T-Mobile Shadow II Preliminary Review

Build and Design
Overall, I like the design of the Shadow II. It's light and pocketable, but packs in plenty of features.

The slider is there to let you hide the keyboard when you're not using it, but it also offers one of my favorite feature of this device: the sliding screen also can do double duty as the On/Off switch. Naturally, you're going to want your phone's screen to be off and the keys locked when it's in your pocket. When you pull the Shadow out and slide up the screen, it immediately wakes up and is ready to go. When you're done with it, sliding the screen back down turns the screen off and locks the keys. You can do the same thing with button presses, but it's not as easy.

Display: This device runs Windows Mobile Standard, which means its display doesn't function as a touchscreen. That's not a flaw, but it's something you should be aware of.

I'd describe the 2.6-inch QVGA screen as typical for a smartphone. There's nothing outstanding about it -- either good or bad -- but it gets the job done. Still, its much better than the displays you find on most non-smartphones.

Keyboard: The Shadow's 20-key keypad is a compromise between a full QWERTY keyboard and a numberpad. Each key does double or triple duty, so the whole device can be smaller. Typing on a keyboard like this takes some getting used to, but after a while it gets to be a breeze. I vastly prefer it to entering text on a numberpad with T9.

Buttons and D-pad: This device has the usual directional pad below the screen, but then it adds a twist. Or maybe I should say a spin, because the D-pad is surrounded by a jog wheel that makes it easier for you to scroll through long lists.

It comes in two color combinations: white mint and black burgundy.

Additional Images:

• Side View with Slider Closed, White and Black Casing
• Front View with Slider Closed, Red and BlackCasing
• Rear View with Slider Closed, White and Black Casing

Performance
Like its predecessor, the new version of the Shadow comes with an alternate user interface, which is more consumer friendly -- and in many ways better -- than the standard one created by Microsoft.

This organizes the most common tasks you do with your smartphone into tabs: email, web browsing, playing music, and more. This makes this device much more intuitive to use than a standard Windows phone. But there is a drawback; you lose the Today Screen, which immediately shows you a status update of your Inbox and calendar. The Shadow's alternative, the notifications tab, is a bit slower to use.

Wireless: This smartphone has quad-band GSM/EDGE, but is not able to access T-Mobile's nascent 3G network.

It does, however, have Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi, and offers support unlimited calls via this carrier's VoIP service, HotSpot @ Home.

I'll talk about these and the Shadow's other features -- like the a microSD card slot and a 2.0 MPx camera -- in the full review.

Preliminary Conclusion
So far, the T-Mobile Shadow II is shaping up well. My initial testing hasn't turned up any problems, and I like the design and alternate user interface.

This device sells for $150 with a two-year service agreement and data plan, which I think makes it a decent value.

If you'd like to know more about it, check back in a week or so and I'll have a comprehensive review of this smartphone.