I saw your link showing the TYT dual band dPMR. I didn't see that on their website. A decent radio with those specs shows promise. I haven't seen one that is dual band, just single band. I wonder if it does analog as well. It's hard to tell as there is little information on the radio.
Your understanding of dPMR vs. DMR is the same as mine. dPMR uses FDMA while DMR uses TDMA. Unfortunately, Repeaterbook doesn't show any NXDN repeaters in California on which to test these. For the price, it would be fun to try though.
If you've got an itch to try DMR and there is a suitable repeater in your area, give a CS700 a try. You could get a radio, programming cable and software delivered to you in the $200+ range.
Brian
KK6DOQ