Gizmodo was lucky enough to score a chance to chat with two T-Mobile execs, Sam Bell, senior marketing manager, and Jeff Folino, senior manager of product development for the Sidekick. They’ll be chatting about the Sidekick 3 and apparently taking some questions. The Skypecast will be at 4:30pm EDT today here.

Unfortunately we won’t be near a computer with Skype, so if someone can (a) record this somehow and/or (b) ask some questions for us, please let me know. admin@hiptop3.com

Thanks to some quick shipping upgrade (left PA at 1am, got here around 7pm Eastern same day) I have a Sidekick 3 in my hands after all these months. Check out the obsessive compulsive unboxing photos here. What does everyone think so far?

Mlee of Hiptop Nation fame sent us the following drool-worthy photos of the Sidekick 3.

In case you’re looking for the hookup on some Bluetooth headsets for use with the Sidekick 3, here’s some cool ones available on Amazon for decent prices. These prices will beat just about anything you’ll find in a store, so order quick and make sure your miniSD card and Bluetooth headset get shipped so you have them when your Sidekick 3 arrives. We recommend the first Jabra with changable face plates. No bumpers on the Sidekick 3, so at least customize your headset.

(7:56am Pacific) The incredible Rockstarr is spitting hot fire from the line in Santa Monica this morning! She got there about 6:30am and says the line is so big that she’s worried she might not get one! She hooked us up with some pictures, and sent her brother to the front of the line to get a few more. We think he should not be allowed to get a Sidekick 3 since he took pictures at the lowest resolution. But to give him credit, at least he got these before they kicked him back to his place in line.

If anyone else is waiting in line, let us know and send pictures and reports! admin@hiptop3.com

UPDATE (10:38am Pacific): Rockstarr is about 50 people away from “the tent where you get the wristband to wait in line again.” She estimates that about 700 or so people are there.

UPDATE (11:12am Pacific): Rockstarr has her wristband!

UPDATE (12:09pm Pacific): Rockstarr has been recognized by some Tmobile and Danger guys! Apparently they’re reading hiptop3.com at the store in Santa Monica! A big shoutout and thanks to the Danger and TMobile employees dealing with all of us! (psst, Danger, looking to hire someone to do support any time soon? I’ll be in the Bay Area in a few months hehe)

UPDATE (1:13pm Pacfici): SUCCESS! Rockstarr is driving home in the shockermobile with her new Sidekick 3!

Final Update with pics (last two pics are the first pics taken with her Sidekick 3!)

Not caught up in the Sidekick 3 fever and want a Sidekick 2? Collector of unique gadgets and cell phones?
There is an auction up on Ebay for 1.5 unique Sidekick 2s. The seller lists all its “numerous brushes of fame” including yours truly, several hiptop.com moderators, several bands, and even the ht3 cat of fame. I can vouch that this is a working unit, as I saw it just last week when in San Francisco. Just some battery charging issues, but definitely a unique Sidekick 2! If nothing else, you’ll get a screen with a cool sticker from Danger that has the Danger girl on it.

Disclaimer: This is not a shameless plug, as hiptop3.com is not receiving any profits from the sale of these devices, and any proceeds that exceed $500 will be donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Amazon has got some great deals going on with some miniSD cards I found. I ordered mine. 2gigs of mp3s will be in my Sidekick next week! 🙂

Or if you prefer name brand for a few extra bucks:

Only a little over an hour into the upgrades and already a story is developing. Apparently the quick fingered ones who got into the Tmobile site to upgrade within the first 10 minutes or so were given an option to choose No Contract Extension and get the Sidekick 3 for only $349. Others that logged in a little later, or called in were quoted a $399 price if they elected not to extend their contract. What does this mean? We’re not 100% sure yet. We caught Britne in the shoutbox and she gave TMobile a call. The rep said that we were “the lucky ones” and that this was a mistake, but that it would still go through. Stay tuned as this story develops. Here are the conflicting screenshots. First mine:

and then MiKeY SiDeKiCk’s:

We’d like to see how many people scored this sweet deal, so head over to the forums and cast your votes in the poll.

We received the following from one of our most reliable sources:

Effective Wednesday, June 28, T-Mobile is pleased to announce the launch of a voice barred version of the $29.99 Sidekick Unlimited Plus rate plan. This version of the Sidekick Unlimited Plus plan is being introduced to cater to those who do not require a voice plan on their device. This plan acts the same as the stand-alone Sidekick rate plan, but without the ability to place voice calls.

For UPS shipments:
Follow the link below and use your T-Mobile phone number (input as 206-555-1234) as the reference number.
https://www.ups.com/WebTracking/reference

For USPS shipments:
Call Customer Care at 1-800-937-8997 or 611 from your T-Mobile handset to request your package tracking number, then follow the link below and input the number.
https://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm?from=global&page= 0035trackandconfirm