Sidekick Slide (Zante): Hands On!
Yeah, I know we got you excited yesterday, and were complete asses for not posting information on it, but what can we say, it was a busy day! The Sidekick Slide is an upcoming Danger/T-Mobile Sidekick that’s rumored to launch this year in Q3. We’re not sure what sort of launch plans T-Mobile has in store for the Sidekick Slide and the Sidekick 4. They seem like two entirely different devices. With the features this has, it doesn’t seem to scream "low end" at us. The Slide’s features though, aren’t that revolutionary by any means. It packs a quad-band GSM/EDGE radio (finally!), and an amazingly crisp higher resolution screen than previous incarnations. The screen is visibly smaller than the Sidekick 3, looks about the same size as the Sidekick iD, but the smaller size really isn’t that noticeable. We love the screen. Danger’s 4.0 OS isn’t revolutionary as well compared to the other ‘kicks, more like a minor upgrade. But keep in mind that this is a pre-production model with specs, hardware, and software that can possibly change before release. Check out the rest of our Hands On! mini-review of the Sidekick Slide after the jump!
Operating System: Off the bat you’ll notice new system sounds, which are great, and a couple more options in the "Settings". Applications have got a little "upgraded" if you will, but not really feature-wise, just more pleasurable to look at.
Instant Messaging: The popular Instant Messaging services all look better, and are a little more reliable, if that is even possible. It really ends there. There are no new features in AIM. No file sending, nothing.
Size: In terms of size, the Sidekick Slide is a pleasure to use and hold. It’s a little longer than a BlackBerry 8800, a tad less wide, and a bit thicker. Pretty good size all around. The back of the device has a rubberized finish which is the "oh so cool to have" paint job a lot of manufacturers are using. In general though, the Slide feels really cheap. Like cheap plastic. Maybe because it’s made of cheap plastic? Never I tells ya!
Keyboard: One major thing the Sidekick series is known for, are their fantastic keyboards. What do we think about the Sidekick Slide’s keyboard? Pretty good, but we’ll reserve final judgment for a production version. The keys on the keyboard are perfect circles and are pretty small in size. We don’t have a problem with the size really, but we wished there was a little more tactile feedback when a key was pressed. Hence us leaving the keyboard debate up in the air — this is a very early prototype and the general feeling is that this will be addressed before the Sidekick Slide is mass-produced.
Reception: Any real Sidekick user can tell you about reception woes. One minute you’re at 4 bars, and the next you’re staring at either a "2 dot dance", or a nice "X" on the home screen. Not really a concern on here as much, but we’ve noticed a couple reception problems throughout the day.
Call Quality: The phone quality is on par or better than the SK3. The way Motorola (or Danger, however you look at it) integrated the ear speaker into the actual "slide" was great. It is a perfect location, and makes using the device as a phone less awkward.
Speaker Volume/Quality: External speakers, what are we gone’ do with you… Well, this is where the Slide really shines. It’s so damn loud and clear! I along with a number of other users was a little disappointed with the speaker on the Sidekick 3, and this definitely makes up for it. You can see on the back of the device that there’s grooved pattern along the rear. Besides adding some texture and depth to the look, it allows the speaker to perform beautifully. Right by the T-Mobile logo is where the external speaker is housed.
Catalog: Not too much to report on this at this moment. It looks like the Application and Games folders have been merged, but we can’t foresee this happening at release time. Themes are finally available for purchase though in the Catalog. Oh yeah! Finally, we do not have to deal with "blocks" ever again. We have real space as in Kilobytes to refer to when we are downloading stuff.
We hope you got a good taste of what the Sidekick Slide is, and what it will offer. It’s so far our favorite Sidekick to date, but maybe we’re just hype. It does combine every existing feature we’re used to, and improves on some of them. So there isn’t much to hate when we’re getting that in a smaller, hipper device. We’ll go over every single feature you want to know about (the d-pad for instance) in our video review that will be posted soon. So sit tight for now! In the meantime, click on onto to our Sidekick Slide gallery!
THIS PHONE LOOKS REALLY NICE!!!!!!
CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN THIS PHONE COMES OUT BECUASE I WOULD LIKE TO BUT IT
I hate the sidekick slide because there is nothning new same features as the sk3 and “It IS NOT A FLIPPER ITS A SLIDE!!!
Hey, two questions… 1. is the device you guys recieved have an assisted slide button? and 2. What about video recording!??!
Dang yall know better it look so nice yea but what u r yall forget Wi Fi , GPR , Movies ? still need work on it cuz New Cell Phone all have Mov in there n GPR And ever Wifi too ? think twice come on people
hey if motorolla its making it…what about the tow way option….would it have it???
Omg what ever dude listin to a song on the Sony Ericsson W600i then lets talk about loudness
Myspace app is crap. Its basically a mail tool
how much does it cost?
OmG how much money does this thing cost and when the heke is it cumin out?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
its 200 with a 2 year contract. its the samllest sidekick made so far. when you see it in person youll know what im talking about.
The sidekick 3 is still my fav cause the new one isn’t really that’s diffrent from it and shit a sidekicks all about the flip not the side its kinda corny
Okay well I really want this new sidekick3 slider but i’m from Canada. I only have a Rogers SIM card. So can I buy one off ebay or something and use my SIM card?
I just bought the slide on Friday, and I love it. For everyone that thinks it looks bigger you are on crack, it is only a little bit bigger than like the black berry pearl. yes it has less capabilities than the LX, but it is a very clean, compact phone. I love it.
Very easy to use, great all around every day phone. If you are looking to use as a primary phone for email or internet go with something that doesnt cost only $200. Great Price too!
Wow, I tried out this phone at the T-Mobile store by my house and I didnt like it. It actually takes effort to open the screen, but with the normal sidekicks you dont really have to push it to open it …. whatever
Hello!I am an italian girl so excuse me for the english but i have a question…Can we have the sidekick slide in italy unblocked by Ebay ?? I know that in ebay.de you can find the sidekick II and III but not the Slide!! Please help me!! Thank you!
I really want a sidekick but i can decide between the slide and the new LX!!!
hayy plz replie back to my email
how much does this phone cost and
when will it be out in stores like
um………. this year o what?????
IF SOME ONE GIVES IT FOR FREE GIVET TO ME AND I WILL LOVE U
Tmobile can change the look at the sidekick all they want, all i really care about it the operating system. they spend so much time working on the hardware that they neglect the software. I will buy the new sidekick only if they change alot of the problems. I think they should add video, flash compatibility, image formats (such as animated gif’s) picture/video messaging, and more space on the ram.
iTS N0T BULKy AT ALL i HAVE 0NE iTS N0T iTS A LiL BiT SMALLER THAN THE 3 AND THE KEYPAD iS SMALLER 2…S0 i THiNK THiS 0NE iS BETTER
PE0PLE PE0PLE iTS SMALLER THAN THE 0THER 0NES, iT D0ESNT HAVE ViDE0,itS N0T BULKy..itS HAS A CAMERA(WiTH PERFECT LiGHTiNG TAKES GREAT PiX)..iTS WAy BETTER THAN A SiDEKiCK i.D(F0R TH0SE WH0 CAiNT TAKE A HiNT…iTS SLiDES UP…it D0ESNT FLiP 0PEN 180 DEGREES)….BETTER SCREEN QUALiTy…AND THE SCREEN MATCHES THE KEyB0ARD…y0U CAN SEND PiX 2 NUMBAS N0T 0NLy EMAiL, iF y0U LiKE SMALL F0NES BUT THE SiDEKiCK L00KS 2 BiG..THiS MAY BE THE PERFECT SiDEKiCK S0LUTi0N…
what the f*#k you idiot its a freaking phone i mean what do you expect
the sidekick slide is the only sidekick made by motorola
No it does not shoot video and the camera isnt that good,even on the highest quality settings.
The sidekick slide in the t-mobile store is handled by many people everyday,so you should never exspect the phone to be the same at home as it is in the store. The sidekick slide is very easy to open.