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T-Mobile will start offering original design manufacturer High Tech Computer's Excalibur communicator in the United States on October 25th. Dash is a compact Windows Mobile-based QWERTY thumb-keyboard smartphone built in the mold of RIM's BlackBerry handhelds like Samsung's upcoming SGH-i607 and Motorola's Q.

Dash will go for $350 by itself, $250 with a one-year contract and $200 with a two-year agreement. Not bad for what will be the most full-featured Windows Smartphone on the market. Even so, because the handset runs on the Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone (and not the Pocket PC Phone) platform, this means it won't have a touch display or be as powerful as, say, Palm's Treo 700wx, a Pocket PC Phone. In addition, users will be able to view but not edit Microsoft Office files.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS Dash is Wi-Fi-enabled unlike the Q, BlackBerry, SGH-i607 or Treo, which could be a real advantage in the marketplace. T-Mobile has the largest investment in Wi-Fi hot spots of any operator in this U.S., and the least in 3G (although this is about to change), a technology Dash lacks. There is support for T-Mobile's 2.5G EDGE data network for about a 135 kilobits per second performance, however.

T-Mobile will offer a comprehensive all-you-can-eat data plan for a reasonable $29.99 per month that includes access to e-mail and Internet through the carrier's 2.5G EDGE network and HotSpot Wi-Fi service. Dash can be used as a modem for laptops as well.

Dash runs on a 200 MHz TI OMAP P850 processor, 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM, and a QVGA (320 x240 pixel) resolution screen in landscape mode.

The quad-band GSM Dash also integrates an innovative jog strip that replaces the typical thumbwheel found on these devices, such as the ones on the BlackBerry 8700 series and the Q. Located on the side of the device near the display, users slide their fingers up and down the strip (like you would with a touchpad on a laptop). At the top and bottom of the strip are places that lead to the Start Menu and go back.

Dash features T-Mobile new myFaves service, which allows users to recieve unlimited nationwide calling to any five U.S. numbers (excluding toll-free and 900 numbers), with no domestic roaming or long-distance charges, and that lets them display these five contacts on a customizable myFaves home screen.