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Folks waiting for the T-Mobile Shadow II can now block out the last three months of 2008: that's when it's expected to drop. The Shadow II looks to be a relatively minor upgrade -- similar form factor, different looks (most prefer the original, but glossy black is the new, erm, black), and most importantly: UMA. UMA stands for “Unlicensed Mobile Access” and what it means is that it will work well with T-Mobile's @Home service, which lets you use a WiFi network for voice calls. The Shadow II will be the first Windows Mobile device to support UMA out of the box (BlackBerrys have had it for quite awhile).

If you're jonesing now, though, you could pick up this new T-Mobile router for $50 bucks, which for $10 per month lets you use T-Mobile's @Home service with a standard, 20th-century home phone. It goes on sale July 2nd.

Like the original Shadow, the Shadow II will be manufactured by HTC.