T-Mobile Shadow Phone, Copper (T-Mobile) Review

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(More customer reviews)The T-Mobile Shadow is visually a gorgeous phone, however it has some serious flaws. First, here's the good news:
It has the standard features of most smartphones out now: camera, music player, speakerphone, IM capabilities, internet access. It's not as big as T-Mobile's Wing or Sidekick, and you can hold it one hand and do what you need to do. Like a Blackberry, it has a wonderful QWERTY keyboard that allows me to send text messages and email pretty quickly. You can program it to receive mail (be it AOL, Hotmail, Gmail, your internet service provider, company intranet, etc.) through Outlook. The screen is large and the display is beautiful, bright and easy to read - which is a relief for those who have to wear glasses (like me) in order to see some of the smaller text (you can adjust the font size as well). I have the MyFaves plan, so I have those five folks who I call the most in a little circle on the home screen - I love that. It has many other functions that I really don't use that much or at all, but it is basically like carrying a mini-PC in your pocket. It is powered by Windows Mobile, and you'd think it should be everything that anyone who wants and needs to stay connected to the web...but it isn't.
The bad news is that as efficient as this phone is, there are several annoying things about it that prevents me from rating it more than just the three stars I gave it - and with that, I was being generous. T-Mobile is tagging this "the official phone of fun" but with all these glitches, I don't see anything funny about it.
Number 1: BATTERY LIFE IS HORRIBLE!! This, by far, is the biggest drawback with this phone. You should expect a battery to hold a full charge for a good part of the day, but this one doesn't. I thought the battery life on the RAZR was bad, but the Shadow is far worse. Charge the battery all night and the next day you'll see what I mean. If you make a couple of phone calls, check your email, surf the web for a little while, listen to some music and perhaps take a picture, half of your power will be GONE - I'm dead serious. Even though it comes with stereo earbuds, I wouldn't recommend anyone counting on using the music player to replace their iPod. If you are planning to go anywhere for longer than four or five hours, BRING ALONG YOUR CHARGER OR AN EXTRA BATTERY because this phone will die on you. It won't take you through the day unless you recharge it two or three times.
Number 2: This is really related to Number 1, but I'll mention it here because it is vital information for anyone who has this phone. At the end of each function you use, you need to go to the Task Manager to quit the application - be it answering a phone call, sending or answering an email or text, or something as simple as using the calculator or looking at your calendar. If you don't, it will continue to run in the background and sap even more power from the battery. It doesn't matter if you're no longer using that particular application - even after closing all functions, the battery doesn't hold much of a charge. And don't even think about keeping your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on - those will drain your battery faster than anything!
Number 3: The 2 megapixel camera takes decent pictures, but the photos have a dull, washed-out and yellowish-beige tint to them, no matter how you adjust the camera function - the pics look old and faded. There is no flash or light included, so if you take a pic in a dim room, it's going to come out looking very dark. I took some photos with this camera phone and they were pretty sharp but the color was completely off. In order to fix them, I had to upload them to my computer and work on them via Photoshop - not something I should have to do with all the money I spent on this phone.
Number 4: The speaker sounds very tinny and scratchy.
Number 5: Many of the links in the emails are not clickable, so you still would have to go to your computer to access these. This is yet another thing that does not make this phone "mobile". Also connecting to the internet can be sluggish at times, which I heard has more to do with the Windows Mobile OS through T-Mobile installed on this phone.
Number 6: The phone has the tendency to freeze up and you have to remove the battery to reset it.
I wish I could recommend this PDA, but I just can't. It has far too many problems with it that would drive anyone crazy. I have come to the conclusion that T-Mobile's phones, no matter what models they are, are just crappy. I know there is no cell phone that is perfect, but it seems to me that T-Mobile consistently gets phones that are cheap and work fine for a while, then something comes up where they become unusable. Can't wait until my contract is up.

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Despite being a feature-rich, Windows Mobile 6-powered smartphone, the T-Mobile Shadow is designed to reduce the complexity often associated with many smartphones while maintaining all the powerful calling, messaging and picture sharing capabilities you expect. The Shadow's enhanced user-interface is based on the Windows Mobile 6 operating system, which enables you to view and edit Word and Excel documents as well as view emails in their original HTML format and enjoy quick access to contacts with the ability to search a call history and contacts database.
This slider phone offers a large, brightly colorful 2.6-inch LCD screen and spinning scroll wheel for easy navigatoin. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth for handsfree communication and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (up to 4 GB), built-in Wi-Fi networking, quad-band GSM connectivity with EDGE data services, and up to 5 hours of talk time. This copper version of the Shadow comes with an extra extended life battery for even more talk time; it also comes in sage (with no extended life battery).
T-Mobile Service The Shadow operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via T-Mobile's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.
It's compatible with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts--on any network, even landlines--without using any of your minutes. Learn more about myFaves from T-Mobile.
Download cool new games, HiFi Ringers (real songs by today's hottest artists), MegaTones (instrumental versions of songs), and wallpapers quickly, as well as stay connected via the Web, instant messaging, and email.
With T-Mobile Contacts (formerly T-Mobile Address Book), you can store your phonebook on T-Mobile's network so even if you lose your phone, you don't lose your contacts. Contacts lets you import entries from Microsoft Outlook, .vcf files, or use .csv files to import from Yahoo!, Gmail, etc.; back up your phone's address book on our server with enhanced safety features; and store additional contacts on the server.
Phone Features Teaming with manufacturer HTC, T-Mobile's Shadow offers an innovative design and simple user interface that strips out the complexity of traditional multi-function phones for a quick learning curve to all of this smartphone's communication and organization features. The 2.6-inch LCD screen has a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for a 65K color depth. The phone's face has a scrolling navigator button--which you can spin for faster scrolling through applications and contacts--complemented by send/end, home, back, and two soft keys for navigation. It smoothly slides up to reveal the alpha-numeric keypad that uses Blackberry's SureType keyboard layout, which places two letters per key.
The phone has an internal 140 MB memory, which can be expanded via optional MicroSD memory cards (up to 4 GB in size). The internal phonebook is only limited by the available memory, and it offers multiple fields for phone numbers, and email/IM addresses. A special myFaves feature is integrated into the shadow, where a lighted navigation wheel gets you to your Fave 5 quickly and easily, enabling you to call, text, email, or IM with a single touch. You can customize your Fave 5 withaphoto and icons you create or purchase from T-Mobile, as well as choose a distinct ringtone for each Fave.
Access six email accounts--five personal and one work account--including Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail, Comcast, and AOL. Receive email the instant your computer does--no delay--and view attachments in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint plus Adobe PDFs.
This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server.
The 2-megapixel camera provides a range of five resolutions and four quality settings, and it features white balance and brightness settings, and several shooting modes. It will also capture video clips for as long as you have available memory.
The phone is compatible with text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messaging, as well as POP3 personal email accounts. It includes XT9 predictive text entry (the new version of the T9), with such features as a word prediction list and spelling correction that spots transposed letters and missed keys, as well as instant integration into all applications on the device.
Other features include:
Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for fast web surfing on home/corporate networks and hotspots (not compatible with T-Mobile's Hotspot @Home service)
Music playback: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV
Stay in synch with your Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks in Microsoft Outlook
Send and receive instant messages with Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, or ICQ
Reminder feature, so you never forget another friend's or family member's birthday or anniversary
An array of lights and sounds that differentiate one function from another, whether you're receiving an e-mail, picture message or calendar appointment notification
Speakerphone
Voice-activated dialing enables you to make a call with simple voice commands when your hands are busy
Processor: Texas Instruments OMAP 850, 200 MHz
Memory: 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM (140 MB user accessible)

Vital Statistics The T-Mobile Shadow weighs 5.3 ounces and measures 2.1 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches. Its 920 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of talk time, and up to 144 hours (6 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.
Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file.
With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC's Microsoft Office suite. You'll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting--without affecting tables, images or text--as well as view PowerPoint presentations.
Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
With Excel Mobile, you're not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

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