After spending a few quality weeks with the new 2009 Shadow it is time to write an in-depth review. In this review each image is linked to a higher quality image. This is going to be an in-depth review. Hopefully most of your questions will be answered. I will attempt to cover all angles and if need be follow up with an addendum.

The 2009 Shadow doesn’t have a different name from the older Shadow. It’s plain Shadow, although it is being called the HotSpot Enabled Shadow which can be confusing since the older Shadow already had Wi-Fi and could access HotSpots. Before it was released, we called it the Shadow 2/II. So to avoid any further confusion, from now on at AllShadow.com it will be referred to as the 2009 Shadow, Shadow 2009, S2009, S09, NotShadow2, ‘09 Shadow, and the New Shadow. Do not under any circumstances call it the UMA Shadow, because that wouldn’t make sense :-) .

Specs

Now that is out of the way some of you might be interested in some specs on the UMA Shadow. For full specs see the PDAdb page comparing the older to the newer Shadow. A quick look shows some key differences. The UMA Shadow has:

  • UMA (more on that later)
  • Faster Processor (260mHz)
  • Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR
  • Larger Battery (1100mAh)
  • Windows Mobile 6.1 (more on this later)

A few features not listed in comparisons that should be interesting to the hack/mod community are:

  • Accelerometer (or G-Sensor)
  • Adjustable screen brightness
  • JBlend (better java capability)
  • Opera 8.65 (locked and hidden …for now)

Tactile

This section can have a tendency to be subjective. Compared to the older Shadow, the UMA Shadow feels richer. Its glossy exterior feels smooth and hints at luxury. The ebony on its front and sides appeal nicely to the eye but have a serious reaction to fingers. When you get your UMA Shadow be sure to get all your admiring out of the way before you take it out of the box because your fingers will leave prints all over it. It doesn’t take much to wipe them off. I haven’t had a chance to get hands on with the Mint version but I’m sure the finger effect won’t be as severe. The back of the UMA Shadow has the same texture as the older Shadow.

Weight wise it doesn’t feel much different. However because it is slightly thicker, it feels lighter. With the slide open it is a bit heavier towards the keypad so be careful when performing balancing acts.

The front facing buttons (including the d-pad, center-select, soft keys and keypad) have a solid click to them. The side buttons (which include the volume, camera, power and shortcut keys) require less pressure to activate. A bit of a gripe from me on the volume buttons as I accidentally press them whenever I pick up the phone. The scroll wheel doesn’t feel as loose as the older Shadow. The center-select wheel is obviously larger and easier to press.

On the older Shadow the Home, Back, Send and End keys were individual and had spaces between them. The 2009 Shadow has these as one solid piece which gives it a smoother look and feel. The Soft Keys are more pronounced which helps distinguish the keys without looking directly at the phone.

Sound

The sound of the slider is a bit muted so it won’t turn heads in class or meeting. The speaker does seem to be clearer than the older Shadow, as does the speaker phone. So far I haven’t had any complaints during calls about the call quality. As with and Windows Mobile there are plenty of applications to handle music and video and each of those applications can improve (or degrade sound quality). Out of the box, the UMA Shadow sounds great, just as you would expect it.

Making calls over UMA didn’t affect sound quality as much as one would think. Call quality was greatly improved in buildings where I typically had one or two bars. On every call made the person on the other end had no idea I was making a Wi-Fi call.

Speed

One of the chief complaints of the older Shadow was the processor. I know many of you are skeptical of the 260 MHz processor. There is a noticeable difference in speed on the UMA Shadow. With the NEO home screen interface running (resource hog) accessing the different Panes and applications is quick with no noticeable bottleneck.

UMA

UMA stands for Unlicensed Mobile Access. This allows the UMA Shadow to use an internet connected Wi-Fi access point like a cell tower. The user can make calls over the internet in the same manner as a typical cellular call with no difference in operation and little difference in call quality. In many instances call quality is improved. With UMA, the user can walk out of range of the Wi-Fi and the call will be seamlessly transferred to the cellular network and vice versa. This type of functionality is useful for anyone that spends a good deal of time near a Wi-Fi point or inside of buildings with poor cellular reception. UMA Shadow owners can also enjoy unlimited UMA calls with the T-Mobile @Home plan which currently goes for $9.99 per month.


Camera and Accelerometer (or G-Sensor)

As of this writing we haven’t heard back on if the UMA Shadow contains a fully fledged accelerometer. There is no mention in the specs or manuals however evidence exists in the camera application. Opening the camera and physically rotating the phone between portrait and landscape will change the screen on the camera. To verify that this wasn’t due to a software trick using image detection I covered the lens and achieved the same affect. We’ll let you know when we discover the full details.

The picture quality is very good for a camera phone. Checking in at ~2MP (1600×1200 pixels) The Camera has Timer, Brightness, Resolution, and White Balance (Auto WB included) functions. In camera settings you can adjust the effect (none, grayscale, sepia, cool and negative), quality (basic, normal, fine, and superfine), metering mode (center area and average), time stamp, storage and other advanced settings (capture format, shutter sound, keep backlight, review duration and flicker adjustment). After taking a picture you can choose to upload to the T-Mobile online album or a custom destination. Using the Send To Email ability you can send it to your Flickr, Picasaweb, or other online photo service.

I tend to spend time outdoors in some rather dusty areas. It’s only been a few weeks and I am seeing some dust particles under the protective lens cover. Due to the proximity of the loud speaker next to the lens cover I would suggest that as the culprit.

I see a lot of questions about what kind of software is on the UMA Shadow. This is a list of everything available in the Start Menu:

  • Messaging (for text and MMS)
  • Call History
  • Calendar
  • Internet Explorer (mobile; with Copy and Paste)
  • T-zones (for T-Mobile related actions)
  • Contacts
  • Help (yes a help function! They’re trying to put us out of business I can just feel it)
  • Photo & Video Album
  • Applications
    • Activesync
    • Adobe Reader LE (for PDF’s! Great for reference manuals you might need)
    • Calculator (not the best, but it works)
    • Clock & Alarm (no longer hidden under settings)
    • File Explorer
    • Java Applications (JBlend)
    • Speed Dial (very useful and under used)
    • Tasks (for the GTD types :D )
    • Voice Command (you want to boss your phone around? Feel free)
    • Voice Recorder (for the ‘remember the milk’ type)
  • Instant Messaging
    • AIM
    • ICQ
    • Live Messenger
    • Yahoo
  • Windows Media Player (mobile)
  • Internet Applications
  • Camera (with auto-rotate)
  • Send Audio Postcard (because voicemail and SMS isn’t enough)
  • Video Recorder
  • Settings (I’ll list the sub items in another section)
  • myFaves Settings
  • Set Up E-mail
  • Task Manager (yes it isn’t hidden, you can assign the shortcut key to it or open it using Voice Command)
  • Comm Manager (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc…)
  • Device Management
    • Clear Storage (erases everything)
    • Internet Sharing (use it with your laptop)
    • Mobile Backup (for your contacts)
    • SIM Manager
  • Wi-Fi
    • Comm Manager (again)
    • HotSpot Settings (for those with the plan)
    • HotSpot Status (see above)
    • Wi-Fi Setup (another helpful function)
  • Games
    • Bubble Breaker (yay)
    • Solitaire (joy)
  • Office Mobile (with the Windows Mobile Standard version you cannot create new Excel, Word, PowerPoint files, but there are some fixes for Word and Excel)
    • Excel Mobile
    • Word Mobile
    • PowerPoint Mobile
    • OneNote Mobile

Of course you can install any program that works on the older Shadow (Windows Mobile Standard).

Changes and Differences in Applications

Internet Explorer Mobile, plus messaging (and other applications that have text) now has copy and paste. It’s easy to access and use from the Menu soft key. While it isn’t SkyFire it is still an improvement.

There is now a Zoom Out/In function that makes traversing large pages much easier. Even though Pocket Internet Explorer doesn’t support flash it will still handle formatting. When you run across a desktop formatted site you can still get around easily.

This screen is a site for sore eyes. The Clock and Alarm is no longer hidden under Settings. It is accessible under Start > Applications and is also launchable using Voice Command.

The new Photos and Videos application is an improvement. With a slideshow function with a few settings and smooth transitions you now can have your own little digital photo frame wherever you go.

The Task Manager is accessible via the Start menu and Voice Command and allows a slightly greater degree of flexibility when handling tasks. With the larger processor it is much more responsive and doesn’t hang.

If you don’t have a computer, Gmail account, or use Dashwire and have a tendency to lose, destroy or mutilate your phone on a regular basis then I suggest using the Mobile Backup application. Just a thought…

The new T-Zones is a huge improvement over the old. It seems that T-Mobile has been working on their own Browser/OS like interface. You can access ringtones, some web pages, games and more through this nifty interface.

Proof that T-Mobile doesn’t like AllShadow.com. I searched for AllShadow in T-Zones and got the above screen. Why TMo? WHY?!?!

Conclusion

The UMA Shadow is an improvement over the older Shadow. Being a somewhat basic Smartphone it isn’t a surprise that it lacks GPS. This shortcoming is quickly reconciled with Live Search, Google Maps or Navigon (not true GPS though). With the UMA functionality, it is targeted at users that spend a good deal of time near Wi-Fi connections, hence the lack of 3G. Being a successor in a line of phones the UMA Shadow doesn’t have too many stark differences. The UMA and faster processor alone make it worth the upgrade/purchase. If you lower your Plan minutes and sign up for the T-Mobile @Home plan the savings will pay for the phone within a year. Hack/Mod-ers should be excited to get their hands on this with some of the hidden goodies it contains.

Once you start using the UMA Shadow you will notice subtle differences that make it a more enjoyable device to use. It is definitely more polished than most Windows Mobile Standard phones. With a large user base T-Mobile has paid attention to many of us and our complaints about the older Shadow. While not throwing in the kitchen sink they have reached a compromise when it comes to price and features. A newcomer to Smartphones probably can’t imagine that you can watch video, subscribe to podcasts, host a server, play video games and more on a phone. If you want more from your phone and not stab your bank account in the back at the same time then I suggest the UMA Shadow to anyone (even you, Steve Jobs).




Related posts:

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  2. Review: WikiPock for Windows Mobile