Motorola Gets Cute and Offers The Q for $99

Boy Have I Ever Let This Blog Go

Boy have I ever let the Sidekick 3 blog go. I mean, I go on vacation for a couple of weeks and slow down the postings and all of the sudden I lose my fanbase. Well, if you have any ideas for jazzing up the blog, let me know. It seems like now the Sidekick 3 is out, there isn't much more to do.

Sidekick 3 Forum #7: Using Sidekick 3 to Get A Date

The comment section below is for posting tips and pickup lines for getting dates using your new Sidekick 3.

Sidekick 3 Getting Teenager Love

Hey, wait a minute, the Sidekick 3 isn't just for teenagers is it? Check out this article about how hot our little friend is with the teen market. Here's the LINK

Sidekick 3 Forum #6: TIPS & TRICKS

The comment section of this posting is for new users of the Sidekick 3 to post any tips, tricks or secrets they have picked up on their Sidekick 3.

Killer New Sidekick Site: "All About The Kick"

There are a lot of Sidekick sites around and I don't usually pay much attention to them, but if you are looking for a slick little news site that has been optimized for viewing on your Sidekick, look no further. Click the link HERE or go to All About The Kick at http://allaboutthekick.com to get to a cool new Sidekick site that has been optimized for viewing on your Sidekick browser for when you are on the go. Good luck guys with your new endeavor. -BSD

Sidekick 3 on Amazon.com .... Big Dollars!

New York Sidekick 3 Launch: Note Red Sidekick and Bootylicious Girl

New York Times Sidekick 3 Review

The Next Generation's Take on the New Sidekick

By DAVID POGUE

Last week's e-mail column, regarding my temptation to "film" my daughter's dance recital using my still camera (despite a "no camcorders" rule intended to spur sales of the dance school's own DVD), generated over 400 messages in my In box and the Comments area at nytimes.com/pogue. They ranged from "Film away, dude -- stick it to the man!" to "What part of 'no filming' don't you understand?"

As usual, I was blown away by your articulate, passionate, creative approaches to the topic.

But you can (and should) read those comments on your own. Today's topic is, instead, the Sidekick 3.

And today's columnist isn't me. It's Bart Stein, a 19-year-old Brown sophomore who e-mailed me last spring and asked if I could use a summer intern. I sure could, and the deal has worked out great for both of us.

One day, unannounced, Bart e-mailed me his own take on the Sidekick 3--and it's good enough, accurate enough and, after editing, Pogueish enough that I thought it could stand on its own. It's therefore my pleasure to introduce you to a member of the next generation of tech reviewers: Bart Stein.

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Every hero needs a sidekick, a loyal companion who assists in times of need. Batman had Robin, the Lone Ranger had Tonto; T-Mobile is betting that the hero inside all of us will crave its latest gadget, the Sidekick 3.

It's the successor to T-Mobile's smash-hit cellphone, the Sidekick II, which became a cultural icon for the young and the hip. Legions of 18- to 35-year-olds marched to their local T-Mobile stores, convinced that if the Sidekick II was good enough for Paris Hilton, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, it was good enough for them.

The original Sidekick, introduced in 2003, boasted a revolutionary design: it's horizontal, with a keyboard hidden behind a 180-degree swivel screen. Cool people everywhere rejoiced; finally, they had the e-mail features of a BlackBerry or Treo without the nerdy stigma.

Now, nearly two years later, the Sidekick 3 makes its debut ($300 for new customers; $30 per month for unlimited Internet, plus a voice plan). There's no revolution occurring here; the Sidekick 3 represents more of an evolution. And that's a good thing, because the fundamental design is still fresh and exciting.

The first thing you notice is the Sidekick's new, grown-up look. With a silver and black finish and an enclosure that, at 0.72 inches thick, is 20 percent thinner than the Sidekick II, the 3 somehow manages to look hipper and more sophisticated at the same time. The tight-jeans crowd should note, however, that it still feels slightly bulky (it's 5.1 inches wide), especially compared to Palm's latest Treo 700p and Motorola's svelte Q smartphone.

But the 3 is bigger for a reason: it accommodates a wide keyboard and large, ergonomic controls. A new trackball replaces the scroll wheel of the Sidekick II (the screen still isn't touch-sensitive), making it faster and easier to navigate the device's screens.

Unfortunately, that screen seems to have been disregarded by the forces of evolution. It's perfectly readable, but it's neither as crisp nor as bright as those of the Treo, the Q or other recent phones.

As before, the Sidekick 3's software is designed so well, you can practically navigate the menus with your eyes closed. There are standard Send and End buttons for making phone calls, and convenient volume controls on the bottom. Even the keyboard shows careful thought, with dedicated keys for numbers, and even a specific key for the @ symbol. After using the Sidekick 3 for ten minutes, you'll wonder why T-Mobile even bothered to print a manual.

The 3's new 1.3-megapixel camera is definitely a step -up from the II, but it has a few shortcomings. The photos are good, not great, and you can't record video. The low-res, not-so-bright screen of the Sidekick 3 will have you racing to your computer to see what the picture you just took really looks like.

The new music player is much better. At the moment, it plays only MP3 and WAV files (T-Mobile claims that additional formats will come soon); still, the player is a nice addition that works very well. Transferring music to the Sidekick 3 is seamless, though slow, over the included USB cable (the Sidekick 3 uses USB 1.1 and not the faster 2.0 version), and the sound is good both through the included headphones or the surprisingly loud, crisp speaker. Thanks to a faster processor, you can listen to music at full volume and take the highest quality picture simultaneously without a hitch.

With the new miniSD card slot, you can store as much as 2 gigabytes of pictures and music on your phone. That should be plenty for most people, although 2-gigabyte memory cards are pricey (about $90).

The Sidekick 3 operates on T-Mobile's new EDGE network, which purports to offer Internet speed that's two or three times as fast as a dial-up network (or a Sidekick II).

T-Mobile, however, might want to borrow Verizon's "Can you hear me now?" guy. Both voice and Internet service seemed spotty in New York City. Make sure you check out your local coverage before you buy (some cities don't even offer EDGE).

Since the Sidekick 3 is aimed at Generation Cool, it makes sense that one of the best features is instant messaging. You can hold up to ten typed conversations simultaneously (over the AIM, Yahoo, or MSN chat networks); synchronized light effects go off when you receive an IM.

There's also Bluetooth for wireless headsets and a new, replaceable battery that promises improved battery life. There are a few nits to pick. You're offered only four canned choices of background "wallpaper" -- a weird limitation for a "cool" device. And there's only one game (Rock and Rocket, the same one as on the original Sidekick).

Otherwise, though, T-Mobile's latest is a trusty companion indeed. And who wouldn't want a sidekick as cool, helpful, and fun as this one?

Sidekick 3 Warning: Sidekick 3’s Magnet Will Erase Your Credit Card in Under a Second

Click HERE to read about the severe magnetic properties of the Sidekick 3, and keep your credit cards at a safe distance.

Sidekick 3 featured on TRL

The Sidekick 3 was just featured on TRL earlier today in a segment called "the 4 HOTTEST PHONES!" If you watch it delayed and get a clip, shoot it over.

It appears previous email on turning MP3s into ringtones was a hoax

So I just deleted it. I should have known I guess, the person who emailed said she was worked for Random House and RIM, yet used a Yahoo email address. Not sure why I thought her Sidekick 3 info was any good. We don't screen stuff, we just post the interesting stuff. In this case, it was all determined to be a hoax by users, so it's out.

Music Via Bluetooth on Your Sidekick 3

"I have a Bluetooth headset and I was in the middle of a phone call and was playing around with my Sidekick by accident during the call I hit the play button on the mp3 player but instead of hearing the music through the handset I was hearing music in my Bluetooth! But this was only during the phone calls and it would drown out the other person's voice. It did not work in any other case. I don't know if this has been reported by anyone else. Its obvious that the sidekick 3 is capable of using the Bluetooth headset as a ear phones for the mp3 player... so my question is was this taken out by T-mobile to be used later in the OTA update because the capability is clearly there."

Sidekick 3 Accessories Link

The Sidekick 3 accessories are starting to trickle in. I like some of the new skins and I have seen a few cases surfacing in the last week. I think this week the number of things to buy for the Sidekick 3 will grow since official release is this week. Hit the link below to see some samplings of what you can get right now. I personally like the monkey skin you can put on your new baby. - BSD

Sidekick 3 Accessories

Tricking out Your Sidekick 3 in PINK!

I'm BAAAAAACK

Sure I took a little vacation. I was away for a while. Where was I? All I can tell you is I was "off the grid" and out of touch. I am back though and the Sidekick 3 is filtering into the world, most people like it but many are complaining about battery life and like I have said for some time, screen resolution. I have a couple of questions for you, the daily readers of this blog...

1) What should the Sidekick 3 Blog Become?

2) What would be interesting things to cover from here on out?

3) What types of things do you expect to see/read about when you come to the Sidekick 3 Blog?

4) What will make you come to the blog every day after you get your Sidekick 3?

Let me know in the comment section or email me at sidekicker3@gmail.com

Sidekick 3 Forum #6

How many hours of usage are you getting on your Sidekick 3? Feel free to comment on the Sidekick standby time, talk time, etc.

The Sidekick 3 Arriving in Europe in September?

Have a look, it's all there...The Sidekick 3 is coming to Europe in a few months...this promo flyer shows a date, the details and an explanation of where the original Hiptunes rumors may have come from. While it's possibly a fake, it looks pretty legit to me. Thoughts?

Sidekick 3 TIP: Check Your Edge Network Coverage By Zipcode

Sorry it's been a little while, I am allowed to go out of town for the 4th of July right? Well, many of you have been getting your Sidekick 3s and life is good (for most of you), but many have asked about coverage or talked about mediocre coverage. Well here is a little link to help you see coverage in your zip code. Have a look friends.

EDGE COVERAGE LINK

BSD