| First-ever Windows Mobile UMA phone nears |
Dec. 17, 2008
 T-Mobile is poised to announce the first Windows Mobile phone featuring UMA (unlicensed mobile access), suggest FCC compliance documents. The "Shadow II" is a quad-band GSM phone that can route voice calls over less expensive WiFi or Bluetooth networks, when available.
(Click here for a larger view of T-Mobile's Shadow II)
While the carrier has not yet announced the Shadow II, details of the device, including pictures and a full manual, appeared on the FCC website earlier this month -- which usually indicates that a product's release is imminent. The phone will mark the first time that UMA has been available in a Windows Mobile phone.
UMA (unlicensed mobile access), first promulgated in 2004, is a standard that allows a cellular phone to switch automatically to WiFi or Bluetooth networks, when available, for both voice and data connections. For more details on UMA and T-Mobile's implementation, see the background information later in this story.
T-Mobile's
original Shadow
(Click for details) |
UMA aside, the Shadow II appears to be an update for T-Mobile's original Shadow, a mid-range device manufactured for the carrier by HTC. The Shadow (right) was recently named by Consumer Reports as one of five top smartphones.
The Shadow is notable for two UI (user interface) innovations, both of which have been carried over to the Shadow II (also HTC-sourced, according to the manual). First, both devices feature slide-out "QWERTY-like" keyboards with twenty keys. Since two letters are assigned to each key, the phones rely on Nuance's XT9 predictive software to complete words for the user.
Second, the Shadow and Shadow II both feature T-Mobile's "My Faves," a custom interface said to have been developed for the carrier by Microsoft itself. On the Shadow II, My Faves -- pictured below in an image from the device's manual -- runs on top of the underlying Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard operating system.
My Faves screenshot from manual
(Click for details)
The Shadow II once again features a 2.6-inch display, a rotating navigation wheel, and a two megapixel camera. Compared to the Shadow, the Shadow II's processor has been modestly updated, and is now a 260MHz TI OMAPV1030. The newer phone also is said to include 128MB of RAM, 256MB of flash storage, and a microSD memory card.
Connectivity includes quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) GSM, Bluetooth, and WiFi. According to T-Mobile's manual, an 1100mAh battery provides up to eight hours of talk time via either GSM or UMA. The device can standby in GSM mode for up to 340 hours, or 120 hours with UMA enabled, due to the higher power requirements of WiFi.
Features and specifications listed by T-Mobile for the Shadow II include:- Processor -- TI OMAPV1030 clocked at 260MHz
- Memory -- 128MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage
- Display -- 2.6-inch display
- Keys -- Slide-out "QWERTY-like" keyboard with 20 keys
- Wireless interfaces:
- WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g, UMA capable
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- I/O -- Mini-USB and audio via combination HTC "ExtUSB" connector
- Expansion -- microSD slot
- Power:
- 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery
- Talk time up to eight hours
- Standby:
- GSM -- 340 hours
- UMA -- 120 hours
- Dimensions -- 4.05 x 2.05 x 0.6 inches
- Weight -- 3.7 ounces
More about UMA
UMA, also known as GAN (generic access network), is a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard for providing IP-based access to core mobile networks. As pictured in the diagram below, UMA allows a phone to gain network access via WLAN or PAN connections, when available. In each case, the device remains available continuously for incoming and outgoing phone calls, and retains its standard telephone number.
UMA architecture
Source: 3GPP
(Click to enlarge)
While UMA is still not common, a few carriers have embraced the technology as a way of reducing congestion on their cellular networks, or filling in network blackspots. In 2007, for instance, T-Mobile introduced a service known as T-Mobile @Home, providing unlimited, flat-fee calling via either the carrier's WiFi hotspots, or customers' existing broadband Internet connections.
 Initially compatible with two basic $50 phones, the UMA-enabled Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086, T-Mobile @Home uses customers' WiFi routers to send and receive calls when they're at home. Marketed as a landline replacement, the service requires UMA-specific base stations such as the Linksys WRTU54G-TM router pictured at right. The WRTU54G-TM not only supports UMA-enabled T-Mobile cell phones, but also has jacks for two wired phones.
While T-Mobile's Shadow II may be the first Windows Mobile device that's compatible with UMA, others may follow as more UMA-capable cellular baseband processors reach market. For example, ST-NXP Wireless yesterday launched a 7210 UMA product, touting it as the "world's first" 3G UMA "chipset platform." The product reportedly includes a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS baseband radio chip, an ARM926 core, and interfaces supporting cameras up to three megapixels, and QVGA displays.
Further information
No release date or pricing information has been announced for the T-Mobile Shadow II, but more information may be found on the Phone Scoop site, here, and FCC website, here.
ST-NXP Wireless said its new Cellular System Solution 7210 UMA is in mass production and "can ship in high volumes now." More information may be found on the company's website, here.
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