Sidekick info for y'all...
The Irrefutable J!
the Sidekick team at T-Mobile, and using it for a realllly full day today,
here are some notes, info and such - hopefully all informative! I'll be
discussing the more obscure things about it, as most people should already
know the basics of the unit:
- I signed up with T-Mobile about a month ago, with a T68i and a pretty
hefty plan ($90/month for voice and plenty of data). Anyway, right now you
really cannot get a Sidekick as an UPGRADE - they either won't do it for you
or charge you a LOT ($300+). But you CAN get it as an ADDITIONAL LINE. This
is what I did, with ZERO issues. Walked into the store, told them I wanted
one as an add'l line, and walked out a little later with a perfectly working
Sidekick. So for those on the fences, perhaps it is worth getting it as an
add'l line if you want the device right this instance? =)
- Any who've used MagicCap OS devices (Sony MagicLink, Moto Envoy) back in
the day will instantly feel at home with this thing. Easy to use, FUN to
use, intuitive, and the thing just WORKS. EVERYTHING works like it should,
the interface/OS is incredible. Everything makes a sound too (optional),
that adds a lot of fun to just navigating the device.
- Every bit of software can be updated over-the-air (OTA). Very handy.
- Web browsing is pretty darn fast, and Danger's servers do a damn good job
of formatting pages for the unit's screen.
- Camera is made by Kyocera, and is really there for novelty purposes -
takes tiny tiny tiny color photos, and you need a ton of light, and the
screen is awful as a viewfinder. But being able to snap little photos of
bullshit and e-mail them to anyone and everyone in a split second is SOOO
much fun!
- The first 40,000 (approx.) units come with the camera.
- Phone quality is, well, okay. Nothing special, but definitely usable!
Though, the screen is face-grease city afterwards, no matter HOW clean your
damn face is. The screen is quite tough though - LCD is buried under a SOLID
piece of polycarbonate.
- Screen is really great - light green backlight, not super-bright
unfortunately, but plenty usable in the dark. Nice and sharp, fast updates,
barely any ghosting.
- The flipping-screen mechanism is all-metal, and was definitely designed to
stand up to rigorous use.
- The new type of LED under the translucent jog wheel does a full 7-colors,
and is a real eye-catcher - great blues, reds, yelllows... I'm glad they put
it in, it's a really nice touch.
- The main e-mail account you get with the unit (x...@tmail.com) is a push
account - you get messages sent to the address INSTANTLY. Granted, a RIM
Blackberry is more 'business' oriented, but this thing does all that the RIM
does and MORE - granted, the design of the unit is more "18-34" than the
RIM, but it still has class! It feels pretty futuristic.
- The keyboard feels great - all rubber keys, not hard plastic! its more
comfortable than any thumbboard I've ever used, and it's all backlit.
- The SDK will be out in a few weeks - no word on how you can get it yet,
but it will offer network access - I'm sure we'll see Telnet, Usenet, SSH,
and other cool apps!
Hmm, what else can I say? This is one of the best devices I've used in a
very very long time. If anyone has any add'l questions please post them and
I'll be happy to respond!
*j
Tom
Tom.
Matthew Dixon Cowles
wrote:
> VERY nice review. Thanks for all the effort.
I agree and concur with almost everything said (I got a Sidekick
yesterday afternoon). My only disagreement is that I consider the user
interface a little heavier on cute pictures and lighter on useful
information than I'd prefer. For example, the icons that indicate
whether you have unread email or SMSes are something like 16x16 dots
and those are pretty small dots. That's a lot smaller than the picture
of the people holding Sidekicks up to their ears on the top-level
phone screen.
The unit itself is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but it would
be awkwardly heavy there. It works fine in my pants pocket but I wear
somewhat baggy pants.
I do wish that there were an always-BCC option on the mail client. I'd
like to be able to send copies of all my outbound mail to my main mail
account automatically. As it is, I need to remember to add it to each
email.
You can configure additional email accounts as long as mail can be
retrieved from them by POP. (Unlike the tmail.com account, they're
polled according to some schedule that isn't obvious to me.) It would
be nice if they had implemented APOP authentication so that you could
do that without your mail password going across the net in the clear.
But those are minor things. The device is great.
Regards,
Matt
Richard Shieldhouse
I just had a thoroughly disappointing conversation with a barely functional
custome service type. After that miserable experience, I was geared up to
set up a new account with new telephone number.
Please spell out the details regarding adding another line, so I know
precisely what to tell the drones at my local T-Mobile office.
Many thanks.
Richard S.
"The Irrefutable J!" <x@c.*> wrote in message news:B9C11765.1067F%x@c.*...
Anthony Mumm
shirt pockets or pants? I've always been a belt clip kind of
guy.
In article <slrnapnen...@happy-hour.mondoinfo.com>, Matthew Dixon Cowles
wrote:
Matthew Dixon Cowles
> Is there a belt clip of some kind that may be used in lieu of shirt
> pockets or pants? I've always been a belt clip kind of guy.
Yes, there's a small black holster that closes with velcro and has a
belt clip.
Regards,
Matt
Matthew Dixon Cowles
<ric...@shieldhouse.com> wrote:
> After that miserable experience, I was geared up to set up a new
> account with new telephone number.
> Please spell out the details regarding adding another line, so I
> know precisely what to tell the drones at my local T-Mobile office.
As far as I can tell, adding another line amounts to setting up a new
account with a new telephone number and agreeing to an additional
contract. They may be billed together but since I haven't yet seen a
bill, that's not clear to me.
The people at the T-Mobile store suggested to me that the Sidekick
would be available as an upgrade to existing service at some point in
the not-too-distant future but weren't at all specific about that.
Regards,
Matt
Richard Shieldhouse
Ericsson T28 to my wife, and stick with the Sidekick. She's charging up
right now. Can't wait to play with it.
RS
"Matthew Dixon Cowles" <ma...@mondoinfo.com> wrote in message
news:slrnapovf...@happy-hour.t-island.com...
Matt Drury
Phew, I *just* made the cut. :)
> - The SDK will be out in a few weeks - no word on how you can get it yet,
Do let us know when you see that. I hadn't even given a thought to
programming the beastie, but now you've got me musing.
Aside from a [X Back] button which doesn't seem as responsive as a week ago,
I'm really really liking this. Having IM on my hip helps a lot when I'm
stuck in line at the bank, and the interface is useful without being
overcute.