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Sidekick "Blade" detailed by anonymous tipster
Those Sidekick-crazed hipsters over at Hiptop3 have posted some impressions from a tipster who's purportedly used the Sidekick 2009 / LX 2009 / Blade. Apparently the handset -- which is actually called the "Montreal" by the guys in magenta -- looks just like those leaked images we've spotted before, and has a "more grown up feel" and flush keyboard.The keyboard-centric device is running DangerOS 5.0 (which may or may not be NetBSD based), and has a specialized app to access T-Mobile account info quickly. USB / headphone jacks reside on the bottom of the device, and there's also some new mood lighting. T-Mo will supposedly be marketing this one as the "Sidekick 2009," but that's unfortunately all the intel on sales so far. If the aforementioned deets have your fingers tingling, hit up the read link for even more, and start thinking of ways to pawn off that LX or Slide.
Sidekick LX 2009 running Wind... er, NetBSD?
If Danger's going to switch up its Hiptop platform strategy in the era of Microsoft ownership, you think that it might be to... oh, we don't know, something even remotely Microsoft-related. Granted, shoehorning Windows Mobile 6.1 onto a Sidekick LX sounds like a match made in hell, but at the very least, they could start with a Windows CE base and attach a bunch of Danger-specific stuff with wood glue until the end result looked familiar to users. Alas, Hiptop3 is reporting its own sources in combination with some telling open job positions and notes from Danger employees to suggest that the upcoming Sidekick LX 2009 -- possibly to be known as the Sidekick Blade -- will actually feature an entirely new kernel based on NetBSD. Our only guess is that this fancy little project started well before the acquisition completed, and in the interest of getting a thoroughly modern, 3G- and GPS-equipped Sidekick into the market as quickly as possible, maybe Redmond begrudgingly greenlighted the remainder of the project. Good on you, Microsoft.
"Internet Renaissance Robot" shuns chores, entertains instead
Ah, just what we needed, another way to digest media floating around the interwebs. This time it's a robot that wants to present us with info, but instead of merely reading text off of an RSS feed or blaring a few music streams, the ITR bot works with its very own "RTML" language to present media with motion, voice, and emotion. Of course, this means content developers will have to create RTML content to be displayed by the humanoid bot, but it's an interesting concept at least, and we look forward to seeing what happens. We can't say we're as optimistic as the Speecy Corporation, which dreams of the ITR being fifth major form of household media after radio, TV, PC, and mobile phone. The robot itself runs on a NetBSD-based OS, houses 168 LEDS, stereo speakers, a USB port, and a miniSD slot.[Via Pink Tentacle]
