vB Easy Archive - My T-Mobile Shadow Review

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My T-Mobile Shadow Review
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Posted by: sydney196

OK i've had it for a while now and.....

Why: Well I have been looking for a phone that is the 'next level' from the MOTOROKR E6 and Samsung U600 i owned. The one thing that was missing was a phone with wi-fi.

how: Purchased from T-Mobile Store (renewed contract)

What: T-Mobile Shadow (HTC Juno- i believe)

Review:

Look and Feel
*Quality
Looking at the phone it looks like a cheaper kind of plastic, but once you get it into your hands you definately feel the difference. One of the main selling points for me was the front and back. The Front because the screen although plastic is easy to clean off my smudges from the old face. The Back because it has a rubber-like texture on it, which is great for laying on tables or a bedstand where it wont vibrate off.

*Colors
In looking at this phone, there were two obvious choices, the 'green' and the brown. Owning a Brown Zune in the past i wasnt wary of the brown, but Green really was my fave color. I ended up getting the Brown because it almost looked black and its more of a metallic brown which makes it look like the lacquered wood in some vehicles (faux or not)

*Weight
Coming from the E6 and the U600 it is significantly heavier. But still it seems lighter than my 80Gig iPod Classic, so the weight was ok. in my pocket it felt alot more natural than the E6 did.

*Slider
The slider has a really good mechanism. It wont accidentially slide open in your pocket and it definately wont cause any grief when you try to open it. As the entire top part slides you dont have to 'push the screen'

*Keyboard
I used to own a BBPearl and it took me a while to get used to suretype. But going back to it was definatley worth it. I have read some folks dont like the suretype but mostly that is all preferences.

*Scroll Wheel
OK so it isnt an iPod! Glad to know! The scroll wheel does what it is supposed to do. Scroll you thru the menus. It can get a little confusing sometimes because some screens are up and down push and others are scroll to advance. It does take some getting used to.

*Menu Structure
It comes with a new 'Neo" interface. Which works pretty well. It does give you access to all the stuff you need without ever really having to go into the dreaded windows Menu. (i did wish there was a way to have the windows 'key' not show up on the interace) You basically have three choices for menus. The Neo (T-Mobile option), a WM6 option, a standard Windows Mobile option. Out of all of them the "neo' (by the way i think thats what it is called from waht i read online) seems to be the best one. And if you are getting the Shadow the Neo and the Brown 'go together' color-wise and overall in looks.

Accessories
*USB Headphone adaptor
I havent really broken this out yet, as i use the Motorla S6 stereo headset. If i ever crack open the package ill amend this...

*Case
Still havent opened the case yet, but it seems to be a simple case, slide the phone inn and your set!

Phone
*Call Quality
I read online that many people are having call quality issues. (i took the plastic screen protector off) and so far people can hear me, at first the sound was very low in the earpiece (but then i took the screen protector off) and it greatly improved. I also didnt have any problems hearing the person on the other line. (made me think wither this device was a phone first , then PDA, or a PDA with Phone capabilities). The speaker phone is great. my car is extremely noisy and it works without any problems, clear loud and most of all they can hear me!

*Incoming Calls
The thing i liked about my U600 was the large screen caller ID, and what i love about the shadow is the same thing. it isnt as big as the U600 but it is roughly a full screen with the caller info (which you can have read aloud to you in one of the voice settings) with a 1/2"x1/2" image of the caller (or whatever you have assigned in the details of the contact.

*Outgoing
There are two ways (well more than two) to make an outgoing call on the Shadow. The first and easiest is to just start typing either the number or the name of the person then select the contact you wish to call, the second is to go thru the contact list and hit call when you see the one you need. There are other ways, such as hitting call when you erad a MMS/SMS from that person, voice-dialing, email dialing, and then there is 'while surfing the web, a number is listed -dialing'.

PDA
*E-mail (total internet $20.00 plan)
Yep after being on t-zones forever and using the gateway to get all my emails i decided to give total Internet a try. i currently have my email setup (which was easy as pie due to the email setup wizard) for Mac, Outlook (via active sync), Cox.net and yahoo! Everytime i get a message (using the "Neo" interface it shows me a alert (indicating from/subject/account)

*Calendar
I use my calendar (Outlook and iCal) religiously. Currently there is only one calendar (so you can only use one, not have multiple. The interface is very well put together, and my alarms and alerts show up when they are supposed to!

*Address Book
Syncing with Mac Address Book and Outlook is a cinch. Using Active sync on windows makes it all happen. The address information is very detailed. it even copied lengthy nots i have attached to each contact.

Messaging
*Missed Alerts
On the main screen, using the Neo interface, aside from the phone+! icon near the top, the Envelope icon, and finally an envelope icon +cell icon (for MMS), you can tap down to the phone+bubble icon (which will have a yellow background when an event is missed) and then scroll whell thru all of the new/missed calls, messages, emails, etc. It is a really great feature. The screen (in that section) will show five lines of info. The first is an image of either a contact or an icon, the second is the type of event (New Outlook email, MMS Message, SMS Message, new 'x' email, Missed call)

*MMS
Sending pics is very easy. Having a camera phone you can send right from the camera, or select a file/image and it will automatically send it in the same format. When receiving an MMS it shows up full screen and plays smoothly. I have had in the past with the E6 to download the MMS message first then a new message would appear stating that an MMS was received. So direct pull is definatley worth it.

*SMS
Texting, on average i go thru 3000 text messages a month. When i switched to the E6 that drastically reduced due to teh touchscreen keyboard and me not having patience typing on it. On the U600 i enjoyed the phone pad but would have some issues with T9 as most people sometimes do. I do wish it was explained easier on getting to the t9/sure-type option in a message. As some fields only allow you ABC, abc, Abc and not T9, t9 etc etc.

Wi-Fi
*Signal
I have wireless g @ home. So far it detects the nextwork automatically and does what is needed to stay connected. You can set wi-fi to go off after 'n' time of no connection to save on battery, and you can also set wi-fi from the main screens. (a wi-fi antenna icon is visible on the header of the main screen).
*VOIP
One of the main reasons i got this phone was for the built in wi fi. I am a huge user of Skype and using Fing was what i needed. So far i only voip device to device (not to land or mobile) and it has been great. the call quality comes in clear, no video (but that would be hard to accomplish with the camera on the backside) Was it worth it.. YES! just for the wi-fi. i did hear a rumor that t-mobile was stating that you got free hotspot (starbucks etc) with the total internet package, but ill have to verify!

*Syncing
I am both a Mac and PC user.
PC: using active sync, as usual i had some slight problems with connectivity. i have not been able to connect via bluetooth, but the area i am in @ work is bombarded with BT signals from various devices. USB has been sweet! It connects automatically and syncs it without issue. I do not have the exchange server set up, so it only syncs my work email thru direct usb connect.
Mac: that was a little trickier! I downloaded Pocket Sync for mac and the program has some shortcomings. i really wish they woudl just add WM sync capabilities to iSync. Off and on it will either start syncing and hang or just not sync at all. So far it has been hit and miss. i just saw this new program that i will be trying out.. more to come

Misc
*Screensaver
One of the nice things is the ability to have a photo slideshow occur when connected to the computer. This shows up on the Shado's screen and goes until the auto screen off kicks in!

*Mac
Like mentioned earlier, still havent had much luck with the mac it wont recognize the 2GB card as anything. but will check the program tonight to see if it works!

*Music
Yes i own an iPod. But sometimes you just dont want to carry it. The Shadow does music too. the sound is great both from the speakers and thru my BT headset! (i havent tried the stock headeset) The 'cool' feature is the ability in the "neo" home screen, to tap down to the WMP icon, and start music directly from that screen. (i believe you can also do this on the standard WM home screens). Also when a song is playing the album art (if available) is displayed along with the artist info. You can scroll whell back and forth to go thru the music available and then center button press to play a different track. (there is a feautre avaialble to read each track before it plays, but so far it hasnt been successful-at least i havent figured it out) You cal also have your library (music library) pull from either the storage card or the main menu. It syncs with Windows Media Player flawlessly as an external media device (if only iTunes afforded that luxury).

*Internet
As a user of nokia's full on HTML browser, then having to go to Opera (which isnt that bad) i was wary of the built in ie browser. Turns out it is as good as the Nokia HTML Browser. Sometimes something jsut works! and this does! The pages arent lightning fast but using EDGE youre getting what you paid for!

*Battery
Alot of people have complained about battery life. Now its a PDA youre gonna use the heck out of it, and it is going to drain the battery. What most PDA users want is somethign that wont die on them, and this device is close to being one of those. Some key things are to use wi-fi only when needed, set your email retrieval to something greater than every five minutes, cause that also uses up battery power, and best to use the power manager and have the device do its 'thing' to also help you save battery life. It hasnt run out of juice yet, as my shadow is plugged into my desk and usually syncing, but a weekend without a constant stream of current should fix that!

*Camera
Yes i went from a 3MPX samsung with autofocus and flash(LED) to a 2MPX one shot one kill camera. not a good move, but still there are some good images, not great and the fact that there is no 'flash' is annoying, but im sure the other products in the 'Shadow' line will be better equipped. The delay time is longer than needed, but that can be fixed by turning off preview after shot. All of the settings and options are onscreen and can be accessed with one of two presses.

Overall
Well, i mainly wanted this phone for the wi-fi for Fring and it has exceeded my needs. As for the PDA aspect of it. It is as similar to having the Blackberry. These days there are so many ways to get your emails and calendar appointments that any device will do, its just a matter of storage space and capabilities. MMS/SMS: Having them viewable on the home screen is extraordinary. Being able to just scroll down and read the first line or two of the message and choose to ignore or reply is worth it. The camera.. eh they should have either put in a 3mpx or added a flash to the 2mpx. Now for the important part.. the phone! Yes it dials and class come in clearly. I live in San Diego and am on T-Mobile so signal is no issue, and call quality is superb.

Well thats it! if anyone has any questions ping me or post a reply1 Would love to hear what other Shadow owners think!
~S~

Posted by: chaznet

Here's some more reviews:
CNET
PhoneScoop Video Tour
PocketNow.com
PCMag
Laptop Magazine
CrunchGear
PC World

Posted by: sydney196

Spell Check is my friend!
lol
Sorry... was in a rush and didnt run S/C
************************************************** ****
OK I’ve had it for a while now and.....

Why: Well I have been looking for a phone that is the 'next level' from the MOTOROKR E6 and Samsung U600 I owned. The one thing that was missing was a phone with wi-fi.

how: Purchased from T-Mobile Store (renewed contract)

What: T-Mobile Shadow (HTC Juno- I believe)

Review:

Look and Feel

*Quality

Looking at the phone it looks like a cheaper kind of plastic, but once you get it into your hands you definitely feel the difference. One of the main selling points for me was the front and back. The Front because the screen although plastic is easy to clean off my smudges from the old face. The Back because it has a rubber-like texture on it, which is great for laying on tables or a bed stand where it wont vibrate off.

*Colors

In looking at this phone, there were two obvious choices, the 'green' and the brown. Owning a Brown Zune in the past I wasn’t wary of the brown, but Green really was my fave color. I ended up getting the Brown because it almost looked black and its more of a metallic brown which makes it look like the lacquered wood in some vehicles (faux or not)

*Weight

Coming from the E6 and the U600 it is significantly heavier. But still it seems lighter than my 80Gig iPod Classic, so the weight was ok. in my pocket it felt alot more natural than the E6 did.

*Slider

The slider has a really good mechanism. It wont accidentally slide open in your pocket and it definitely wont cause any grief when you try to open it. As the entire top part slides you don’t have to 'push the screen'

*Keyboard

I used to own a BBPearl and it took me a while to get used to sure type. But going back to it was definitely worth it. I have read some folks don’t like the sure type but mostly that is all preferences.

*Scroll Wheel

OK so it isn’t an iPod! Glad to know! The scroll wheel does what it is supposed to do. Scroll you thru the menus. It can get a little confusing sometimes because some screens are up and down push and others are scroll to advance. It does take some getting used to.

*Menu Structure

It comes with a new 'Neo" interface. Which works pretty well. It does give you access to all the stuff you need without ever really having to go into the dreaded windows Menu. (I did wish there was a way to have the windows 'key' not show up on the interface) You basically have three choices for menus. The Neo (T-Mobile option), a WM6 option, a standard Windows Mobile option. Out of all of them the "neo' (by the way I think that’s what it is called from what I read online) seems to be the best one. And if you are getting the Shadow the Neo and the Brown 'go together' color-wise and overall in looks.

Accessories

*USB Headphone adaptor

I haven’t really broken this out yet, as I use the Motorola S6 stereo headset. If I ever crack open the package ill amend this...

*Case

Still haven’t opened the case yet, but it seems to be a simple case, slide the phone inn and your set!

Phone

*Call Quality

I read online that many people are having call quality issues. (I took the plastic screen protector off) and so far people can hear me, at first the sound was very low in the earpiece (but then I took the screen protector off) and it greatly improved. I also didn’t have any problems hearing the person on the other line. (made me think wither this device was a phone first , then PDA, or a PDA with Phone capabilities). The speaker phone is great. my car is extremely noisy and it works without any problems, clear loud and most of all they can hear me!

*Incoming Calls

The thing I liked about my U600 was the large screen caller ID, and what I love about the shadow is the same thing. it isn’t as big as the U600 but it is roughly a full screen with the caller info (which you can have read aloud to you in one of the voice settings) with a 1/2"x1/2" image of the caller (or whatever you have assigned in the details of the contact.

*Outgoing

There are two ways (well more than two) to make an outgoing call on the Shadow. The first and easiest is to just start typing either the number or the name of the person then select the contact you wish to call, the second is to go thru the contact list and hit call when you see the one you need. There are other ways, such as hitting call when you read a MMS/SMS from that person, voice-dialing, email dialing, and then there is 'while surfing the web, a number is listed -dialing'.

PDA

*E-mail (total internet $20.00 plan)

Yep after being on t-zones forever and using the gateway to get all my emails I decided to give total Internet a try. I currently have my email setup (which was easy as pie due to the email setup wizard) for Mac, Outlook (via active sync), Cox.net and yahoo! Every time I get a message (using the "Neo" interface it shows me a alert (indicating from/subject/account)

*Calendar

I use my calendar (Outlook and iCal) religiously. Currently there is only one calendar (so you can only use one, not have multiple. The interface is very well put together, and my alarms and alerts show up when they are supposed to!

*Address Book

Syncing with Mac Address Book and Outlook is a cinch. Using Active sync on windows makes it all happen. The address information is very detailed. it even copied lengthy notes I have attached to each contact.

Messaging

*Missed Alerts

On the main screen, using the Neo interface, aside from the phone+! icon near the top, the Envelope icon, and finally an envelope icon +cell icon (for MMS), you can tap down to the phone+bubble icon (which will have a yellow background when an event is missed) and then scroll wheel thru all of the new/missed calls, messages, emails, etc. It is a really great feature. The screen (in that section) will show five lines of info. The first is an image of either a contact or an icon, the second is the type of event (New Outlook email, MMS Message, SMS Message, new 'x' email, Missed call)

*MMS

Sending pics is very easy. Having a camera phone you can send right from the camera, or select a file/image and it will automatically send it in the same format. When receiving an MMS it shows up full screen and plays smoothly. I have had in the past with the E6 to download the MMS message first then a new message would appear stating that an MMS was received. So direct pull is definitely worth it.

*SMS

Texting, on average I go thru 3000 text messages a month. When I switched to the E6 that drastically reduced due to the touch screen keyboard and me not having patience typing on it. On the U600 I enjoyed the phone pad but would have some issues with T9 as most people sometimes do. I do wish it was explained easier on getting to the t9/sure-type option in a message. As some fields only allow you ABC, abc, Abc and not T9, t9 etc etc.

Wi-Fi

*Signal

I have wireless g @ home. So far it detects the network automatically and does what is needed to stay connected. You can set wi-fi to go off after 'n' time of no connection to save on battery, and you can also set wi-fi from the main screens. (a wi-fi antenna icon is visible on the header of the main screen).

*VOIP

One of the main reasons I got this phone was for the built in wi fi. I am a huge user of Skype and using Fring was what I needed. So far I only VOIP device to device (not to land or mobile) and it has been great. the call quality comes in clear, no video (but that would be hard to accomplish with the camera on the backside) Was it worth it.. YES! just for the wi-fi. I did hear a rumor that t-mobile was stating that you got free hotspot (starbucks etc) with the total internet package, but ill have to verify!

*Syncing

I am both a Mac and PC user.

PC: using active sync, as usual I had some slight problems with connectivity. I have not been able to connect via Bluetooth, but the area I am in @ work is bombarded with BT signals from various devices. USB has been sweet! It connects automatically and syncs it without issue. I do not have the exchange server set up, so it only syncs my work email thru direct USB connect.

Mac: that was a little trickier! I downloaded Pocket Sync for Mac and the program has some shortcomings. I really wish they would just add WM sync capabilities to iSync. Off and on it will either start syncing and hang or just not sync at all. So far it has been hit and miss. I just saw this new program that I will be trying out.. more to come

Misc

*Screensaver

One of the nice things is the ability to have a photo slideshow occur when connected to the computer. This shows up on the Shadow’s screen and goes until the auto screen off kicks in!

*Mac

Like mentioned earlier, still haven’t had much luck with the Mac it wont recognize the 2GB card as anything. but will check the program tonight to see if it works!

*Music

Yes I own an iPod. But sometimes you just don’t want to carry it. The Shadow does music too. the sound is great both from the speakers and thru my BT headset! (I haven’t tried the stock headset) The 'cool' feature is the ability in the "neo" home screen, to tap down to the WMP icon, and start music directly from that screen. (I believe you can also do this on the standard WM home screens). Also when a song is playing the album art (if available) is displayed along with the artist info. You can scroll wheel back and forth to go thru the music available and then center button press to play a different track. (there is a feature available to read each track before it plays, but so far it hasn’t been successful-at least I haven’t figured it out) You cal also have your library (music library) pull from either the storage card or the main menu. It syncs with Windows Media Player flawlessly as an external media device (if only iTunes afforded that luxury).

*Internet

As a user of Nokia's full on HTML browser, then having to go to Opera (which isn’t that bad) I was wary of the built in ie browser. Turns out it is as good as the Nokia HTML Browser. Sometimes something just works! and this does! The pages aren’t lightning fast but using EDGE you’re getting what you paid for!

*Battery

Alot of people have complained about battery life. Now its a PDA you’re going to use the heck out of it, and it is going to drain the battery. What most PDA users want is something that wont die on them, and this device is close to being one of those. Some key things are to use wi-fi only when needed, set your email retrieval to something greater than every five minutes, cause that also uses up battery power, and best to use the power manager and have the device do its 'thing' to also help you save battery life. It hasn’t run out of juice yet, as my shadow is plugged into my desk and usually syncing, but a weekend without a constant stream of current should fix that!

*Camera

Yes I went from a 3MPX Samsung with auto focus and flash(LED) to a 2MPX one shot one kill camera. not a good move, but still there are some good images, not great and the fact that there is no 'flash' is annoying, but I'm sure the other products in the 'Shadow' line will be better equipped. The delay time is longer than needed, but that can be fixed by turning off preview after shot. All of the settings and options are onscreen and can be accessed with one of two presses.

Overall

Well, I mainly wanted this phone for the wi-fi for Fring and it has exceeded my needs. As for the PDA aspect of it. It is as similar to having the Blackberry. These days there are so many ways to get your emails and calendar appointments that any device will do, its just a matter of storage space and capabilities. MMS/SMS: Having them viewable on the home screen is extraordinary. Being able to just scroll down and read the first line or two of the message and choose to ignore or reply is worth it. The camera.. eh they should have either put in a 3mpx or added a flash to the 2mpx. Now for the important part.. the phone! Yes it dials and calls come in clearly. I live in San Diego and am on T-Mobile so signal is no issue, and call quality is superb.

Well that’s it! if anyone has any questions ping me or post a reply! Would love to hear what other Shadow owners think!

~S~

Posted by: lilxanna

Thanks for your review. It was really thorough and helpful. I'm supposed to be receiving my shadow on Monday and I been reading up on it.

I had the pearl before and I liked it, but found it to be a little slow. I always got the hourglass..... any issues with the Shadow?

Posted by: sydney196

It roughly takes about 45-60 seconds to start up, but i think that is common with all WM devices. Overall it isnt that noticeable. If you are playing games there may be a little lag, but I use the device for PIM and phone more than games. The internet is as expected. you will see a huge difference in surfing via EDGE vs Wi-Fi.

Posted by: chaznet

Here's some more reviews:
CNET
PhoneScoop Video Tour
PocketNow.com
PCMag
Laptop Magazine
CrunchGear
PC World

Posted by: sydney196

It took a whole lot of calls to T-Mobile and about seven different answers, but I can confirm that If you sign up for the Total Internet Package from T-Mobile and you have the Shadow, you also get access to HotSpot i.e. the Starbucks/Borders internet access....

MOre and more I'm liking this device!!!

Posted by: mattHATCHER

I am wondering if you have had any problems with your tmobile shadows ear volume. I am on my second phone now and it has almost entirely lost its earpiece volume.??
Thanks
Matt

Posted by: fr4c

thanks for the review, as I'm looking to get this for my girlfriend when her Sprint contract expires.

Posted by: tsquare2112

anyone else have about a 4 to 5 second delay from the time you answer a call before the other party can hear you?

Posted by: sydney196

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattHATCHER

I am wondering if you have had any problems with your tmobile shadows ear volume. I am on my second phone now and it has almost entirely lost its earpiece volume.??
Thanks
Matt

I havent had any difficulty, but i do use a BT headset most of the time. The only main issue was the overheating and that only happened with the brown model. I wont ask if you took the plastic sheet off the front of the phone (alot of people having audio issues was because of the screen 'protector' they kept on the phone)

S~

Posted by: sydney196

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsquare2112

anyone else have about a 4 to 5 second delay from the time you answer a call before the other party can hear you?

it is i think a t-mobile issue with connecting newper phones. (i guess too many 'processes running just to hop onto a tower)

Posted by: tAhA23

Hey,

I saw in your review that you mentioned you can have the contacts read aloud in one of the voice settings. I can't seem to find this option on my phone...could you tell me where it is?

Thanks

Posted by: klowngoblin

Quote:

Originally Posted by sydney196

It roughly takes about 45-60 seconds to start up, but i think that is common with all WM devices. Overall it isnt that noticeable. If you are playing games there may be a little lag, but I use the device for PIM and phone more than games. The internet is as expected. you will see a huge difference in surfing via EDGE vs Wi-Fi.

it will take that long but only with a crippled Tmobile rom, you flash it to something useful from xda and it will boot in 25s

Posted by: Urthwhyte

Have they released WM 6.1 for the Shadow yet over at xda? There doesn't appear to be any Juno forum, so i can only assume that there hasn't been any work far.

Posted by: sydney196

I just installed 6.1 on my shadow and so far no issues...