so far the Dash 3G seems to be easily capable of lasting a couple of days even with push-email turned on.

In terms of wireless connectivity, as well as T-Mobile’s 3G connection there’s also WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Oddly lacking is support for UMA, meaning the Dash 3G won’t work with T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home unlimited VoIP service. We’re also left in the dark as to whether the carrier will be offering upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5 when the new OS is released; locking yourself into a two-year agreement with a device that might be significantly outdated in a few months doesn’t seem like a great idea to us.

GPS was quick to find a fix, aided by the QuickGPS satellite-caching app, and worked both in Google Maps and TeleNav Navigation. The latter offers turn-by-turn directions and works well, but it’s worth noting that T-Mobile only includes a fourteen-day trial of the service; beyond that it’s subscription-based.

Still, our feelings about the T-Mobile Dash 3G are positive, even with an aging OS, missing VoIP support and miserly TeleNav trial. That’s in no small part down to the excellent keyboard and what looks to be stellar battery life; the Dash 3G makes no real pretence at being a multimedia maven – though obviously it will do the A/V basics – but instead takes everything good about the original Dash and makes it better. Faster data and a slicker casing join sturdy build quality and add up to a highly usable business phone. Anyone who prizes keyboard feel above all else should definitely have it on their shortlist.

T-Mobile Dash 3G unboxing and hands-on video: