Danger Alert: Sidekick 2009 spotted in the wild
Sidekick fans everywhere are drooling, and now there’s a real picture to back up all the rumors and rendered images from just a few weeks ago. If there was any doubt about the legitimacy of this new swivel phone it should certainly be squashed now (still, cross your fingers!). This sweet new device looks exactly like the images we showed you a while back with a darker theme and is a little more contoured than the current Sidekick 2008. Of course, this new Sidekick, currently codenamed “Blade,” is going to be the first to sport 3G connectivity – a major bonus for those who are sick and tired of surfing the Internet at GPRS/EDGE speeds. No official word on pricing or release yet, but we’re guessing it will be Fall 2009 and perhaps just a hair over the cost of a non-3G Sidekick. Of course, we’ll keep you updated as news comes our way.
Thanks, Ed!
I don’t understand why non-sidekick users say this is a kids phone (writting this with sidekick 08). I don’t know 1 kid and not a much older person needs with email on their phone. To me it is the same as a blackberry but with a young kool sleek style. I personally use my sidekick in a variety of ways (talk, messaging, email, entertainment). So the phone is going to be better with the new added apps. If people gave it a chance, they would see it is a very useful phone.
thiss phonee doesntt look all thatt ghdd . ilikee minee better [ kiqq o8 ] . itt lookss to biq for my tastee . thatt iss a really biq phonee . wow . thee sk 3 looks better eyee mustt sayy .theyy shouldd havee stopped att thee o8 .
thiz iz the balm a88 phone and il be the first person to get thia and this whatis popin in thyiz world kno!!!!!!!!!!!11
Firstly, a disclaimer: I do own and am using the Sidekick LX 2009 to type this blog. For the past 4 years, I have had sidekicks and am an avid user of them. I started out with the SKII and upgraded to the 3. Now then…on to the good stuff. The LX2009 is a new phone that pretty much grabs the best things from the previous phones and have some of the bad stuff. Firstly, I must say that the web browser is pretty much the same as the others. I was abit disappointed that Sharp and T-Mobile did not come up with a more convenient and easier to use web browser, but I guess they believe it’s been tried and tested and it still performs admirably, considering it seems to be using an aging browser. Adding 3G to this newer phone really has made it one for the modern times that can compete reasonably with other net capable qwerty keyboard phones out there. When I had initially received my first sidekick (SK2), my internet didn’t work when I was on the phone, now it seems fiinally I can make a call and be online at the same time and doesn’t degrade the web surfing quality. It’s by far the most surprising thing on this phone, given my experience with other sidekicks. The appstore leaves something to be desired as I had a lot more applications, but I guess it comes with time. The slimness makes the phone really look sexy and alluring while it is still large enough to not get lost (for long at least) in your pocket. The screen and resolution are better compared to the last sidekicks, however the larger screen has already confused most people by thinking it must be a touchscreen. T-Mobile should look into this for their next version. When I’d first received the phone, I was disappointed with the matte keyboard, but I figured that should they have kept the sidekick 3 buttons it would have rendered the phone heavier, less sleek and probably cost more. I must say, however that I’m an avid user of my phone in all kinds of weather and having this kind of keyboard helps keep water out of the machine if weather’s bad. the video on the phone is okay, at best, and I dislike the fact the video doesn’t zoom and currently I haven’t heard audio with the video. I have some unpleasantness with T-Mobile because although I can youtube, the resolution isn’t very good and at this stage in the game, with iPhone, Instinct and blackberry, they really should’ve had the video in browser capability and not only with youtube videos. I absolutely love the lights and colour schemes that the LX2009 comes with, makes it look good. The battery life for this sidekick is still appalling, but I can fully understand given the capabilities of this phone. During a full day, 7am-7pm, you can make calls watch a few vids and use the “Track Me” feature on the LiveSearch GPS, but I will suggest, keep a charger in your car or work, it’ll have you a lot less frustrated for when you really need a call. In all honesty, I don’t use it for calls much, but the call quality had disturbed me a lot on the first day I received the phone, but it has become better (upgrade maybe?). All in all, it’s a sleek looking phone that does what it’s supposed to. I like it because the keyboard is a lot more tangible than other touchscreen phones, and having extended use of the blackberry storm and Instint, I much prefer the simplicity of a mounted keyboard that’s most familiar like a computer’s. The self-contained email is brilliant and they have made it easier (I suspect microsoft helped) to fetch email from other services.
Last but definitely not least, this phone has picture messaging, and I must say it’s been done brilliantly. This is by far one of the best features that weren’t available on the previous phones. It has audio postcard capability and it requires a bit of manoeuvering, so unless you’re brilliant, you’ll have less embarrassing pictures that were mass sent by your drunken mr hyde at last night’s party. One thing I wish T-Mobile could change is the phone lock codes. Given enough time (like a day or so) one could crack the measly 1000 combinations possible for the 3 digit codes. All in all, it’s a pretty good phone and since it has already been established, can greatly improve it’s market if some time and revamping is done. Good phone with great features and the 1 GB memory card isn’t bad either, but getting more memory, better browser and more power would give the sidekick to being a hero instead of a sidekick.