Archive for July, 2007

Sidekick LX, Sidekick 4, Shuriken totally confirmed

Monday, July 16th, 2007

Sidekick Shuriken, Sidekick 4, Sidekick LX

Consider it confirmed by Danger’s servers. The Sidekick LX (Sidekick 4) manual placeholder can be found here. Looks like it’s going to be running Danger OS v4.4, a step up from the Sidekick Slide’s version 4.0.

Sidekick Shuriken confirmed.. kinda

Friday, July 13th, 2007

Sidekick Shuriken, Sidekick 4, Sidekick LX

A hiptop.com forum user got the same idea as we did for the Sidekick Slide and checked for the user manual placeholder on Danger’s site for the Sidekick Shuriken, aka the Sidekick 4, aka the Sidekick LX. They didn’t find anything as conclusive as a placeholder, but they did get an access forbidden error, indicating that the folder exists, but is restricted. Why would Danger have a folder on their server named Shuriken if it didn’t exist?

The Shuriken folder
Error if a folder doesn’t exist

via hiptop.com forums

Review of Sidekick Slide

Wednesday, July 11th, 2007

Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante Sidekick Slide Zante
Looks like one of Danger’s trial users has broken their NDA for Boy Genius Report and leaked tons of info on the Zante. Photos of the device from all angles, some screenshots of OS 4.0, and comparisons to a Sidekick 3 and an iPhone. He gives a quick review and promises of a video review to come. Here’s a summary, keep in mind that this is a trial device and not necessarily what TMobile is going to release:
——-
Operating System: Not much new other than system sounds and a prettier look.

Instant Messaging: More reliable.

Size: About the size of a Blackberry 8800, rubberized finish, plastic body.

Keyboard: Pretty good, circular keys, wish there was more tactile feedback

Reception: No concerns, seems about the same

Call Quality: Quality on par or better than Sidekick 3. Good location for earpiece

Speaker Volume/Quality: Really loud external speakers. Speaker is by the Tmobile logo.

Catalog: Disregard what he says, this is a trial device. Trial users have a different catalog than normal users. Hopefully themes aren’t going to cost $2.99 apiece or everyone will keep getting them for free.
——-
Looks like BGR’s WordPress is currently broken, but we were able to grab copies of the photos and add them to this post.

via BoyGeniusReport

Sidekick 4 aka the Sidekick Shuriken

Wednesday, July 11th, 2007

Hiptop Shuriken, Sidekick 4

We got a tip from a reader about the Sidekick 4. It’s named the Sidekick Shuriken and measures 130 x 61 x 17.9mm (a smidge longer than the Sidekick 3, but thinner), with a 3 inch widescreen LCD (bigger than previous devices), a 1.3mp camera, and uses MicroSD. Unlike the Sidekick Slide, it will be produced by Sharp, like the older devices. We’re guessing the “Shuriken” is an internal name for the Hiptop device, and that this is probably what will end up being the Sidekick LX.

Rumor has it that it will be available first in the US, and then in Australia. Based on the screen cap of a leaked excel spreadsheet, it looks like it’s also geared towards a release in Germany and possibly the UK, which is expected. No word on pricing yet though. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out more. What do you guys think? Sticking with a Sidekick 3? Going for a smaller Sidekick Slide? Or drooling over a large screen Sidekick 4?

An Actual Sidekick Slide Photo

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

Sidekick slide picture photo

Looks like we’ve finally got a photo of a real Sidekick Slide, aka Zante, aka Sidekick Razr.

via BGR

Sidekick Slide and LX Logos

Sunday, July 8th, 2007

sidekick slide and lx logo

Sent in by a reader, we’ve got a large image file that has two possible logos for the Sidekick Slide and the Sidekick LX. this could be a good fake since it would not be difficult to make, but the Sidekick Slide logo does have the feel of a T-Mobile logo. But it is missing the familiar T-Mobile magenta color in it. The Sidekick LX logo just doesn’t look right for some reason. However, the T-Mobile copyright in the top left corner either gives some credit, or is just a nice touch by someone faking it.

Thanks R!

Is the latest Sidekick Zante stuff made-up?

Thursday, July 5th, 2007

CrunchGear posted about the latest Sidekick Zante/Slide info and are a bit cautious about believing it. We’re also a bit skeptical over here. Here are some reasons why we think the latest “leak” of Zante / Slide info is flawed.

Sidekick Zante / Sidekick Slide Features

  • The Zante on the features image is a bad photoshop. Why would you put a black phone on a black background? And even so, why not outline it in white rather than leftover garbage from a select tool? However the actual Zante image itself is something new. I just find it hard to believe that any “official doc” like this would be so poorly done.
  • What is the difference between a Feature and an Enabler? Why so much repetition in specifications? Are you just trying to take up space?
  • The Zante will use microSD not “Mlini SD”
  • The Zante has previously been reported as the Q700, not the Q900.
  • All the info has been previously leaked in some form already or easily assumed. It’s easy to gather it all and photoshop it together.
  • Why is it spelled “Catalogue” and not “Catalog” like it is on the Sidekick devices?
  • The screen on the Zante is an image of Danger OS 3.0, not 4.0 like the URL for the user manual placeholder on Danger’s site indicates.
  • Why in the world would you measure size in cc instead of inches or millimeters?
  • There is talk of the Zante having incredible battery life, but the battery is only 1130mAh, whereas the Sidekick 3’s current battery is 1500mAh and only gets about a day of usage. Can we really believe that they dropped the power consumption that much to get a rumoured 5.9hrs of talk time?
  • No mention of the feature of OS OTAs? This is one of the features that Danger has that most other phones don’t.
  • “WMA.2.5mm Audio” ? – Is this a new codec or did someone not hit return to create a new bullet point about the size of the headphone port?
  • All in all, I think some of this info is right, some of it is wrong, and some of it is old. Perhaps the person leaking this does have access to some info, but I don’t think this came from Danger or Motorola. Anyone else want to point out other fun facts about this latest “leak”?

    More Pictures and Info on the Sidekick Slide

    Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

    Sidekick Slide

    More renderings of the possible Sidekick Slide / Zante have surfaced as well as an image with some stats. While the first two are most definitely renderings, the specification sheet is somewhat suspicious. Poor graphics, and misspelled words like “Mlini” and “catalogue” (it’s Download Catalog on the Sidekick 3 devices). And if they’re going for form factors, one would think they would opt for microSD as opposed to miniSD. And if this is a sheet for T-Mobile (as it has the T-Mobile phone people) why is it called the Zante and not the Sidekick Slide? If it’s not for T-Mobile, why is it using the T-Mobile phone splash screen and not Danger’s internal splash screen? We’re a little skeptical of the source, although a large part of the information looks to be correct. Here are the specs from the image:

    Zante Main Features / Highlights

    Specifications

  • SA Date: Q3 2007
  • Form Factor: QWERTY assisted slider
  • Finish: Premium-look CMF, plastic
  • Bands/Modes: GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
  • GPRS (2U/4D) Class 10
  • EDGE (2U/4D) Class 10
  • Size: 104cc
  • Weight: 150g
  • Antenna: Internal
  • Battery: 1130 mAh (BK70) removable
  • Key Features

  • 2.4″ QVGA 65k TFT Display
  • 1.3MP Imager
  • Large 5-row QWERTY keyboard
  • MP3, WAV, MIDI, AAC, AAC+, WMA, 2.5mm Audio
  • Push Email
  • SMS, MMS, IM (AIM, Yahoo, Microsoft)
  • Web-browsing with Javascript support
  • Game controllers
  • Bluetooth Wireless Connectivity
  • Expandable mem up to 2GB with Mlini SD
  • Enablers

  • EDGE
  • 1.3MP Imager
  • Java
  • Audio Codec: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA
  • EL Backlighting
  • Integrated BlueTooth
  • 128MB shared internal user memory
  • Danger Service Delivery Engine
  • Realtime web-page conversion
  • OTA synchronization of user data
  • Download catalogue
  • Sidekick Slide

    Sidekick Slide Specifications

    original post over at Gizmodo

    Sidekick iD – Worst Tech #5 of 2007

    Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

    sidekick id

    Laptopmag.com (not sure why a laptop mag is reviewing phones *shrug*) has apparently given the thumbs down to the Sidekick iD in their latest feature, Best & Worst: First Half of 2007. They cite the lack of features as the main reason, with the pain in the neck of replacing bumpers and lack of EDGE as additional downsides. While the Sidekick iD does have less features than the Sidekick 3, you’ll find quite a bit of argument on the hiptop.com forums over whether or not this is truly a downgrade. Needless to say, the Sidekick iD definitely hits a niche in the market and has been doing well, regardless of what the laptop dorks say. What do you guys think? Is the Sidekick iD really the “worst tech” of the first half of 2007?