It’s official. T-Mobile has announced the new red scarlet Sidekick Slide. So if the purple color was deterring you before, now you have another option. The T-Mobile Sidekick Slide Scarlet will be available for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement. You should be able to get it online
or at stores. There’s not much else different about it, but in case you want the specs of the Sidekick Slide Scarlet, here you go:
· T-Mobile myFaves
· Smaller design with slide screen and QWERTY keyboard
· Available in a black finish with scarlet accents
· QVGA screen
· Web browser enhancements and improved JavaScript support
· Customized MySpace Mobile application available through the Download Catalog
· Personal e-mail access and integrated t-mail account; supports POP3, IMAP FETCH e-mail protocols
· MMS, SMS and IM supported
· Built-in IM clients: AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger
· 1.3-megapixel camera
· Built-in music player that supports MP3 and AAC (requires memory card)
· microSD expandable memory slot; support for up to 4 GB of memory
· Bluetooth
· Dimensions: 4.6 x 2.4 x 0.68 inches, 5.3 ounces
· 2 x 1.5-inch display, 320 x 240 pixels, 65k TFT display
· Battery life: Up to 5.9 hours of talk time and 3.6 days of standby
· Quad-band world phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
· GSM/GPRS/EDGE

For all those that were doubting us when we said that video was coming to the Sidekick LX via an OTA, we present you with a page straight from T-Mobile.com. The text reads:

Viewing available memory for pictures and videos
To view available memory for pictures and videos, perform the following steps:
1. At the Jump screen, roll to and select Camera.
2. The available space for new pictures appears in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

The original page for the Sidekick LX can be found here (if they haven’t pulled it yet). There’s also the same page for the Sidekick Slide, although we haven’t heard any details on an OTA for you Slide owners yet and there’s also this page which says: “The Sidekick Slide does not support sending video messages.” So we’re going to stick with saying to expect the video OTA for the LX, but not for the Slide. Sorry Sliders.

Pictures and videos man. Pictures AND videos.

-Thanks to Ryan for catching this.

A screenshot of a Javascript error was posted on the PBD forums. It says nothing about a Sidekick Gekko. It just happens that the engine that Danger uses for the Sidekick browser (on all their devices) back-end web proxy (to be exact) is based on the Gecko layout engine, just like Firefox and Netscape. So, nope this doesn’t confirm anything about the Gekko sadly. Not to mention that this sort of screenshot is easily faked with literally 1 line of code on a webpage. The original screenshot below:

Post on Boy Genius Report

Or at least not planned yet… Joel Evans over at Geek.com is saying that a little birdy told him that there is no plan in the near future for a Windows Mobile Sidekick. He was told this at a pre-Mobius event. Mobius is an invite only community run by Microsoft that apparently hasn’t found our address to send us an invite yet. Actually what he quotes is “no new phone” is in the works. We already know that Danger is working on new devices, but this confirms that Microsoft isn’t working on new hardware and we highly doubt Danger has made any efforts to get Windows Mobile running on their current platforms.

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Everyone and their brother has been sending in links about how there was a comment made by Chris Stephenson, the GM of Marketing for Zune, that mentioned that they are trying to find ways to mesh Danger and the Zune team. As of now it’s just a comment, and there’s no confirmation or discussion of a Zune Phone. Our guess is that Danger is being tapped for their UI experience because their operating systems have always been super intuitive and easy to use. But there’s always the possibility of a Zune Phone, but the question is “Would anyone buy one?”

via

For those of you wondering what the Sidekick 3 OTA that is currently rolling out brings to your device, wonder no more:

* GSM network feature enhancements
* Enhanced USSD Support
* Retry option for failed Text Messages
* Enhanced SIM PIN protection
* Optimized PLMN scan algorithm to improve network registration time when returning to good coverage
* Faster PLMN searches

So in short about the only thing you’ll ’see’ is better coverage and the ability to resend text messages when they fail.

Thanks tipster!

A little birdie told us that with the OTA update, the Sidekick LX will finally get support for A2DP Bluetooth devices. What does this mean? In short, you’ll be able to listen to phone calls, MP3s, videos, games, etc. in high quality stereo sound using bluetooth headphones.

(image via)

T-Mobile has officially launched the rollout of their 3G network with New York City. The plan is to have 3G rolled out to the major cities in the US. We haven’t heard anything on when we’ll see 3G Sidekicks yet (most likely not on the Sidekick Gekko), but we hope T-Mobile realizes that Sidekick users would be the ones to benefit the most with the high-speed network. We have our fingers crossed. The press release is below:

NEW YORK and BELLEVUE, Wash. – May 5, 2008– T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that the company has taken the first commercial step in the rollout of its third-generation (3G) wireless network by launching its UMTS/HSDPA network in New York City. T-Mobile plans to continue the rollout of its 3G network across major metropolitan markets through the year. By year’s end, T-Mobile expects its high-speed data network will be available in those cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services.

“The launch of our 3G network comes at a time when 3G phones and services are more affordable, capable and appealing to our consumer marketplace than ever before,” said Cole Brodman, chief development officer, T-Mobile USA. “We benefit not only from the economic scale of 3G, but also from the extensive commercial experience of 3G in our European markets. Today, T-Mobile USA customers already have among the highest adoption of data and messaging services in the industry. Through our 3G network, we look forward to delivering a rich portfolio of new and meaningful services to enrich our customers’ lives.”

T-Mobile’s 3G network supports voice and data services consistent with available service and handset offerings. The company today offers multiple phones that are able to operate on the UMTS network. The phones are designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide the great call quality and rich communication services customers expect from T-Mobile.

Customers using a 3G-capable handset from T-Mobile will also experience faster data speeds when accessing the Web, or downloading content from the T-Mobile t-zones content portal, for example.

In the coming months, T-Mobile plans to offer its first HSDPA device, along with new and compelling data-centric, all-in-one devices that help make the most of T-Mobile’s high-speed data network.

The launch of the 3G network also enables T-Mobile to accommodate and serve more customers more efficiently through the use of its AWS spectrum, effectively doubling T-Mobile USA’s spectrum position, and laying the foundation for the company’s future growth. T-Mobile and the U.S. government, namely the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, continue to work closely and effectively together to make available AWS spectrum that will give consumers access to the 3G network.

As the 3G service rolls out in targeted major markets, T-Mobile will continue to build upon its
T-Mobile® HotSpot Wi-Fi network — its wireless high-speed Internet offering that launched in 2003 — and its nationwide voice and data network, to empower customers to effortlessly stay connected using the best available network.

T-Mobile International is following a common technology path across all of its markets in Europe and the United States, from GSM/GPRS/EDGE to UMTS/HSDPA. T-Mobile USA greatly benefits from
T-Mobile International’s 3G experiences in Europe, where adoption of non-messaging mobile data is growing dynamically; and with more than 120 million customers worldwide, T-Mobile International is able to generate significant global procurement synergies.

That’s right, a Hiptop3.com exclusive where we bring you the first screenshots from the Sidekick Aspen/Gekko. Everything we’ve been hearing points to the Aspen and Gekko being one and the same. We’re not 100% sure which name T-Mobile is going to market this as, but we’d put our money on the SK Gekko. It’s catchy and plays on the ability for the device to change colors. It’s safe to assume that those yellow sides are going to be replaceable with your choice of colors. This device is going to be the followup to the Sidekick iD for sure, as it’s code name is Style 2 (the SKiD was codenamed “Style”). We’ve also been told it’s going to have the same screen as the LX and similar features. The phone icon in this screenshot matches up with what we were seeing in the catalog earlier. We’ve also heard this was supposed to be a cheaper model phone since not everyone can plunk down several hundred dollars for the Sidekick LX. We have yet to hear what it’s missing in relation to the LX though. My guess would be that it’ll be bigger than the LX because a lot of the time cheaper parts = bigger.

We’ve been saying it for months and months, but now we’ve actually got some picture proof for you guys. Yes, the Sidekick LX is getting video, as evidenced by the screenshots above. We’re still trying to figure out details on what exactly the Sidekick will support as far as video is concerned. But yes, you will be able to capture and playback video on the Sidekick LX. I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is “Will I be able to watch YouTube videos?” and as of now we don’t have a firm answer yet. Rumor has it that the H.264 codec will be supported, and YouTube started encoding videos in H.264 for Apple awhile back. So there may be some sort of workaround, but as far as a dedicated YouTube app for the Sidekick LX, we haven’t heard anything yet. We’ve also heard that it might be H.263 instead of H.264. We’ll let you know as soon as we nail it down so you can start converting your videos to be ready.

But for all you Sidekick LX users, look for an OTA coming very soon. And if you’ve been holding off on getting a Sidekick LX because of the lack of video support, it’s time to spend that money you’ve been saving. There was also a recent price drop in the device yesterday, so take advantage of that.