Phone Scoop - HTC Shadow Info

User Review: Great phone!!!

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:59:28 GMT

VTECgarrett submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

This phone is awesome. Only prob I really had was the scrolling wheel. It went out after while, but overall great phone.

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User Review: Well What can i say

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:47:44 GMT

Bennyboy submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

Well what can i say i bought this phone about 2 or 3 months ago and got pretty familiar with the hard ware with in a week so it is not hard to use just confusing at first. But when i bought this phone BRAND NEW there was one big problem with it when i got a text the ring tone wouldn't shut off i posted a video on youtube so just go to the link at the bottom and you will see what i mean but HTC wont replace it but that is the only thing i can find wrong with the phone

Pros:
Nice big screen
Awesome key pad nice big keys
Good 2 meg camera
Wi-fi
micro sd slot
Easy to navigate through the menu
LOUD speaker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9VU0OYMhL0

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User Review: Hate this phone!

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:45:33 GMT

wordygirl4ever submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 0 (out of 5)

I am on my second Shadow, T-mobile replaced my first due to problems and I hate these phones
I find this phone awkward to use as far as the menus go. Some are useless and all are hard to navigate. I thought I'd get used to it but after 8 months I still can't easily find my way around
My biggest problems were with software glitches
I text a lot and am having problems with texts getting hung up. If I have a text that I delete without opening it, it'll still show I have an unread text with no way to get rid of this message short of powering down
If I receive a MyFaves call and miss it, even if I dismiss the message, it'll show I have a missed call until I call them back or power down
It could take up to 30 seconds to hear my MyFaves callers (that was just my first phone, the second doesn't have that problem)
If I miss a call my phone doesn't notify me that I did. Nor voice messages! I'll go into my mail box and have 8 messages because I wasn't notified they were left.
T-mobile sent me a new phone and it does almost all the same things my old one did. I don't have the problem with not being able to hear my MyFaves and I DO have a problem with my screen scrambling when I make or receive a call; the screen will stay scrambled for the duration of the call.
I now don't have a ringer for inbound calls even after resetting all the settings.
My first Shadow when in the closed position, wasn't flush, so when it was in my purse or pocket, it would slide open (thereby bypassing the 'lock' mode) and it would then call my number one on MyFaves.
The fact that you can't download games is icing on the cake. And if I'm nit-picking, the 'space' key on this new phone makes a weird sticking noise whenever I use it and the pre-emptive text is horrible. And I detest the fact that the ' symbol isn't on the keypad, you have to go to the symbols menu.

Pros:
- none

Cons:
- Shoddy construction
- Software glitches
- Problems with calls
- Hard to navigate
- No game downloads
- Etc, etc, etc

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User Review: buy a different phone

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:38:16 GMT

rrettig submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 2 (out of 5)

i have had this phone since it came out and have had nothing but problems with it.

yes it is a nice looking phone and the wifi has been handy BUT....

1. the alarm settings are horrible.

2. the phone decides when it wants to actually ring. most of the time i know i am getting a call because i happen to see it light up.

3. when calls come through the screen at times is a jumbled mess and i cant really see who is calling.

4. i have already had to warranty the phone because the screen went black on me (and had the same problems with both phones).

5. even with all applications closed it freezes and i have to wait.

6. i am getting a lot of error reports

7. i have to take the battery out about 3 times a day to restart it...powering off doesn't help.

8. camera sucks. the only way you can zoom is if you are taking a picture while trying to send a mms message.

9. when i do power down it takes forever for the phone to work properly. it sometimes takes 30min to have access to my contacts.

don't waste your money. even the employees at tmobile laughed when i told them i bought this phone. i was asked "why would you buy that one. it is one of the worst phones we have"

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User Review: Best phone ever

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:11:15 GMT

sapnalona submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Pros:
Reception-The best reception I ever had! I get 2 bars in my room. I live in a neighborhood with low reception. With my motorola it's on and off 1 bar or none. That's why I upgraded and decided, "You get what you pay for."

Sound-I'm impressed. This is the most crystal clear phone I ever had. I wanted a sound that is natural, not like we're both yelling at each other.

Volume-I'm hearing impaired and if I can hear this, you can too. I don't know what other people are talking about when they say it's not loud. Use volume button to turn it up. I don't have to have mine turned all the way up.

Tone: Volume can be set.

Screen-Big, so easy to read, nice color and display. Wow.

Pictures-The best picture phone I ever taken. Crisp, clear, sharp. Nice colors.

Organizer-I can set it up to make it display on screen to remind myself of appointment.

Alarm-Has many different alarm tones to choose from. You can set the volume too!

Caller Id- I don't understand by somebody said there's no caller ID. There is caller ID!

Texting-Can be fast if you know how to use it! You can set it up to ABC mode if you don't want the prediction. If you do like prediction, you can add your own words to words bank. Also tells you when your message is sent. Leave you options to save to sim.

Cons: I think it'd be nice if they have external display like Nokia so you don't have to slide or press your phone to see if anybody called or text.

Alarm: I wish you can set your phone ringer off, but still have alarm tone comes on.

But I'm not complaining! I love my phone!

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User Review: Aweful Device Made me Want to Leave T-Mobile

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:14:47 GMT

comadorfed submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 0 (out of 5)

I have gone through 4 of these Shadows and they where all junk. I have always liked T-Mobile and never really had any issues with them but this phone made me almost fork over the 200.00 plus an extra 200.00 for my other phone on the family plan just to get out of my contract. I have had many smart phones as well as regular and have never had a more broken peace of equipment. The Pearl I have from T-Mobile works great unfortunately that phone belongs to another family member while sticking me with the shadow.

Cons:
Alarm Horrible Can't shut it off without practice.

Glitchy, or whatever you call it when you open your phone and all you see is QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ running down the screen. (This happened with 3 of the devices)
The screen would also break into quadrants and shuffle whatever image was being displayed all over the screen.

Battery life is actually what I would expect from a windows operated smart phone however I would like it if the remaining battery life display, gave an accurate reading.

I could go on with the cons but I only have 950 remaining characters.

Pros: None really other then a semi cool display and nice feel of the rubberized skin on the back of the phone. The look of it is actually what sold me on it.

All and all this phone has been a nightmare I am a major gadget and tech user and this phone fails on many levels. For any serious phone users who want a good practical smart phone or PDA device avoid this phone at all cost. It's a cheap toy and nothing more.

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User Review: Excellent

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:41:19 GMT

boyintl submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

I personally own the shadow and have loved it since i have received it. I was a little upset with the overall battery life, but then i visisted on the HTC reps onsite and they sent me the extended battery which actually seems to last for about 3 days now. Overall excellent phone.. of course couldnt be better since you can run Emulators on it =)

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User Review: Software blahs

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:47:21 GMT

Angel78 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

I got my shadow in April and am now on my 3rd one, waiting on my 4th to arrive. The features on this phone are awesome, I loved it when I first purchased it. I've been dealing with software issues on each phone I've had. It starts out with text duplicating, the caller ID becoming a blank white screen and progresses to not ringing or even lighting up when a call comes in. Other than the software issues, this phone is awesome! I'm hoping #4 works out, I'd really hate to give up on this phone. You cannot set multiple alarms, which is a problem for me since I use it to get up in the am...it would be nice also if it had more home screen options. Overall it's a pretty good phone unless you end up with the software issues I've been having...my husband absolutely loves his!

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User Review: T-MOBILE SHADOW Copper

Sat, 31 May 2008 09:02:52 GMT

akirazstylin submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

I love this phone! Its awesome, almost everythings awesome about this phone, except for its battery life...if it had a longer lifespan i'd rate this a 5, other than that, i love it!!!!

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User Review: Almost there...

Sat, 10 May 2008 20:27:05 GMT

staceypriscilla7 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

I've tried several phones. Been a TMO customer for years now, and I decided to try this smartphone. Depends on what you're looking for, but for me, this phone had too much for me to use and for the price I got it for, it wasn't worth it for me. (Cost me about $180 after rebates).

Here are the pros/cons.

PROS:
*GORGEOUS screen
*Call quality great even reception is low (i live in pasadena, ca)
*internet pretty quick
*music player sounds great even in low volume!
*active sync great! really quick and easy.
*Wonderful camera pics! Wish it had flash, though.
*phone itself feels solid, not flimsy like other phones.
*can use mp3s for ringtones, don't have to buy off of tmo!
*LOTS of sound options, even if you don't want to upload mp3s.

CONS:
*texting is a challenge (xt9 is the default option, but offers ABC text too)
*occasional phone freeze
*menus are challenging...REALLY have to at least SKIM the manual
*BATTERY SUCKS!!!!! It's terrible!! Even with just two calls and browsing menus, the battery dies at the end of the day (even after constantly quitting all tasks in the task manager!)
*speakerphone not too clear at times...

Really, it's the battery that kills everything, because this phone has SO many great features to use, but by using them you basically wipe out your battery in such little time!!! I was hoping I'd love this phone, but I'm going to send it back to TMO. It didn't fit for my needs, but maybe it might fit for someone else who doesn't really want a blackberry, but wants something CLOSE to it. Hope this helped! HAPPY PHONE HUNTING!

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User Review: My first windows phone

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:05:50 GMT

istomtom submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

Have owned for several months now. First off, it recently went for a dunk in the pool in my cargo shorts pocket and it still works! I was out of the pool very quickly so I don't think much more than the battery compartment got wet, still impressive!

I really wish there were more options to make low level registry hacks on the phone without having to use a registry editor via activesync.

Overall I really can't complain as I extended my contract with T-Mobile and got it through a special call in deal for $49.99 after rebates.

Looking forward to new devices from HTC as they seem to have their finger on the pulse of what people are looking for. The new Diamond looks awesome.

Pros:
Beautiful screen.

WiFi.

Can hack to use $5.99 tmobileweb plan via IE browser.

It's Windows Mobile and has a real browser.

Can charge with any mini USB cable.

Does what I want and ask it to do for the most part and does so fairly intuitively.

Battery life is good for the type of phone it is and how I use it.

Cons:
No way to turn keypad backlight back on except pressing a keypad key (pressing d-pad does nothing).

When active keypad times out during call have to hit key twice to actually get keypress to register.

Non customizable side button.

Camera app is slow.

Task manager is buggy, sometimes doesn't like to display.

I have found no way to hack the scroll wheel to scroll more quicky, it's SLOW!

T-Mobile MyFaves app replaces neo home screen.

Crappy alarm options.

A bit underpowered processor-wise.

No GPS.

No built in countdown timer or stopwatch function.

Can't turn off answering a call when phone slides open! WTF!

I thought the two letter qwerty would be easy to get used to, it isn't.

Plastic screen cover, shows minor scratches, would have preferred glass for such a nice screen.

Randomly locks itself up and key input does nothing, can't even turn off, screen stays black but power light blinks, has happened from day 1, have to pull battery at least once a week.

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User Review: Nice Smartphone

Sun, 04 May 2008 01:49:22 GMT

mr_fosta submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Let me start by saying this is a great smartphone. I previously owned the Nokia 6133 from T-Mobile. It was a great phone. Lots of personalization features. Well the Shadow doesn't come with all the personalization features like the Nokia 6133, but one can add software (lots of free stuff out there for this phone) to customize the phone to one's liking. Since I am visually impaired I will be purchasing a screen magnifier. Now to pros and cons.
Pros:
Big screen.
Accessibility features (large font works great for me. I'm visually impaired.)
Voice command works great.
Livesearch is awesome.
Windows Media player
Wifi works great.
File explorer is easy to use.
Sure type keyboard is easy to learn.
IM client works well.
Internet explorer runs well.
Active-sync works great for backing up files and updating your windows media player.
Cons:
Fingerprint magnet (keep a soft cloth around)
No GPS (not a big deal to me, Livesearch works just fine.)
Runs slow if too many programs are open.
Sometimes phone must be rebooted. (Had similar problem with Nokia 6133)
No FM radio. (Nokia 6133 has a radio)

All in all, I feel I made a good choice. Since T-Mobile does not offer the high-end Nokia business phones (what I really wanted), the Shadow works great for me. It is not bulky like the Wing, but it does lots of the same things as the Wing. The Shadow has Microsoft Pocket Office, too.

Great entry level Windows Mobile Smartphone.

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User Review: Think it's great!!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:06:27 GMT

mepatb submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

This is the best phone I've had! I have a disability and the fact that I do not have to open the phone to use the key board it terrific! I can access all I need to do from the main screen! I do use the text and internet when I need to.

I've had the phone now for about 2 months and have not had any issue. I previously owned a dash which
also was a good experience. My daughter now has my dash and she is happy as can be cause she used to have a sidekick III which to her was a piece
of junk!

One thing I've realized is that there are phones out there meet all needs for all people just have to research!

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User Review: Its has its moments

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:54:07 GMT

jesse2004 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

One of the reasons I upgraded to the Shadow was because I needed more organization. I've already had it replaced once and I've only had it since November 2007. When you first get the phone the volume is usually extremely low on it for the first few days, for some odd reason, then it goes to a normal as if nothing were wrong at all.

The battery life on the phone is bad, but you have to pay attention to how many programs you are running at once. Just because you go to the home screen does not mean that the program isn't still running.

This phone is pretty good for texting, the keypad just takes some getting use to. All in all, it's not a horrible phone, but I think it can still use some work.

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User Review: I dont think Im alone here...

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:13:34 GMT

Boombocker submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

I don't think I'm the only person out there that feels this way about the phone. I read the reviews which helped me decide to purchase this phone in the first place, but I am overall pretty dissatisfied.

Pros:
-great color screen
-Windows Mobile 6 very user friendly
-Picks up better reception in my home than previous phones with my carrier T-Mobile in northern Idaho
-camera great, auto edit feature really cool
-Windows Media Player 11 love it!

Cons:
-Slow connectivity, I know its like my PC and clear my cache everytime I connect
-freezes all the time and yes my task manager was virtually empty except for the program I was trying to run when it did freeze, or it will freeze during the night and say that is 4 am when its actually 7, oh now I'm late for work!
-my battery dies after just 4 hours of which is inactive, Ive mostly been shutting it off now except to use it because I cant stand it dying and having it resend my emails it thinks I missed, and now If I want to use it to wake me up in the morning I must plug it in(not to say it might freeze still)Several co-workers have experienced poor battery life with this model also.
-already had a warranty replacement because first one screen stopped working and was just plain white and would not make or receive calls
-finally the charging port does not like to keep the charger in place, sometimes slides out
I really think I would enjoy this phone if I didn't have those cons :( I think I have to start using my trusty old V330 again.

Sad days with my Shadow, why cant you just let me love you!!

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User Review: HTC makes another pretty impressive smartphone.

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:50:58 GMT

Ron96 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

HTC usally makes pretty good devices. That being said I was a little disappointed in the design. I felt that HTC should have just stuck with their usual sliding style, but then again thats just a personal opinion as this slider has some descent build quality. The slide springs right up and doesn't feel cheap.

When you slide it, it reveals the suretype QWERTY keyboard which works surprisingly well. I though it would be as cumbersome and annoying as the T9 format but it was pretty intuitive. The jogwheel worked well too. What surprised me is how fast it rolled. Compared to the Blackjack 2 which kind of slugged along.

Windows Mobile works as well as on any other WM smartphone. The 200mhz processor isnt too bad, but does start to bog down as multiple applications run in the background. So keep closing them and you'll be fine. You also won't find any MS document creating or editng either so thats something to consider to from a business perspective.

Camera and video qualtiy could have been better but still wasn't that bad. Screenwise it could have been better and could have used a little more of that space below it but still not bad. Voice quality was not very good to be honest. It was kind of low from my experiences. But may not bother others. Phone reception was great no complaints about that.

It also has Wi-Fi so thats a plus considering T-mobile uses a slow data network. But can't use their hotspot at home service.

So all in all its a solid device that has shortcoming but cannot be overcome.

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User Review: The Shadow or should it be called The Headache?

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:10:27 GMT

Rookie_26 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

The title says it all. This is just from my own experience with this so called "awesome" phone. I've had The Shadow since its debut and have had major and minor problems with it and have been through three replacements since then. Major problem one is that there are two features that can not be altered. For instance if a ringtone is assigned to incoming texts the sound, when text is received, doesn't stop playing when the message is opened and if your on a call and you receive a text, and a sound of some sort is active, the sound interrupts the call and plays its entire time fragment while your on the phone. So annoying! Also one other major problem that i've had is that my WiFi deleted itself from the phone and I don't know how it happened. Minor problems include having to go through so many steps to assign ringtones to contacts or other functions on the phone such as the alarm, email, and text message alerts. The phone has great things about as well like a very big Yes to a big and bright screen, fast browsing, great design, and all those things but in my opinion all those things aren't enough good to out weigh the bad. Overall The Shadow is a great but for the price but if you purchase it just have patience and calmness.

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User Review: MAN IT'SLOVE

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:04:41 GMT

jeanieeee submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I've dealt with about 11 different phones in the past 4 years of ever owning a phone and this one by far is THE BEST ONE EVER!

The Screen is absolutely amazing I have to say. The camera is amazing, it's just missing a flash but that's not a big deal. I love all it's applications. comparing it to my old nokias samsungs and motorola is just so much better than all of them. I get better signal with this even in a dead spot i'll get a bar or two.

It's absolutely amazing and it's cheap!!!

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User Review: It's okay, but I wouldn't suggest it

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:58:30 GMT

qwerty2006 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

Well I gave this phone 3 stars because it's okay but for most people I feel it wouldn't be great. I see a lot of good reviews, and they are all right, this phone is a good phone--but it isn't solid. Before this I have had only blackberry, and I was very happy with them, the OS, and everything they have to offer. I heard great things about WindowsMobile phones so I figured I should get the Shadow (it was the best looking one in my opinion). When I first got it, I was blown away by how beautiful it is, the screen, and all the little features it has--but after a while it wears off. It has now been 3 months I've tested this phone, and I can't wait to get rid of it.

PROS:
-Beautiful screen, I mean it's amazing!
-Easy to type with once you are used to it
-The camera feature is nice, and the camera is sharp
-Loads MMS quickly
-Front screen makes you never have to access the phone itself
-Track ball is a nice change

CONS:
-I have horrible service in my home (I live in South Florid and have TMo and NEVER had this problem with another phone)
-Call quality is not great
-Most ringers are not loud enough
-Very hard to customize phone
-Setting a custom ring tone is next to impossible
-Keypad doesn't light up with top screen
-Took me forever to learn to FWD a text
-Emails take too long to come in (and even longer to load once they come in)
-Battery life is horrible

I know a lot of people mention the battery life so let me state what I do. I am a texter and I text about 200 a day, I get a couple emails, make a total of 20-40 minute call (a day), take some pictures ..that will have my phone almost die throughout the day.
Before I used to pair my Blue tooth but that made it die quicker, and if I use Internet, it is horrible (battery life).

No wonder when I got this phone, T-Mobile gave me a free car charger!

I wouldn't recommend this phone to a person who LIVES with their phone, but if you sometimes use it, this phone will give you no problems.

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User Review: HTC Shadow...full of BUGS!!!

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:39:12 GMT

urbancowboi87 submitted this review of the HTC Shadow:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

i gave this phone a rating of 3 because while it does have a lot of bugs it is still a stylish decent PHONE. when you try to use the smart part the bugs come crawling. i downloaded some things from the windows mobile website and when i tried to install them it would say error not enough storage memory...i had a 2 gig memory card plus over 70,000kb of memory on the phone. my only other complaints are the battery because if you talk more than 3 hours a day with minimal Internet usage you will be recharging this thing within 8 hours. also after a week of use it would not allow me to modify any settings on the phone even after doing a hard/master reset. after talking with a tmo rep we decided this phone was just not for me. i went to a pearl the next day after talking with a rep and i hated that phone. so now I'm going back to my Motorola. my advice is to stay away from this phone unless you bugs!

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