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>> Hi, I'm Bonnie Cha, Senior Editor at CNET.com and today we're taking a first look at the T-Mobile Shadow. The Smartphone was first announced at CES 2009 and replaces the original T-Mobile Shadow bringing some design changes and a couple of additional features. First the Shadow gets some more modern look with its rounder edges and fresh paint job. I have the white mint version here and I especially like how the colors gradually transform from the silver to mint color here on the back, it's different and very cool looking, but that's about all I like about the design. The screen is smaller than the original shadow and it's not very sharp or bright. Also the navigation controls are okay but I thought the navigation while here felt a bit cheap. Also when you slide up the screen you'll find the twenty button short type keypad and even though the buttons are larger and easy to press the dull pages looks bad. The backlighting is uneven and dim and so it only highlights some of the keys and just kind of gives the illusion that the paint has worn off and the keypad is just old and used. I do like the user interface since it makes the Windows Mobile OS easier to use, it organizes all the phone's applications and functions in eight major categories which you can access from the main screen. For example you can go through and that get all your messages and photos just at a glance. As far as features the T-Mobile Shadow offers a couple new things. First the chips with Windows Mobile 6.1 so you can gonna get things like threaded text messaging and with your Windows Live capabilities. You can also pan in and out of web pages now. The Shadow continues to offer integrated Wi-Fi, but there's now UMA support which means you can now make unlimited calls over a Wi-Fi network and the minute won't be deducted from your cellular plan. It does require that you sign up for T-Mobile's unlimited hotspot calling service, which costs around $10 a month. There's also a faster processor, but I think the Smartphone still felt slow at times. There are few second delays here and there and when I was trying to launch applications especially the camera. And call quality was decent, but the speaker phone volume was pretty weak even though I had it at the highest volume. And all I can say would -- say, I'm a little disappointed with the T-Mobile Shadow. I think I would have liked to see a couple more features, maybe GPS, 3G or even a better camera. If you're a current Shadow owner I don't really see a compelling reason to upgrade, but I do think it's a good fit for T-Mobile customers who are ready to make the jump from a regular cell phone to their first Smartphone. Has a friendlier interface and still feels like a regular cell phone, so I think it's a nice transition device. The T-Mobile Shadow is available now for a $149.99 with the 2-year contract. I'm Bonnie Cha and this has been your first look at the T-Mobile Shadow.
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