The T-Mobile Sidekick -- yep, just Sidekick
After all the buffoonery over what exactly T-Mobile intended to call its newest entry-level Danger device, they've ultimately decided to just go back to basics, drop the acronyms, and christen it simply "Sidekick." Make no mistake, though -- this little puppy is a far cry from your daddy's Hiptop launched way back in 2002, thanks to a 400 x 240 WQVGA display, 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, and a microSD slot. Though it's being billed as the iD's spiritual successor, the Sidekick comes dangerously close to LX territory, so it should see some solid movement at the $149.99 asking price on a two-year contract. What's more, the Sidekick becomes Danger's first device with user-customizable shells, available directly from sidekickshells.com for $14.99 a pop (we've got both a really bad and a really frickin' great feeling about the ridiculous sorts of designs people are going to be coming up with there). The whole shebang goes on sale starting today.
We've spent just a little bit of time fiddling with a Sidekick this week, and in a nutshell, this thing is a killer upgrade for the iD crowd -- which just so happens to be exactly what T-Mobile's going for. On the downside, the pivot mechanism and controls feel just a little chintzier than those on their big brother, the LX -- but not distractingly so -- and it's surprisingly hard to downgrade from the LX's stunning 3-inch display to the Sidekick's smaller 2.6-inch deal. For those of you with shell design ideas already in mind, though, where else are you gonna turn?
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