Latest T-Mobile Sidekick reviewed (Verdict: Good as ever, probably last pre-3G model)
There are certainly times when I reflect on BBG's editorial selections and scratch my head a little. By only posting about the things we're actually interested in, we often glom over entire product lines that might otherwise dominate a typical gadget blog's coverage. The Sidekick, for instance: we've written about it once, and only because it had a cool commercial.
Odd. But I blame T-Mobile and Danger for neutering the device, albeit understandably, tossing away the geeky early adopter market when it became clear that the Sidekick was going to be the messaging device of choice for kids and some cliques of young adults. It's not much of a smartphone, but it's a shockingly good instant messaging device. And with T-Mobile going 3G by October (probably), future versions of the Sidekick — especially if they update the browser — might snap back into feature parity with phones from, say, 2006.
Anyway, my buried point: T-Mobile launched a new Sidekick. It's just called the "Sidekick" again, no suffixes or code names. Its primary claim to fame is that its shell can now be swapped with pre-made plastic designs or replaced with personalized skins from Skin-It. And it has Bluetooth. And slightly updated software. Mostly it's just the same, though slightly thinner and still inexpensive, at $150 with a two-year contract.
Perhaps it's iPhone fatigue or rose-tinted memories of the Sidekick's AIM prowress, but I kind of want one.
Sidekick raises bar for entry-level cellphones [USAToday.com]
SIDEKICK UNBOXING- 07.30.08 [NOTCOT]
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I tend to associate these with Paris Hilton having hers hacked, releasing some nudie photos and Stephen King's email address onto an unsuspecting public.
I'd like something like a sidekick combined with a nokia 5300 (and to be extra durable), with bluetooth headphones (i.e music and audio, not just talk) that have a day's long charge.
It would be nice if they updated the screen on these things to something like what the blackberries have. Also the battery life can be abysmal. That said, it sure as hell beats texting and instant messaging on the iphone's virtual keyboard.
There's another huge consumer base for the Sidekick: The Deaf. I worked in an office that saw mostly disabled people when the Sidekick first came out, and there wasn't a deaf person that didn't have one. It must have been pretty liberating for them to actually have a mobile "phone". Of course there was a lot less choice for this type of gagdet back then.