T-Mobile today has announced the HTC Shadow. The device has been previously covered on PhoneNews.com. The only device changes to the vertical-sliding HTC model are in a new user interface offered by Microsoft for the device, which will enable easier access to the devices features. The EDGE+Wi-FI phone will be offered in time for Halloween on October 31, for $149.99 with new two-year agreement.
The device is similar to HTC’s Touch Dual, and was previously referred to as the HTC Juno. Essentially, the device is a Windows Mobile 6 Standard version of the Touch Dual, trading a touch screen for the smartphone interface and operating system. The decision to chose the Juno over the Touch Dual comes down to cost: the Touch Dual would have cost hundreds of dollars more, even for a new customer to T-Mobile to purchase.
The Top Screen (featured right) is also Microsoft’s latest attempt to improve the platform. The version implemented in the Shadow was designed with T-Mobile to integrate MyFaves. Like other stylized home screens (such as on the Motorola Q9m on Verizon Wireless), it can be disabled in favor of the traditional Windows Mobile home screen.
T-Mobile’s Shadow brand will be used for future handsets, and T-Mobile plans to market the Shadow as a family of higher-end devices, as an upgrade to the already-popular T-Mobile Sidekick family.
The HTC Juno/Shadow features a SureType-like slide-out keyboard with a smaller 2.4-inch display. Combining Wi-Fi with EDGE, the device is targeting a similar market to Apple’s iPhone and also the BlackBerry Pearl as a multimedia device with advanced messaging and multimedia support.
