PC Magazine Rates Sidekick 3 Among Best for TEXTING

The Best Phones for Texting
Today's students don't e-mail as much as they text and IM. Here's a selection of cool cells that make messaging fun

Sascha Segan - PC Magazine

Aug. 17 -
Today's students don't e-mail as much as they text and IM. Just like with e-mail, texting goes best on a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard – one tap is always better than three. But where e-mail often demands the power of a smartphone, text-happy phones exist in a middle space between basic, voice only devices and the more expensive, highly configurable smartphones. So before heading back to school, it's good idea to consider a more messaging-friendly handset.
But first, a warning for parents. If you intend to buy your kid a text-happy phone, make sure to get an unlimited SMS add-on plan. Otherwise, your wallet could literally ignite.
Almost all phones can do SMS texting, whether to other cell-phones or to e-mail addresses. Instant messaging, on the other hand, isn't quite as universal – not only do you have to make sure your phone supports the IM service you prefer, you'll probably need to rearrange your AOL buddy list because of an obnoxious bug/feature in most mobile AIM clients that limits them to displaying your "Mobile" category only. One way to get around this is to manually move your contacts into your AIM Mobile folder on the PC. Also remember that on many devices, IMs are charged as text messages – so get that unlimited SMS plan!
The most basic text-centric phone is the Kyocera Switchback KX21, available on the prepaid Virgin Mobile carrier. With its tween-friendly design and inability to run up a monthly bill, it's a great introduction to the world of SMS and AIM for younger kids. Users of other IM systems will be left out in the cold, unfortunately.
For older teens, the Sidekick 3 has a subculture all its own. I'm not all that thrilled with the new Sidekick – I feel you might as well get a Sidekick 2 and save your money – but the gadget has a coolness factor which teens seem to demand. Texting actually comes secondary to the Sidelick's great IM client and push e-mail capabilities.
If you're a Verizon family, the LG VX9800 – now sold as "The V" – is the best texting choice. Not only does it flip open to reveal a keyboard, it gets great reception, has a high-quality 1.3MP camera, and plays MP3s through some pretty powerful speakers. It may not handle e-mail that well, but it's a real whiz at SMS, and supports AOL, MSN and Yahoo! instant messengers. This being Verizon, you'll have to pay a healthy sum for all of those features, though.
Once you get to college, organization becomes key. From classes to study sessions, and exam dates to parties. There's a lot keep track of. For this a smartphone really comes in handy. But hey, you're still relatively broke. The good news is, Amazon is selling the Palm Treo 650 for $49.99 after rebates – and Sprint's PDA data plans, at $15/month, are the least expensive of any major carrier. Since the Treo is a true smartphone, you have a choice of several IM clients/ The Treo can text, e-mail, play games and keep your complicated life in order; it's not the newest model, but it's a great buy.
Lets not forget the Helio Hero. Though it lacks a QWERTY keyboard, the phone sports a customized MySpace client. While you can hit MySpace on the Sidekick or Treo, it's not as quick or as slickly done as it is on the Hero. For teens who live their lives on this social-networking site, that will sell them on the chunky black phone, which also has a 2-megapixel camera to capture treasured or embarrassing moments.

For Anyone Still Not Sure How to Do A Custom Sidekick 3 Theme

Sony MyLo or MyBlow?

Sure, this is the Sidekick 3 blog, but we all love cool handhelds. I have a PSP, several Ipods, a GBA and a DS and and the new DS Lite. The question is, do I want a Sony MyLo? Would I use it? Would you? Let me know your thoughts, seem to me that it's too dependant on wifi to take seriously, but I think it looks slick and if the screen is as good as a PSP, I may have to pick one up. The real question is performance though...will I use it daily? Will I live on it? Thoughts?

Sidekick 3 Limited Edition Coming?

We are getting a number of reports that it is true, that there is a nice Sidekick 3 variation hitting ahead of Christmas. All we know right now is that it is not a Juicy or a Mr. Cartoon, but that there is a unique version that will hit in the coming months. Stay tuned and of course if you have a picture, send it our way.

Video Tutorial of Changing Sidekick 3 Background

http://sk3bg.tk/

HOW TO SET UP YOUR OWN BACKGROUND SCREEN! Real or Fake?

From a reader:

I have figured out a way to create custom backgrounds and even remove the 2 people from the home screen. Ive included a screenshot of my sk3 with a custom background. Pretty cool huh?

Directions:

Here is Directions (Thanks to Enjoi and others for clarifying): Plug in your USB cord from your Sidekick to your Computer Go to the drive where your Sidekick folders are Make a new folder called "Themes" (without the quoutes) Then inside that folder make a new folder with the theme name you want to appear on the sidekick Add the picture you want. make sure its a .pgn or .jpg file. also size 240X138 Add the 2nd pic you want for the sub catagory Open Windows "Notepad" or any other Text Editing Program and create a new file to include the following: # ThemeName # string Name(en_US) ThemeName bitmap ring-background FileNumberOne.png bitmap ring-folder-background FileNumberTwo.png Save the file as "theme.txt" into the folder you created above inside the theme folder Example file:
Code:# CrazyPic # string Name(en_US) CrazyPic bitmap ring-background CrazyPic1.png bitmap ring-folder-background AnotherPic.png
Save the file as "theme.txt" in folder Themes/CrazyPic Unplug the usb cable from the sk3 after you upload them so the changes take effect ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATE: to Make the Phone App "People" Graphic disappear . . . You will need to put this image into your theme folder. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/kisha/images/chooser-phone-splash-screen.png So now there should be THREE images and ONE text file in your theme folder. AFTER you have done that you should add an additional line to your text file & it would look something like this: # CrazyPic # string Name(en_US) CrazyPic bitmap ring-background CrazyPic1.png bitmap ring-folder-background AnotherPic.png bitmap chooser-phone-splash-screen chooser-phone-splash-screen.png

New APPS hit the Sidekick 3

Time traveler and Picture Transfer hit the Sidekick 3 this week. Have you checked your catalog lately?

Schedule Text Messages to Be Sent To Your Sidekick!

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Flixya Giving Away Sidekick 3s

New Youtube competitors are popping up all over and doing everything they can to compete with YouTube, even giving away our favorite little Sidekick 3. Check out the below piece from http:www.flixya.com

FLIXYA REWARDS PROGRAM

The Flixya multi-tiered rewards program features $5000 worth of merchandise. Members can earn points for sharing videos, friend referrals and posting comments. 30,000 points will get you a $100 gift card to Abercrombie and Fitch, 110,000 a T-Mobile Sidekick 3. At the top of the list, 600,000 Flixya points will get you an Apple Macbook Pro.