This could be the first image of the Shadow II. Not much in the way of specs yet on this one. Rumor has it that this will include UMA and HotSpot@Home capability. Rest assured we are working hard to get you the most details on the next Shadow. SO stay tuned.

Whether you are a developer showing off your new application or an end user demonstrating a tip or a problem you are having, sometimes it is easiest to show what you are talking about. This is where screenshots come in. We mentioned it in our 6 Essential Freewares post, SmartSS is a screenshot capture utility. You can download it from LouTerrailloune.com. After installing SmartSS, access it from the Start Menu. Once it loads do not press ‘Exit’ instead press your Home key and then go to the program you want to take a screenshot of. Once you are at the screen you want press the * key. You might hear a soft beep.

Once you are done taking your screenshots go back to Smart SS (Start > SmartSS) and press Exit. You can find your screenshots in the My Documents folder saved as bitmaps. Enjoy!

This is a simple functional How To, meant to show you something you might not have known about your Shadow. I add appointments on a constant basis and they aren’t just long appointments. Many times I will set an appointment at the time I leave to go home to remind me to pick up something on the way.

When you press Start you are shown the list of installed programs. When in this view, if you press a number 1-9 it will access the program in that position.

So to quickly add an appointment in this case simply press Start > 6 to access the Calendar then you can press Menu > New Appointment.

Another way to access the Calendar is by assigning it to a Speed Dial key. Move the highlight over Calendar in the grid view and press Menu. Select ‘Add Speed Dial’ and choose a number. Now from the Home Screen you can press and hold the key you assigned and it will open the calendar.

PDAdb.net is a fantastic resource for anyone that uses a Windows Mobile device. Not only do they have detailed datasheets on every Windows Mobile device ever released or conceived (and there’s been a lot of vaporware over the years…they’re all at PDAdb.net), but you can use the PDAMaster feature to filter out phones based on any parameter (screen size, device width, connection speed, etc).

They also add new devices every day, and you can monitor the new additions by looking at the left pane of the site where it says “New & Upcoming Models,” or by subscribing to the RSS feed.

To see more than you ever thought you wanted or needed to know about the Shadow, check out its datasheet. There is a “Detailed View” button on the top right for even more specs (did you know the Shadow has 8KB of Level 1 data cache?).

Amazon has a great deal on a Black Rubberized Case for the Shadow right now. Its usual price is $19.99 but you can get it now for $5.39. It’s good for proctecting the edges and shine of your Shadow and also gives it a slightly different look. From the pictures it looks like it might help prevent some accidental calling/answering due to the Shadow’s raised Send/End buttons. I just ordered mine and expect it in a few days.

There is also a transparent case and one with a belt clip. If you find deals like this be sure to let us know in the Ask Mike page so we can tell everyone else!

Vsevolod Shorin has announced that gpsVP is open sourced and is welcoming people to help develop and make it better. If you enjoy developing for Windows Mobile or just want to help develop the wiki you can join the project gpsVP at Google Code. For the beginner developer it could even be a learning experience just checking out the code.

Hopefully, we can get some AllShadow community members on the project to ensure compatibility.

The Shadow is a good phone for texting with its SureType keyboard. With all this talk about SMS notifications and the like, it got me wondering: how often do you text? Has the practice taken the place of making an ol’ phone call? Or does the 160 character limit keep you from making it a preferred means of communication?

MixTapeKing1900 has gone ahead and made a .cab file that installs the registry edit discussed in the Kill the ‘Message Sent’ Notification post. If you don’t have a registry editor or are reluctant to make the changes yourself then this is for you. Go ahead and download the cab to your Shadow and install. Enjoy!

 

I text message a lot, but in Windows Mobile, there’s an annoying “Message Sent” notification that pops up three seconds after you send an SMS. If you go on to do something else on your phone after sending the text message, the notification can be bothersome and get in the way of what you’re doing.

ShadowMike has posted a way to remove this notification. To do so, use your registry editor to do the following:

Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Inbox].
- Create a New Key and call it “Settings”
- Click on “Settings” and create a New String Value
- SMSNoSentMsg = “1″ (without the quotes)

And…no more notification!

Alternatively you can download and install this cab to do the same trick smsnosentnotify

 

If this keeps up we are going to need to create a category for all the Y.A.M.W.O.V.s people are finding. CyberBuddhah has come to the rescue again with an easy to use app that helps the Shadow make use of the RTSP protocol so more online video streams can be watched. In short you can finally watch videos from m.youtube.com.

Go to this thread on the streaming application and download the cab file to your Shadow. Install and restart your phone. Then open PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer) and type in m.youtube.com in the address bar (Menu > Address Bar). Selecting a video will begin automatic playback. Easy!

I’ve had a few requests about how to install those free mobile java games we mentioned previously. There are two basic methods, OTA and via PC. The preferred method is OTA (Over the Air) and Via PC should be second choice. Read the full article for the details Read Full Entry

It’s not owned by Google in anyway yet this freeware delivers a powerful punch by culminating all the Mobile Google services under one roof. Basically Google2Go is an instance of Internet Explorer wrapped with Google functionality. There is an easily accessible Menu (left soft key) that enables you to quickly access you favorite Google Services. It is a direct competitor to Yahoo Go and MSN Direct and in my opinion a much more elegant solution. The memory foot print is low and device compatibility is fairly broad. Read on for more details Read Full Entry

vTap is a standalone application that you simply install on your Shadow and it just works. The service draws from many online video sites. You can scroll through a listing of video results and read the short synopsis for each video. Selecting play will begin downloading the video. Once enough of it is downloaded you can begin playing or it will automatically play once the download is complete.

I have tested this over Wifi and EDGE and it works just fine. There are several settings available such as Audio Only (for those that just want to listen) as well as different video quality levels. One draw back is it automatically switches the input method to ABC. For those that prefer XT9 you have to switch it back in another application by holding down the * key.

Watch the video above and then point Pocket Internet Explorer to http://www.vtap.com to install it.

 Enjoy!

The next version of Windows Mobile, named 6.1 (the Shadow runs 6), was announced at CTIA by Microsoft today. The Standard version (non-touchsreen) adds such enhancements as an improved Home screen, threaded-SMS (finally!), copy and paste functionality, and a zoom function in Internet Explorer. Will the Shadow be upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.1? Probably not, according to Engadget, which makes sense. The Neo interface was a precursor to the 6.1 Standard interface, seen below, so it wouldn’t make sense for T-Mobile to offer 6.1 and replace Neo. New devices going forward, such as the Shadow II, will come with 6.1.

If you’re interesting in learning more about what Windows Mobile 6.1 has to offer, check out the thorough review at pocketnow.com.

Also, if you want threaded SMS immediately, check out Extreme Text.