Also, we heard from T-Mobile directly and they were very happy I’m sure to be announcing that Sidekicks were no longer “Temporarily Out Of Stock” and were up for sale on T-Mobile.com again! You can snag a Sidekick LX 2009 for $149.99 or a Sidekick 2008 for $49.99. And if that’s not cheap enough, you can even get an open box Sidekick 2008 for $34.99. (All with 2 year contracts of course)

Life as a Sidekick user is starting to return to normal as T-Mobile/Microsoft/Danger slowly announce each piece of data that is restorable as they make progress. We’ve gotten back Address Books, Calendars, To Do Lists, Notes, and most recently Photos. I know a lot of people are still waiting on Bookmarks and I imagine that will be next in line. However one of the hallmarks of the Sidekick is still missing and we haven’t heard any word on when it will return.

I’m of course talking about the Download Catalog, aka the first App Store. The Catalog has been down for over a month and this sucks both for Sidekick users as well as Sidekick Developers. I’m sure T-Mobile is feeling the hurt too as a large source of their income from Sidekick users comes from selling applications, ringtones and themes.

While there are no other ways to get applications (save having a developer key), it is possible to get ringtones and themes while the catalog is down from unofficial sites. Themes for most Sidekicks can be found at Sidekick Themes and if you have a Sidekick LX 2009 you can get free ringtones at Skringers.com.

UPDATE (2009-11-11): We’re hearing through the grapevine that the Download Catalog may be up by Saturday if things go well! Keep your fingers crossed.

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You’ve probably already noticed this if you’ve been in the Download Catalog lately, but there’s a new GPS app out there in addition to Microsoft Live Bing. Everyone is always clamoring for turn-by-turn navigation on their devices so they can use them while they drive. TeleNav delivered a solution for the Sidekick LX 2009 in the form of “TeleNav GPS Navigator”. For $9.99 a month you’ll get “voice-guided and onscreen turn-by-turn driving directions”, automatic re-routing, 3D maps, traffic alerts, business information, weather, and even speech recognition so you don’t have to type while driving! Most of the time when I see an application with a recurring fee, I’m instantly turned off by it. But if I was driving regularly, I imagine this app would be incredibly useful! If you’re using this app, let us know how it is in the comments.

Here are some screenshots from the catalog:

Official announcement

T-Mobile says that Exchange support was requested by a number of users and I’m sure this will please the handful of you out there that want to get your corporate email on your Sidekick, but how many of you guys out there are actually using a Sidekick for corporate work that requires an Exchange server? How many people actually know what Exchange is?

Myspace

The Myspace application is basically a port of their version from the older OS. We see much of the same functionality, and the 3G service just makes it run a bit smoother and faster for us. Since a lot of this application is the same as the old version, we won’t be commenting much on it, just giving features.

You have the ability to view all aspects of your profile, including photos, blogs, comments, and your main profile. The profile editor is very nice, as you can place html code in the sections you wish; you may not be able to view these changes in the application, but you can still edit it all. Definitely a very desktop-like editor for your profile. Not only can you upload your photos straight from the album, but you can also upload videos to your profile. In addition, you can set alerts to just about anything that you would need to be notified about in the application. Most of these won’t need to be set, but still nice to have.

Some of the things we wish that existed are the ability to view profile videos and listen to profile music. We understand that this would require a complete update on Myspace’s side, but using RTSP streams, they could have tried to make this possible. Otherwise, the application is pretty complete. There is yet to be a fully powerful mobile Myspace application on any device, but this application is pretty great for an avid user. Overall, it’s pretty stable, and the application auto-reconnects if there is ever an abrupt log out.

Facebook

The Facebook application is a very nice and intuitive app that gives us the best of Facebook. The application pretty much takes the standard mobile edition of Facebook, and turns it into an updating app.

The splash screen is very nice, showing you not only that you have an alert, but actually gives you a newsfeed preview of the latest friend status and Facebook activity. We also like that you can refresh the home, which will give you the latest activity. The image icons and previews come up pretty fast, even just on EDGE.

Viewing a friends profile, you can easily comment, poke, or even message them. Composing a message is much like the email application, but it’s still within the app. You can also comment on statuses, and upload photos directly from your photo album. You can update your status with no problem, and view all messages, friend statuses, and search Facebook; all of these options reside in their own tab.

The ability to “Like” a status does not exist in the application, which is somewhat of a downer, considering we sometimes don’t always like to comment on a status. It also would have been nice to see the ability to upload videos to your profile, or watch videos from other friends profiles. We would have like to have seen a version of Facebook chat as well; we’ve seen it on other devices, and it would have been a great addition to the app if you could use this feature.

Aside from a few flaws, it a pretty great application, and saves you from having to keep using the browser. An app built in keeps everything Facebook related very organized; Facebook users will spend a lot of time in this app.

Twitter

Finally, you can have a Twitter application on your Sidekick, that interacts with the site just the way you want it to; the mobile website doesn’t always have the ability to perform certain tasks, but this application definitely performs.

The splash screen gives you a preview of one or two tweets, and tells you when it was posted. Inside of the app, you can see A LOT of tweets that have been posted by people that you follow. In addition, you can easily update your status, with a text field that has a ticker counting down your 140 characters. Scrolling over a person’s tweet, you can send then an “@ reply”, send them a direct message, see their timeline, and view their profile. You can also choose to stop following that person, or mark the tweet as a favorite. You can delete a tweet you made, follow new people, and update your location.

The problem with this app is that you are forced to choose between intervals of automatic updating, which tend to be either too fast and burn battery, or too slow and not update enough. We wish there was a manual update action, that could force an update. Also, we wanted to see the tweets to be updated after you send a tweet, showing your message and updating the timeline. Another feature that we find missing is Twitpic, or photo posting functionality in general. This is one of the very popular trends when adding something to view in a tweet. Sure, you can go ahead and post it to Photobucket and drag the link in, but direct Twitpic functionality would be ideal. Also, updating your location is more of a manual process; it would have been nice to see it fetch your current location upon request.

 
Hopefully these reviews give you a great idea of what to expect with these social applications. Here are some additional screenshots of all of the apps in action.

How does the keyboard feel?
-It’s a harder rubber than the LX. Same style, feels nice. There’s definitely a difference though.

How does the OS look/perform?
-It looks gorgeous on the new LCD (everything does though.) It performs really well. I haven’t noticed any slowdowns yet.

How does it compare to other sidekicks in all areas?
-It’s much lighter than the LX was, It feels more sturdy than the 08 in the few times I played with it. I haven’t tested battery life yet, so I can’t comment on that. The speaker is significantly louder than the LX’s, which is nice.

If you had ringtones on a previous sidekick, were they transferred over?
-Not sure, I never bought any ringtones.

Can we use sounds as ringtones saved from emails?
-Yes, as long as they are 100kb or less. So to get any length in the mp3 the quality will be pretty crummy. You can record on the device up to 20seconds.

Can he take a picture of the text messaging screen? is it the same as the previous sidekicks?
-Yes, it’s the same messaging app since the 2.3 OTA of the Sidekick 2. Nothing new like message threading.

Since we can stream radio, can we stream mp3s through the browser too?
-No.

What does the battery look like?
-It’s small in size. The capacity seems to be lower than the LX (The 09 is 1250mAh and my LX is 1540mAh) What the battery life is yet, I’m not sure.

Is the speaker really a big difference?
-Yes, it’s much louder. Almost as loud as the Slide was.

Do the applications and ringtones transfer?
-No.

Is ringtone recording on the official to the public phone?
-Yes.

Are the keys on the keypad the same material as the ones on the Sidekick LX?
-They are a harder rubber than the LX. Feels really nice.

What are the new “face/mood” icons in the messengers.
-AIM and MSN are the same as the LX with the 4.6 OTA, Yahoo has new icons I think. Screenshot

What is available in the catalog? anything free or different? is it full of items or a limit due to the new O.S?
-The catalog is pretty bare for now, I’m sure they are working overtime to get more apps/games ready. The free apps are; Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Live Maps, and MySpace.

Is there any way to get around the 100+30 limit on text messaging?
-No

can you post pictures to twitter from the twitter app? ie. twitpic
-No

How does the web browser compare to the LX’s web browser?
-Larger space for viewing sites, faster. That’s pretty much it.

When did you preorder? i am so jealous! i want mine right now!
-The night it was available.

What does the Carrying Case look like??
-It’s just a case. It doesn’t have any belt loops or anything, so if you want to use on your belt you’ll have to buy a 3rd party case.

Can We plz get some pix of the acessories if thats not 2 much 2 ask thanx and how do u feel to b the 1st normal person 2 have one and how do u think u got it early?
-The included accessories are Wall charger, Headphones, USB cable for your computer, and the carrying case.

How solid does the phone feel? Can you take some comparison shots vs whatever phone you were using prior to today so we can get a feel for the size?
-The phone feels really solid. I thought the 08 felt like a cheap piece of plastic. This feels much nicer than the 08, and the LX. (Mostly thanks to the rubberish coating) I was using a LX before this, See the new post for comparison shots to the LX and Slide.

How is the quality like the weight, design, quality, and ease of use compared tot he oiginal thanks!
-It’s much lighter than the LX and Slide (I can’t compare to the 08, sorry.) and I think the build quality is much better than before. It’s got a great feel to it. The design kind of has a BWSK/CSK feel to it with the raised up screen. I like it.

How does the video quality look when watching a video on youtube?
-It’s… watchable. The videos are highly compressed for mobile viewing (iPhone has access to higher quality videos)

when watching a recorded video, is it clear? or do u see the pixels just like the LX?< ?strong>
-Recorded video isn’t bad. It’s definitely not on par with a Digital Camera, or something like a Flip. But it’s usable, and hey.. it’s unlimited length now.

Do the mood lights light up different colors?
-Blue only.

How fast is the internet? is it much more faster then the LX and previous sidekicks?
-When you’re on 3G, the Internet is fast. Very nice.

Can take a screen shot of AIM and MSN?
-Sure, attached. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travis_l/sets/72157617497236492/

Can you show a pic of the sms?
-Sure http://www.flickr.com/photos/travis_l/sets/72157617406252227/

Can you speak on the phone and IM and browse the web at the same time?
-Yes, However… only if you’re connected to 3G. Otherwise, no.

Can you take a screenshot of the AIM and MSN icons? I’ve been using an SK3 since it came out
I presume this is what you mean…
-AIM: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travis_l/3487127765/in/set-72157617497236492/
-MSN: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travis_l/3488094196/

Also, can you view animated gifs the new one? That’s the one thing I wish it could do…
-No.

What about the blog management tools that were listed? or is it just describing twitter?
-I presume just Twitter, but I wouldn’t rule out seeing any other apps (blogger, etc) in the future.

Do you know if you can use voice activated dialing?…like when you say a name and it dials it?
-No voice dialing

Is the flash better than the old lx?
-Not sure. I haven’t tried it yet.

what do the Monkeys, Bird & Evils look like in AIM & in Yahoo?
-The same, just larger versions for the new screen.

Can you play a converted DVD video? I heard it can play one at native resolution! how clear is it at 30fps?
-I have not been successful in converting any video for the new device yet. (Hell, the old device too.)

What does the music player look and sound like
-Music player is the same. Sounds much louder than before.

Is the video recording screen still a little box or has it gotten bigger?
-It’s gotten bigger, It’s now doing 320×240 as opposed to 176×144

Does the camera application have a self- timer?
-No. (This would be cool though)

Does the the Face Book application allow you upload cel-pics to your personal Face Book page?
-Yes, you can even tag friends in photos you upload.

Is there a weather app built in or is it like the old sidekick where it cost 3 dollars a month to get the weather?
-It will be a recurring fee app I suppose, I’m not sure as it’s not in the catalog yet.

How is the swivel? Is it sturdy or flimsy? Thanks
-Sturdy. The magnets are a lot stronger that hold the screen closed so it takes a little extra oomph to open the LCD.

does it have flash on it? do other websites beside youtube that use flash do they work like hulu?
-It does *NOT* Have flash. I want to make this very clear. Just because you can view Youtube videos does not mean it has flash. YouTube has a mobile version where they have the videos available in very small, very compressed streaming format (RTSP if you’re interested.) and that’s how you’re viewing YouTube on your device.

Do you know if the SKLX09 has the hearing aids codes?M2-5?Cause I wear aids in both ears.
-I Have no idea. Not sure how to tell either, sorry. Maybe T-Mobile can be of help.

can u send pictures in messages through aim to ppl who have older sidekicks?
-No.

also i seen in one of the pix u can go invisible so now u can appear offline while really online?
-Yes.

also can u have more aim conversations open at one time kuz i believe it was always limited to 10?
-Nope, still 10.

also did/does ur autotext carry over bekuz i have alot of it lol?
-Yes.

i just wana know is it still 100 messages in the phone
-Yes, still 100.

can you send pics to ppl on aim?
-Yes.

Can you send pictures to other ppl on aim with who have the sidekick LX?
-Yes, only the 09 though. Older devices (LX 07, Sidekick 08, Etc) won’t work.

i just wana know is it still 100 messages in the phone
-Technical reasons.

Is the battery life better?
-I took mine off the charger at about 3am last night. It just died at about 10:50pm (With GPS on and playing with it, Twitter refreshing every 5 mins, and Facebook. Along with my normal IM/Text/Browser/Phone usage)

Do you know if there are any mood light Tricks?
-Not sure, sorry.

what is the video recording format on the new lx is it still 3gp
-In the new “High Quality” mode it’s recording in MP4 at an unlimited length. In the lower quality it’s 3GP.

Do your bookmarks transfer over from the old device?
-Yes.

On the MySpace app, can you update mood/status?
-I don’t know, I don’t have a MySpace account and I’m not making one, sorry. You can on the Facebook app though.

What’s your favorite feature so far?
-The new screen. It’s amazingly crisp and gorgeous.

How is the GPS. Does it track you in real time?
-I haven’t really played with the GPS much. It picked me up pretty quick when I was outside. The Microsoft Live Maps application has a “Track Me function” I assume this is what you’re looking for.

how’s the camera?? does it take good pictures in the dark??
-It should. The flash is significantly brighter than the LX.

Keep an eye on this post, we’ll update it as new questions come in.  If your question hasn’t been answered yet, drop it in the comments.

Lots of screenshots of the updated Microsoft Live Search application, as well as the Twitter and Facebook applications.

If you’ve been hesitant to download the Photobucket application because of the price or the recurring fee (or both), the option to try the app out for free has come! If you download the application by 4/30, you have a 30 day free trial period to test it out. This means you can use the full version of the application, risk free for 30 days and then decide if you like it or not. This is a great option and may be what changes people’s opinions about the product. Remember that the application is free only for 30 days from the time that you have downloaded it. After the 30 day free trial period is over, you will be charged a monthly subscription fee of $1.99, which will be billed to you each month until the item is discarded. Check out the information in the Download Catalog for more in-depth information. Download and try it out from the Catalog now!

When the video recording capabilities for the Sidekick arrived, many people were disappointed by the limitation of only 20 seconds of video capture. Cramped Thumbs, a new Sidekick applications developer, decided to do something about that and have released Video Recorder, a Sidekick application that lets you record up to 50 seconds of video. Why is it still limited to only 50 seconds? Apparently recording and encoding video really pushes the Sidekick past its normal capabilities. So until we get a new powerful device *cough*sidekickblade*cough* enjoy recording at least more than twice as much as your other Sidekick friends. The app costs $1.99 and is available in the catalog now.

Here’s an example video shot with a Sidekick LX:

You’ll need Quicktime to view the embedded video.