T-Mobile knows how to work with OEMs. Witness their popular Dash and Sidekick. They create branded experiences, completely change UIs and operating systems, and generally do a good job of making casual messaging easy.
So here we have the T-Mobile Shadow, a rebadged HTC Juno with Blackberry Pearl-like predictive keyboard and a unique UI that smooths out Windows Mobile’s rough edges enough to make this thing worth a second look.
The phone itself is about as big as the Pearl when closed and as long as the Sidekick 3 when open. It’s quite compact and has a central scroll wheel and six buttons on the face — call handling, home, back, and two function buttons. Sliding open the phone reveals MyFaves and clicking the scroll wheel lets you switch between applications. Clicking on a selection starts up that app and they’ve done an excellent job of hiding the media player behind a bright and easy to use interface.
The keyboard takes some getting used to. It’s a type and trust interface, which encourages you to tap and just pray that the phone gets what you’re trying to say, which it does 99% of the time.
So what’s good about this phone? The size, the shape, and the scroll wheel are quite innovative. What is bad? The abortion and insult to nature that is Windows Mobile 6. As my sainted Pap Pap used to say, No matter how hard you try, you can’t dress a pig in pearls and call it Audrey Hepburn.” You can, however, make do with what you have and try to work around this disgusting affront to cellphone usability.
Whew. Sorry. Anyway, the Shadow is out, it’s $149, and will be officially available on October 31st. Who should get the Shadow? Folks who know and love the Dash or the Pearl will like this one. The media functions are strong and the built-in instant messaging is a huge bonus in a market of IM-less smartphones. Is it an *-killer? No, it’s not. It’s an inexpensive slider phone with messaging capabilities.
you have a review for this already, but no Sprint Touch?
See, this is what I hate about CrunchGear, and most of the sites under this label. When I see a review, I want a review about the functionality. No one is going to buy this that doesn’t like Windows Mobile. But they take every chance they can get to ding an OS that *they* don’t like. I like it, and a whole lot of other people do also- especially the fact that you can easily code for it, and there is a whole lot of 3p app support. So why not try to review it as a phone for people who want to buy a WM phone?
Actually, I am quite happy to read opinions within articles. Your logic doesn’t apply well anyways, you want their subjective opinion on usability, but you discount their subjective opinion on the usability of the OS. Just tell me how you like the features of my car, but don’t say crap about the engine. Good deal, buddy. The reality is that, until recently, I wasn’t aware of much contention in the realm of phone OS, and upon reading this review I google-searched and decided, according to the opinion of the masses whether I wanted to use WinMob6
Thats because no1 cares about sprint. We’re all too busy being excited that T-mobile is finally getting respectable phones.
This looks cool. I currently have a broken Pearl, and am looking for a new phone. Is win-mo really that bad? I think I could get around its rumored awfulness
i think the shadow is a pretty good phone even with windows mobile.i recently had many many problems with the battery and upgraded to a blackberry 8700g.well holding that in my hand compared to the shadow/the blackberry felt like a toy cell phone the one you would buy at a 5 and dime for your 5 year old.the shadow is very sturdy and t-mobile sent me a new one and thank god the battery was just the actual phone now i have no problem e-mailing is very easy as well as text.by the way the blackberry broke after falling only 6 inches to my rug while in a protective case.so i would recommend the shadow to anyone.although i paid 350 for it?????
ahahaha no one cares about Tmobile, thats why in US, you only have 27 million customers. With Sprint you have 53 million, but AT&T and Verizon have 63-67 million. Tmobile isn’t even 3G yet! ahahaha The other 3 are already experimenting with 4G. Ahahahahahaha, why dont you go back to your teenage customers with your little toys ahaha
I feel sorry for you Harold and for the 53 million customers Sprint has. Seeing those figures makes me realize how many people still live in the dark ages. Out of all cell phone network providers, T-Mobile has the best customer support. Go subscribe with Sprint or Verizon and try to take your mobile phone out of the country and see if it works. That’s why it’s called a mobile phone because you should be able to take it anywhere and be able to use it anywhere! T-mobile hasn’t grown bigger YET because of people like you…..they just go with what they’re used to instead of trying something different and better.
How true thinker is numbers are numbers I have had both and am loving T Mobile. They are people and not robots that dont understand their own technology.
i havw been with tmobil for seven years and i would never recomend them to antyone they lied to me and my latest experience with them is why i will tell the whole world they suck
y0 yUR MAdE fUkiN RUdE.!if yU dNt likE t-M0bilE thEN thAt;S yU bUt yU dNt G0ttA b tlkiN Shit b0Ut t-M0bilE.kEEP it t0 yUR G0d dAMN fUkiN SElf.!&_+ it dNt MAttA h0W MANy PPl t-M0bilE 0R SPRiNt 0R VERiZ0N hAS CUhZ t-M0bilE hAS thA bESt Ph0NES &_+ NEVA iS l0W 0N bARS N0 MAttA WhERE yU G0.!S0 kEEP RUNNiN yUR M0Uth All yU WANt bitCh CuHZ thAtS y yUR ASS jUSt G0t lAid thA fUk 0Ut.!!!!!
what?
umm dude?
wow u remind me of chief from arby and the chief on youtube.
do you realize how much time youre wasting typing like that? i mean whoa….
Um what the crap! why the h r u going to talk to people that way? people can choose what they want i have tmobile and i dont talk to ppl that way! so calm yo ass down
youre a dumbass
Why are children like this allowed to even post something so infantile on this site?
well sprint could have 3g or 4g but will always suck with its signal….u woudnt be surprised what tmobile has to release for later on…..hahhhaha im going to be laughing at the rest of the phone carriers when tmobile releases this new thing later on…..and tmobile cant have 3g because of the FCC if u didnt know!!!!
tmobile is the best!!!!!!!
I have tried T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. I do like the phones T-Mobile and AT&T have in their lineup. But in terms of cost of data and text, Sprint has given me the best deal so far. Unlimited data for $15 for Sprint vs. $30 to $45 for T-Mobile and AT&T. Nearly $500 difference over 2 years for a data plan between AT&T/T-Mobile vs Sprint. My choice goes to Sprint in terms of cost. And it is running 3G, sweetness…
if u call sprint and tell them u want to disconnect because u dnt wnt
to pay $15 a month for unlimited they will give it 2 u for $5 thts wht
my fam did :)
HI! just wanted to let everyone out there know, Tmobile has Data & apps for $6 a month, that’s internet and email on any NOne smart phone, an d for smart phones its $20 for internet ( and email) and $5 for 400 text. if one has email, one should text less. Right?
Personally I hate slide phones; I think it’s an awkward motion. I think that if this phone is going to slide so that they have more room on the face for larger screen THEN THEY SHOULD PUT IN A LARGE SCREEN! This phone has too much empty space on its face to be taking full advantage of the room it earns by subjecting it’s users to a slide function. BB pearl doesn’t slide, and it has what looks like a better keyboard (i hate grid-like squared flat buttons pushed edge to edge) and only like a centimeter shorter screen.
I had a T mo Dash and I decided to switch to an unlocked cingular Treo.
I agree with Wraith808 about anti-Windows Mobile-ism. Personally, I like windows mobile a lot… if the phone has a touch screen. Thats originally why i ditched the Dash. plenty of function that simply required too much time/work on the directional pad to really be THAT handy. I can’t say from experience, since i haven’t touched this phone yet, but it doesn’t seem to me that having two directions of movement a click wheel offers, rather than the four that the Dash’s D-pad has will make navigation and faster/easier.
And at least the dash had a full qwerty keyboard.
——————————————
Bottom line, I say that if anyone has any interest in this phone whatsoever, they should immediately go out and buy a blackberry pearl and never even think about this phone again. I don’t even like Blackberrys that much, and prefer windows mobile to blackberry, but even I have to admit that the Blackberry Pearl seems better than this phone in every way except in that the Shadow’s screen is 3/4 to a full centimeter taller (which is not enough of a difference that I would even submit myself to the annoying slide to gain, let alone taking a two directional wheel over a the multi-directional trackball).
Screw this phone. Because of the previous existence of a better alternative that comes at the same price, upon the Shadow’s inception it is already obsolete.
Admittedly, Shadow is a cooler name than Pearl. I think it is likely that a significant percentage of the people who will buy this phone will do so because of the name, and their neglect to look at the cold, hard facts of function that make the Pearl a better alternative.
I’ve had 2 blackberry pearl’s both would freeze up and shut off whenever i tried to adapt my digit’s for voice dialing. so, i’m gettin a shadow instead from what i’ve seen so far the bb’s are trash wouldn’t recommend to anyone!!!!!!
i have shadow..getting blackberry, don’t want to but my shadow freezes and messes up all the time.
I’ve never drooped it and i have a wonderful case for it called the monaco book. Still what can i do, thats all Tmobile will give me for a replacement. I need a phone that works hopefull, Blackberry will work better.
Bye My Shadow..
:(
so far, teh shadow actually seems to be a tad bit better than teh pearl, minus the awkward feel of using a slider phone for the first time.
I have this phone…I and i like it. I was at the store and and played with the BB pearl and sidekick LX. The digital camera (2.0) on the shadow is wonderful and clear vs the BB pearl and sidekick LX (1.3) camera. I’m a chick so i guess not having a full qwerty pad does not bother me since i have small finger tips. The predictive spelling isn’t a big issue for me. I’m a smart girl and not having a full qwerty pad with all the “ABC’s” displayed out for me does not confuse me at all. it took me like two minutes to get it down packed, but I guess some people need that full qwerty pad. The sliding effect isn’t as bothersome. i rather take a slide phone than a swivel from the sidekick LX (which i think is over priced) seems like its more prone to breakage. i mean for 199.99 it has a sweat camera, video recorder, music player, IM/text/email which is all i’m looking for not to mention other spec’s. I personally think it looks better than the sidekick LX. When i was in the store i overheard the staff talking about this phone. One sells person is trading in her BB pearl for this one. So it cant be that bad that a T-mobile sales rep is switching to this Shadow. i think its more of a girl phone. The only thing i dont like about it is the color option. i hope they make some skins for this. i dunno to each their own. in the end it don’t matter cause they will have something better, shiny, and wayyyy over priced out in a few hours..lol
How about a proper Shadow review, rather than cheap shots at WM6?
I just bought this phone yesterday however I have not been able to test and check its full functionality it seems as though its the best phone out for t-moble (that can fit my needs) Clear quality and sound in calls, the click wheel is easy to use and can be used as a d-pad as well. the 2-letter qwerty setup us strange but I chose this over the wing or blackberry because the button layout saves alot of space and im sure will get easier as i get used to it.
the blackberry pearl just seemed like its running an outdated OS and the UI is pretty ugly compared to that of Windows Mobile 6.
overall the shadow is well-priced, small, and efficient in what it can do. T-mobile might not have 3G but theres so much Wi-Fi everywhere who cares?
I also have an iPod Touch so I didnt really need the music/video player ability but the shadow only comes with 128mb (if i remember correctly) internal memory but up to 4gb of sd cards can be added.
Razrs are getting old.. The Wing was too big. And still in highschool i dont have any of the corporate needs for a blackberry (also too wide/buttons are tiny for larger hands)
t-mobiles phones do suck. But their monthly minute plans are cheap (plus unlim texting for 9.99) so i’d say this is one of the best cheapest and smallest phones out for t-mobile
I just got the Shadow two days ago, after reading about all the negative things people say about T Mobile and the Shadow, i was about to send it back before it arrived,,, I LOVE it! I have been with Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, T-mobile has by far the best plans for myself and my son. They have been more than accomodating on the phone as well as when i have needed extra time to pay my bill. If the other phones are so much better with different carriers, then people should keep those opinions and stop being negative, being a NE Pats fan, I’m used to negative, jealous people lol, and, for everyone out there who wants a great little phone, no big qwerty key boards, everything you need on the internet, a GREAT camera,
get the Shadow, a few problems with the battery, make sure you turn WiFi off and all applications when your not using them and your battery will be just fine! Colors are fine as well, who needs a flashy color, unless your trying to make statement, inexpensive and extremely easy to use, the pearl is replaced, and although I only had my Pearl for a short time, I wouldn’t think twice about trading this baby in for any other phone, that is of course until T moblie comes out with another coooool phone!
I just got the phone on the 8th and i have to say, i am VERY UNHAPPY. Friday night i was standing at a concert, took the phone out of my pocket, and the LCD was broken, and there are crazy colors all over the screen. it now does not even call out, or operate any of the functions, and i cant even see what im doing on it. T-mobile said it was damage, and i think this is just a pile of you know what. Dont get the shadow if you want an expensive phone, that you cant have in your pocket !!!
see i was referencing to the blackberry 8700g.the same thing happened to me with the blckberry the thing felt like a damn toy.the shadow on the other hand seems very sturdy to me and if your wanting to get it fixed t-mobile will not fix it but for around 120$ you can have it fixed at your local global cellular…stick with the shadow as with any phone you gotta take care………
See…. you people have nothing better to do than sit around acting like you know something. Well let me tell you something. Ready, brace yourself……YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT…. T-mobile does have 3-g networks. in fact they just launched more in LA and New York. And yes T-mobile only has about 28 million customers. But when you break it down. T-mobile strted in 2003 and has taken those 28 million people from your shity ass cell phone providers. so do me a favor and learn something before you open your mouth and sound lije a jack ass.
ummmm…. i’ve been with t-mo since 01… guess it was owned by voice stream then huh….insert foot….
My sister just got the T-Mobile Shadow and it seems to be a pretty nice phone, compared to what she had before. There are a few problems she’s had with it but I guess she likes it. I played with it a little be and still haven’t decided rather I want it yet. The problem that she’s had with it is setting up her email and using certain websites…apparently certains websites that require login information, for example myspace, doesn’t not work on that phone even though its suppose to have a full web browser. The Pearl is little smaller but you’re able to access just about any website and the shadow you can’t. I’m still not sure if I want the phone yet even though it is a cute phone and I like the fact that you can hold up to 4gb but I’m thinking I should just dish out the extra cash and get the Blackberry Curve
Myspace works just fine for me on my shadow. You just have to go to “moble.myspace.com” instead of “myspace.com”
My problem is I have a mac computer and I can’t connect to my phone at all. I’ve looked at the Missing Sync which is software put out by mac… but my mac doesn’t even acknowledge that my phone is there through USB. I’ve been able to “beam” photos from my phone to my mac but I can’t send photos to my phone. If I buy the Missing Sync program will my mac be able to connect to my computer through USB even though it can’t see it at all? I’m supposed to be able to get the internet on my computer through the phone. That’s why I bought this phone. Does anybody know how to help me? Or will Missing Sync just fix everything?
Did any one ever answer your question on Missing Sync? I just got a Shadow, and use Mac’s for my photography. Would like to take advantage on all that the phone can do.
Dave
I wanna know if it would be a good choice to go to the Shadow from my SK3. I’ve always had a thing for the sidekick brand…. (that was until I got one). The sk3 is pretty bad ass fo what it can do ( 95% of the internet, downloadable extras, mp3 player, and more). But, its what it can’t do that bothers me (poor pic quality,no video, no pic messaging, no flashplayer, low res screen, etc……)
I’m just not sure if it would be a good switch. Maybe ill have to order it online and if I don’t like it ill have 14 days to return it.
And I do love the keypad on the sk3!
If you have had a black berry pearl or a dash or a sidekick or have them you will love switching to the shadow. i work for t mobile and i have had every phone that tmobile offers up to date. the shadow is the only one that i have been completely happy with. and just for the record t mobile data plans or plans in general are waaaayyyyyy cheaper than v2w sprint or at&t.
Stay away from the shadow. Screen is so fragile, I too have had it for 7 days and the screen went white and the phone froze up. T-Mobile says the 14 day return policy is null and void since it is broken. I did not abuse or break it, but I am locked in for 2 years with a crap non working phone.
tyuiytit
I just got the shadow yesterday, and just last night it was already giving me problems. I understand with the mobile 6 it is somewhat like a computer, where if you have too many applications running it freezes. But really, on a phone? And I can’t figure out that even when I do exit out of something, it is still running. I constantly have to go to the task manager and stop them all before doing anything. My phone has frozen on me about 4 times, and I’ve had to turn it off or take out the battery just to get it going again. I still have about 12 days before I change my mind and return it, I need an opinion on what I should do because it is such a nice phone. Oh and I spent about 270 since it was an upgrade. Is a phone that freezes or lags worth it?
i had the shadow for 2 days now and i also had it freeze up on me 3 times. its is so annoying when u need to make a phine call but u can’t. i am goin to take it back………
Im just trying to see if this phone is worth getting. Looks like its a split decision on the comments side. I have to agree that windows mobile is a conflicting OS. Ive had the wing, and the mda and both wm5 and wm6 both had issues, but overall I loved having the wide range of functionality with media, email and internet. I am curious to see how wm holds up without the touch screen, I thought it might help out the internal problems my other phones had with wm.
Is the screen really that fragile? That kind of turns me off.
I love the tmobile shadow honestly…..at first i was alil effy because i went from the tmobile wing down to the shadow but i missed having a smaller phone….if you have a wing or dash you would absolutely adore this phone……for the simple fact it has everything the wing and dash has and alil more but in a smaller package…..the best feature i sooo love about the phone is when you get text message the picture comes up of the person…..I LOVE IT lol….the only problem i’ve had with the phone is it freezing up but a quick turn off and turn back on fixed that……tmobile recommends giving the phone a powercycle on any device once a day anyways……First couple days i did miss my wing cause it’s touch screen and the shadow isnt…but i’m an employee of tmobile and we dont get the luxery of buyers remorse…..but since i’ve been using the shadow i have honestly falling in love lol….if your a chick that loves alot of attention like me lol this is the phone to go with….it’s def an eye grabber
I’ve had the Copper Shadow since November 2 and must say that I’ve had no issues what so ever w/ the phone. Never has frozen up like I’ve read on some threads, had multiple programs open to…buzzes through them w/ ease. Was thinking of going iPhone during the 14 days that I had to determine if I wanted to stick w/ it or not…glad I stayed w/ it as to much $$ for the iPhone and AT&T service rates/plans. Did not want a PDA/Smart phone as I’m still using my Dell Axim x50v..works fine for me….at least for now. The HTC Shadow is a good mix of utilities and is user friendly…just have to get used to the texting/keyboard….enjoy!
The Shadow sucks. If you want an expensive slider that has really bad color schemes and profiles than this is the phone for you. I just returned mine after countless people laughed at how bad the phone navigated between menus and settings. The camera is nice but not worth the price of the phone. If you do end up getting the shadow, don’t tell anyone and you may have a chance of not feeling ripped off when your friends are laughing at you. Good luck T- Mobile, call me when you get some real phones that people are actually talking about and not because they suck balls!!
I just go the shadow I bought a t-mobile mda in feb. got a pearl in june and now have the shadow I prefer the mda over the shadow just because of the touch screen. The shadow is alot better than the pearl in my eyes. The slide function doesnt bother me at all. So all in all I am very pleased with the shadow and I have been pleased with all of t-mobile’s phones. I also build cell phone towers for every carrier and T-Mobile has alot more going on then sprint and at&t. You will be very very suprised to see what t-mobile will be introducing in the next couple years;) Sprint has sold alot of thier towers recently as well to verizon and t-mobile. So we will see what happens. I have also used all the carriers T-mobile is by far in my opinion the best carrier.
Be very careful with the LCD screen! Not even a week and it has internally cracked on me. This happened while leaning over a counter at work…my weight and the edge of a drawer knob was pressing against the phone that was in my front pockets. Upon the discovery of the disaster, I pissed off throughout the day! Now splattered colors is what is left on the screen. Don’t know who’s calling me now.
ummm…..your body wieght concentrated with a drawer knob onto a lcd screen….it’s not rocket science dude.
haha, hell yes!!!!
Okat so i had the side kick 3 and i had way to many problems with it. the only thing that was good about the sk3 was the keypad, i just switched to the shadow and i think its wonderful. yeah every phone has its problem but i find it better then the sk3. just throwing that out there
Well, I have noticed ALOT of bashing on this phone. I just bought this phone, and had gotten it unlocked for my carrier. I love this phone, the WI-Fi is AMAZING! The phone is very fast, and has HANDANGO, a program where you can purchase alot of extra thing for it. And as for Windows Mobile, I don’t see how anyone couldnt like it. I LOVE it! Windows Media Player, you can transfer movies/dvd’s from your PC to your phone, great Mp3 player, and the list goes on. The phones settings rock, you can change just about anything, except for the T9 text. Wich I prefere anywho. The camera is like WHOA and the screen display, and how clear/bright it is, is another plus. Another thing I like is that the ring tone is nice a loud. I previously had a Motorola RizrZ6, and the phone was great; but it had a weak speaker. The shadow is great, its a PDA and a Phone all in one! I’m sure there are similar phones, but I personally love it. And I also like the fact that the charger is a MINI USB. I think all phones need to have that type of charger.
The phones following features include:
*Txt, Any type of email, and OUTLOOK EXPRESS
* IM, including AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo!
* Seperate single MSN Messanger Program
* Phone book(Conacts) W. Alot of details, extra numbers, and info for the conact
* T-Mobile Adress Book
* Calender
* Internet Explorer
* Active Sync
* Call history
* A SH*TLOAD of Settings!
* T-Zones
* Tasks
* MSN Messenger Service
* Pictures & Video Camera, and App. for viewing pics/vids
* Windows Media Player (play music, watch movies)
* Communication Manager (Manages turning on/off the folllowiing: Phone Service, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Direct Push, Data Connection via USB, Ring/Vibrate, ActiveSync, Beam (Sending files to other phones via bluetooth)
* File Explorer ( Windows Mobile® version of “My Computer”)
* Handango Inhand ( App. to download extras for the phone; IE: Live TV, Radio, Virus Protection, Extra Programs, etc
* Windows Search
* Voice Notes
* Voice Command
* Email Setup
* Speed Dial
* Task Manager
* Windows Live
* Accessories ( Calculator, Clear Storage, Internet Sharing, MMS Settings, SIM Manager, Voice Recorder)
* Applications ( Adobe Reader LE, Camera, Java Apps, Video Recorder)
* Games ( Solitaire, Bubble Breaker, more avail. to DL in HANDANGO App.)
* Office Mobile ( Excel Mobile, OneNote Mobile, Powerpoint Mobile, Word Mobile)
* T-Mobile HOTSPOT
And more I don’t feel like listing… lol.
yeah i love the phone to but my one question was can you set one of your mp3 as a ring tone?
yes u can…u have to copy the song from ur storage card or the windows media player, then save it under my documents. once u do that, ur ringtone will be available so that u can save it to ur ringtones.
Hi,
My name is Ben, and I recently bought a Shadow and I love it. I was wondering if you can help me by giving advice on how to put movies on the phone from my dvd collection.
Thank you,
Ben
You need to encode your movies to the divx file format, and then play them using TCPMP, which is a free divx player for Windows Mobile.
1) Download and install PocketDivx Encoder on your PC, which is a free tool to encode your movies to .divx format
2) Download and install TCPMP on your phone
3) Transfer your movies (which you encoded with PocketDivx Encoder) from your PC to your phone.
4) Play your movies with TCPMP!
As part of my job, I regularly switch between phones by Nokia and this device. Generally I would say that the Nokia phones have a faster OS than this device – meaning dialing, switching between apps and such happens much faster. Nokia’s Symbian S60 platforms also makes it easy to find more powerful features like controlling power management and such.
When I first started using this device, I found it extremely slow and painful. It took me 2 weeks to figure out how to get it to both ring and vibrate (well, I should say I’d mess with it every few days and fail until I finally go it).
I found the “improved” t-mobile home page painfully slow and so graphic intensive that the phone would lag for seconds at a time and not respond. When I switched back to a more normal WM6 “home” screen, thephone became much more fun to use. Now I think it’s OK and I’m not unhappy anymore. It’s clearly typical Microsoft silliness though and simple things like finding out not only that you missed a call, but when they tried to call are still just not well thought out. This type of thing is where Nokia really pulls ahead.
However, the browser on the Shadow kicks butt over the Nokia one, which crashes a lot. I also don’t like the way Nokia manages it’s wireless connections, turning it on only if you launch an app that needs it.
i had the Tmobile shadow for a week. Hated it..its a beautiful looking phone, but constantly froze..and had to charge it 3 times a day even when the phone was idle..I went back to Razr V8..now thats a phone..!!!!
i just got this phone today for christmas and a birthday present. it was oging out like crazy in the stores. i am a texting addict seeing that im a teenager, therefor i don not like the fac tthat i only has predictive textign from what i can see. the qwerty pad wouldve been better if it had itap regular mode like everyother phone. why not add the option for the user of the phone decide what mode of texting they prefer. i like this phones style and sleekness. the sample music on it is very loud which is good. another negative thing is that when you have a ringtone that comes with the phone (since its new i didnt order ringtones) and i get a text message and hit reply the ringer keeps on going until the long wholee ringtone is finished. it doesnt stop once you read the message. i am calling tmobile tomorrow to see if you can switch the mode to itap english. other than that the phone is pretty good and i am going to stick with it for the two years. question : o the camera can you make pictures black & white and things like that?
YOU CAN CHANGE FROM PREDICTIVE TEXTING TO ABC OR 123 OR SYMBOLS
tHE BUTTON ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ZERO I BELIEVE ITS THE SYM BUTTON HOLD IT IN AND CHOOSE YOUR TEXT FORMAT
its getting annoying that i have to wait until the whole ringtone to play because sometimes i could be already done replying to a text and the ringtone would not be over yet. is there a way to fix that like to have the ringtone end when you open the text just like how it ends when you pick up a call?
i’ve been trying crazy hard to try to find out a way, but still didn’t =/
after readin every last one of these opinions. i think the phone is goin to be great. u just have to be careful with it. & openin many things on it of course will make it freeze, just look at it, if u open lots of things on your computer the processor will begin to run a lil slower than normal. i just ordered it today and it said it would be here within 2-4 days. so im patiently syke unpatiently waitin on it. i agreee the bb pearl may be better. but who cares. this phone is da shidd in every which of way. im a 14 year old, who just want the phone for show. i like the keypad and all oda features that it has to offer. (=
Got the shadow on friday (the 28th) woke up new years day and for no explicable reason the screen is all screwed up. first it was just the colors, they were inversed. now it just goes white, with random flashing colors and static-like-scan-line things. I never dropped it and there isn’t a scratch on the thing. i’m waiting untill my lunch break to call customer service, but i’m less than optimistic. wish me luck…
My Wife and I both switched from Sprint for this phone because of all of the features. She continuously lost her fave 5 and had to call to custoemr service 5 times in 1 week to restore them…in addition to it locking up a few times. Mine operated well; however, both of our phones held it’s charge for less than 24 hours…which was substandard. The bottom line is all the bells and whistles are useless if it cannot do the basic features properly…like turning on.
I got this phone the day after x-mas and its a good phone. it does however lose its charge preety fast. Textin is easy to do the pics come out nicely. overall its a good phone but not GREAT
I have this phone and I really like it. I think all of the negative reviews are from a bunch of haters. I mean, for the price it really is great. Keep on hating…..haters.
Just create an mp3 (I use Audacity to create my own) on your computer and save it. All you need to do is attached it to an email and send it to yourself. Open that email from your phone and save the attachment to your phone.
the sprint touch is cool but the phone lacks in the features that it strong in confused well let me explain when trying to access a program when switching to a new program the phone freaks it will lock up and freeze from time to time but i guess that why i like windows phones us window guys are use to the freezing part of it anything that runs windows freezes from time to time,but over all the phone has amazing features.can’t wait to get my hands on the dual that thing looks sweet
when a phone does not keep a charge it not just the phone people its the user please what do you think is going to happen with a PDA that it is going to work the same way that your crappy flip phones work.Well the answer is NO,it has feature that run off of windows if you access these features they stay running idiots just like what………..that’s right your computer you need to close the applications or they will stay running until it drains the battery.and personal note turn of the freaking blue tooth feature when you don’t have the device hooked to your ear it kills battery’s fast. oh yeah another thing only charge your phone when it is dead it depletes the life of a battery when it is charging with a full battery,only charge regular phones 4 hours–PDA’s 6 to 8 hours depending what apps your running still.just a friendly reminder from your technician!!!!!
IS THERE AN INTERNET IN THIS PHONE?? AND DOES IT COME WITH A CHARGER??? HOME CHARGER AND DOES IT TAKE A GOOD PICTURE?? BCUZ I MIGHT GET IT??? IF IT TAKE GOOD PIX??
THX AND PLZ REPLY
It seems as though there are a lot of people bashing t-mobile more than the phone itself. T-Mobile’s network is not one that is the most advanced on the planet, but coming from Hong Kong, where a wireless communication is at least a few years ahead, the 3G network in the US is a joke. If these companies boast their network is 3G, then please provide all the services that a 3G network is capable of. One of the most common service provided by a 3G network is video conferencing over the network. No wireless company here supports that. If AT&T has full 3G, then why did Apple put EDGE/GPRS into the iphone? the basic data setting is UMTS on a 3G device. There are phones out in Europe & Asia that supports 3.5G with HSDPA. I find wireless networks in the US are still living in the stone age. The CDMA network is ancient history in Europe and Asia. The 3G network supports WCDMA and GSM on the same device. As for phones, if At&t is on a full 3G network, where are the phones that have the capacity for a full 3G network? Nokia have produced 3 generations of 3G capable phones already. All the other phone companies have at least 2 generations of 3G phones. I have been using N73 & N76 by Nokia for 2 years. Both are capable of full 3G, but no company here has the network. Well, cant really talk about Sprint & Verizon, they dont even use the GSM network. So dont start bashing about the different networks in the US because all of them are not even close to the ones in Europe and Asia.
After saying all that, I personally feel that t-mobile is making an effort to keep up. One of their reps told me that they are working on a full 3G network. Their customer service is unbeatable. I always use unsupported phones and they still try their hardest to get it working the way that I want it to. I was with cingular, they didnt even bother to try. They just say that they dont support it. What kind of service is that? T-mobile actually got both the N73 & N76 to work with their total internet. I am very impressed with their dedication to the phones that they dont carry.
With regards to the new shadow, there are a few things that are impressive. First of all, the screen does look very good. For those of you out there who needs a 17 inch screen on your phone, you need to get a tablet PC. There will never be a phone with a huge screen, it is just not practical. Yes, the iphone does have touch screen & a bigger screen, but it comes with At&t so I rather have a smaller screen. If you want a phone that is better than the iphone, go buy the new HTC touch dual. HTC touch series is way better than the iphone. The other thing that is impressive is that HTC made the shadow. HTC is a very innovative company. In fact, the HTC touch came out before the iphone. NO, I dont mean the sprint one, I mean the GSM version, which is not carried by any GSM company in the US. There are many places online to get these unlocked gadgets. The shadow itself is quite nice for a tmobile phone. I am not a big fan of Windows Mobile, but it will work as long as you keep it up to date with the patches. I have to admit that Nokia’s symbian OS is more stable than WM6 but it is not as multi-functional as WM6. The qwerty pad is the same as the pearl and it is tolerable. The best thing about the shadow is Wi-Fi. It makes it more attractive.
Overall, t-mobile is taking an unfair amount of bashing for reasons that people can cite for all the other companies as well. The bottom line is that no wireless provider is perfect, you just have to pick the one that works best for you. Personally, t-mobile suits me the best with their price and their customer service.
PS – Data plans for t-mobile is 20 bucks for sidekick, blackberry, and total internet, and not 30 or more like other people said.
I have this phone, and I do love it. The WM in my oppinion is very nice. I love all the features this phone has. I even like that it’s a slider phone. I have a had a couple problems though. I live by the canadian border so I roam alot. It does tend to freeze up when it is switching networks. The battery(even with all apps closed and bluetooth off) does loose charge fast. I am having a problem that my alarm goes off at 7:30 every morning even though I have it off… Over all I love the phone and would recomend it. but, if anybody can help me with my alarm thing that would be great.
I have the same problem with my alarm going off every morning at 7:30am. There are 8 or 9 alrams scheduled to go off in a row even though the alarm is off. I have to select cancel all or it just keeps going off.
Did you find out why it does this or how to fix it?
Please reply even if you didn’t fix it so I know.
Thank you so much!
:)
I’ve had the Shadow for about a week now. First, the Bad:
At first sync’ing it with my computer was annoying due to the fact I was dumb and had it pluged into the wrong slot on the adapter (Annoying if you ask me, but I guess it works for both USB and the charger). Another few problems with the is that I now have a message saying I have 1 unread text message, -1 unread picture message, and -1 unread voice commands (apparently a known problem with T-mobile). WTF? And the only way to get rid of that until the software update is to do a Hard Reset of the phone. UGH. Annoying! The last problem that I’ve had with the phone so far is that it freezes when receiving a call or text message while connected to a Hotspot (yet, another known software issue), and you have to turn your phone off to reset it. So these things are pretty annoying.
The last known issue with the phone is the battery Life. VERY SHORT!!! You better keep that car charger with you unless you keep your phone in airplane mode all the time. After having my phone on for a whopping 7-10 hours I was down to 29% battery life from 100%. I leave for work and then get back home after 11 hours and I like to go out at night without having to charge my phone in the middle of it. At least it charges fast when it’s turned off!
The Good:
I personally like slider phones and this one fits in my hand nicely. The only awkward thing about this one is that it’s a bit harder than my old unlocked Samsung D500-SHG (I got it in England, not a US model) to slide up. Still; however, once I got used to it, it’s not bad.
Since it’s my first PDA/Smart Phone, I like the fact I can turn the phone connection off (airplane mode as some people call it) without actually turning the phone off.
WM/OS isn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Yes, it’s Windows software, but they usually have updates from my experience (which isn’t too much).
Overall:
So overall, if you’re looking for looks and style with a ‘cool’ named phone then I guess this one is for you. The WiFi works well along with instant updates for texts and e-mails. So as a semi-PDA or smartphone it works well. It’s a nice step up to a smartphone without the whole Blackberry hype. Personally I can’t stand seeing the Blackberry’s all over the place that people have because it makes them look like they have no life outside of work! But that’s just me.
Hope my review of the phone helped some people.
My phone also says -1 unread message 1 unread picture message and 1 unread voice note. if I do a hard reset will I loose my info? Have you had any problems with your alarm????
This phone is a paper weight for nothing more than a light breeze. Or, should I say the one I bought is. I read every comment before mine. In my assessment of these comments, I dismiss the attempts to bolster this piece of tripe by those who obviously have an interest in Shadow sales. You know the comments I’m talking about…they list dozens of features the Shadow is supposed to have while providing a few obligatory but not-so-bad negative things to say. The phone, itself, looks great but that’s where it stops. In reading all of the valid comments I’m gathering that some of us got phones with solid OS installs but most of us got screwed. That might be the OS or that might be irregularities in hardware assembly affecting the OS. Either way, it would seem we all bought the same body but ended up with different innards. The user manual is garbage – true outhouse fodder. It’s written as generically as possible – almost as if the tech writer knew the words would eventually be worthless. Needless to say, the instructions are not always congruent with the phone options. Here is a list of just some of things that have compelled me to return this turd of phone tomorrow during my lunch break. It does not check for wi-fi’s when it’s set to do so. I need to cycle the power and hope that it performs this check. It rarely detects my wi-fi a mere ten feet away from the router. When it does detect my wi-fi I can never connect, regardless of the fact that I have the key – regardless of any setting I adjust. The player should be able to access the SD card but can’t. Generally, the flow from menu to menu and option to sub-option appears to have been designed by an evil comedian. I will, however, say one thing in defense of this phone. Any device with a screen like this will require that you protect that screen. If you stick it in your pocket instead of the case in came in, it’s only a matter of time…
WARNING: DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!!
this phone may seem cool at first, and the first few weeks you buy it, but there are actually a bunch of things wrong with it. When you close the phone, it doesnt automatically go back to your home page like most regular slide phones do, and hwne its in your pocket and its open to the main menu, its so sensitive that half of the time i end up calling my clients without trying to. The phone freezes ALL OF THE TIME, to the point where I have to take out the battery and restart the entire thing. THE BATTERY DOES NOT LAST LONG: AT MOST 1 DAY< EVEN WITHOUT USE. T-MOBILE LIES ABOUT THE STAND-BY TIME. THIS PHONE SUCKS, DO NOT GET IT!!!!! i guarentee that you will be disappointed and ANGRY with it after a few weeks of owning it. Buy any other phone except for this one. My friends have this phone, and they, like I, hate it more than anything. I would honestly go back to my old phone than keep this one. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!!
we bought the shadow for my 16yo dau for christmas. purchased it 11/7/07 and by 1/17/08, it was broken. evidently, the shadow was not “tara” tested! she opened it and it went “click” and the top part of the phone just slides back and forth w/out staying put! she is able to use the phone and w/ 3 phone calls, T-mobile is going to honor the 1yr warrenty. this 16yo can text 7900+ msg in 30 days!!! that is the equivalent of opening and closing the phone an average of 250 times a day. can anyone beat that?
you’ve got mail
well donna your daughter is just a plain dumbass… she deserves no phone!
well i will be getting my shadow tomorrow, any tips,hints from current shadow owners on making my phone the best i’ve ever owned?
later..
I PROMISE YOU THAT ANY GOOD REVIEW LEFT ON HERE ABOUT THE SHADOW CAME FROM A T-MOBILE REP.I WOULDN’T USE THE PHONE IF IT WAS GIVIN TO ME!I BOUGHT IT AND RETURNED WITHIN 24HRS.I OPTED FOR THE BLACKBERRY CURVE 8310.
First, I would like to say I am not a t-mobile representative. I have enjoyed my phone. I am still reading the manual so that I can access all of the phones features. I feel like I got a great deal and as for some of the reviews that are negative, just remember everyone has an opinion and you will not know if you like the phone for your own personal use until you get one.
Got this phone yesterday (2/14) with a upgrade price of $90 after rebate, so far so good. Got a 4GB microSD card to go with it (from Bestbuy, which is like $30 cheaper than the Tmobile store), and uploaded some mp3 already. The battery was full but after 30 minutes of listening to it on my commute, it went to 70%, so I guess it will not replace my iPod since I need it more importantly as a phone. The predictive text took a day to get used to, now I wish my keyboard here at my office does the same, lol! So far I like it, it is sleek and not nerdy looking like some blackberrys, and I like the hidden keys using the slider. Will take it on a road trip this weekend and see how well it works, hope it’s a keeper!