Archive for the 'Sidekick 2009' Category

T-Mobile Memo on the Sidekick LX 2009 Launch

Friday, April 17th, 2009

We got another internal memo from T-Mobile.  Nothing too groundbreaking, but we figured it was worth posting for the sake of completeness.

Sidekick LX Pre-sale Launch

The Sidekick is going high speed with the launch of the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX on May 13 – the first 3G enabled Sidekick.

Existing T-Mobile customers will get the chance to purchase the Sidekick LX before it’s available to the general public with a pre-sale offer beginning April 17. During the pre-sale offer, existing customers can purchase the Sidekick LX on My T-Mobile at a special pre-sale price.

The sleek Sidekick LX comes with the same great features and functionality customers have grown accustomed to and includes enhancements such as 3G connectivity, GPS enabled Live Search, a 3.2 MP camera, and is the thinnest Sidekick with the largest and sharpest screen available of any other Sidekick. The Sidekick LX also features free bundled social networking applications including Facebook, My Space, and Twitter, which are optimized for the Sidekick making it easy for customers to navigate and view these sites. Customers also have access to Photobucket and You Tube, where they can easily watch You Tube videos and upload their own videos directly from the Sidekick LX. Sidekick LX customers can now talk on the phone while they surf the Web or IM friends with simultaneous voice and data capabilities.

Important: In order for customers to get the most out of their Sidekick LX, they must add the data feature. With the data feature, customers will receive unlimited nationwide text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail and Web browsing (international use is not included). Also, customers can easily download any software updates that become available for their Sidekick when they have the feature on their account. Customers without the data feature will have very limited functionality and will have a substandard Sidekick experience.

Note: The pre-sale offer is not available to FlexPay and Puerto Rico customers due to system limitations or to T-Mobile employees.

Pre-sale Pricing (April 17 – May 12)

2-year contract: $199.99 after $50 mail-in rebate

Delivery Expectations:
Customers who purchase the Sidekick LX during the pre-sale offer should receive their device by May 12 if purchased by April 30.
Orders placed between May 1 – May 12 cannot be guaranteed for delivery by the national launch date, but these customers will receive the special pre-sale pricing.
Customer Interest Form

The Sidekick LX 2009 Customer Interest Form should be used to collect contact information for customers who express interest in purchasing the Sidekick LX at launch.

Existing customers should be informed they can purchase the Sidekick LX online at My T-Mobile and will receive the special pre-sale price. Devices should not be reserved or guaranteed to customers, family members, or friends through store locations.

Action Steps

  • Be aware the Sidekick LX will launch to existing customers on April 17, and all other customers on May 13.
  • Refer customers to Sidekick.com for more information on the Sidekick LX or to My T-Mobile to purchase the Sidekick during the presale offer.
  • Begin using the Customer Interest Form to capture details for customers who are interested in purchasing the Sidekick LX in-store at launch.
  • Help right fit customers with the handsets/devices that best matches their lifestyle and needs.
  • Ask probing questions to determine how they currently use or wish to use their device.
  • Determine if customers currently use or are interested in high-speed Web browsing, GPS, visiting social networking sites, streaming media, instant messaging, text messaging, e-mail, and a full QWERTY keyboard to right fit them for the Sidekick LX.
  • Make sure customers add the data feature when upgrading to the Sidekick LX in order for them to have unlimited nationwide text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, and access to social networking sites.
  • Review the Sidekick LX Pre-sale Launch article on the Retail Communication Home Page for additional details about the device.

Too Many Photos of the New Sidekick LX 2009

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Want to see every nook and cranny of the new Sidekick LX 2009? We’re collecting all the photos here for you:

Press Images:

Photos from Gizmodo:

Check out Gizmodo’s full hands-on review too.

Photos from Engadget:

Engadget has some hands-on thoughts as well.

It’s Official: Sidekick LX 2009

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

New Sidekick LX 2009

The Sidekick LX 2009 is up and official on www.sidekick.com.

You  can order yours here for $199.99.

New Sidekick LX 2009

Pre order your Sidekick LX (2009) Now!

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

T-Mobile is launching the new Sidekick LX (2009) on May 13th, but if you Pre Order yours now online you’ll get it earlier (When, is unknown.)

Here’s the featureset:
3G Enabled
Social Networking apps (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) built in
GPS Live Search and Geotagging photos
3.2″ TFT LCD (F-WQVGA 854×480 pixels)
Thinnest Sidekick Ever
3.2MP Camera with AutoFocus
Record your own Ringtones
Carbon (Black) or Orchard Finish

Pre order with 2year contract for $199.99 (Plus taxes and fees, and a 50 dollar Mail In Rebate) at Sidekick.com or buy without contract for 449.99.

*Note: When we spoke with T-Mobile we were told we would NOT have to change the old 19.99 plan to use the 3G on the new devices.

T-Mobile Internal Memo on “Sidekick LX 2009”

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

We got the below memo from an anonymous T-Mobile employee:

Get Ready for the New Sidekick LX

T-Mobile is preparing to launch the thinnest Sidekick ever, with blazing fast 3G connectivity for customers to connect with friends quickly and easily. The new Sidekick LX will come equipped with GPS enabled Live Search, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and free bundled social networking applications including Facebook, My Space, and Twitter. Customers will also be able to watch and download You Tube videos directly from the device. The new Sidekick LX comes equipped with the features that customers love including a full QWERTY keyboard and an enhanced swivel screen that is larger and sharper than any other Sidekick.

Additional information regarding launch dates, pricing and availablility will be available on the Retail Communication Home Page on April 17.

Action Steps
Check the Retail Communication Home Page on April 17 for additional information regarding the Sidekick LX launch

It basically says what we’ve been saying for months now about the new Sidekick LX 2009. It’s nice to see things confirmed though. It looks like T-Mobile is going to stick the new device under the Sidekick LX line though. So like the Sidekick 2008 is officially just the “Sidekick” then based on this memo the Sidekick LX 2009 will be the “Sidekick LX”. Hopefully we’ll hear more in the way of official news on Friday!

Are you getting a Sidekick 2009?

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

We’ve noticed a lot of talk in the comments on other posts about whether or not people are going to get the Sidekick 2009 (Blade) when it comes out. We figured we’d put a poll out there to see what people are thinking. So let us know what you’re going to do and drop your opinions in the comments on this post!

[poll id=”4″]

More Sidekick 2009 FCC Docs Leaked

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Exploded Sidekick 2009 assembly diagram

Oops, looks like the FCC posted some docs they shouldn’t have!  Remember those FCC docs from Option N.V. that I posted awhile back?  Well it’s been confirmed that they were part of the new Sidekick.  The FCC has posted some additional documents today that confirm it’s part of the Sidekick 2009.  They even include some tasty illustrations of the assembly of a new Sidekick.  In addition there’s also info on the chipset they’re using, Qualcomm’s MSM7200A and/or MSM7201A.  These are the same chipsets that a bunch of recent phones run on including the G1, HTC Magic, and the upcoming HTC Touch Diamond2.  Looks like at least hardware wise MSDanger is going to drop a phone that competes directly with the new Android devices.  If you want the nitty gritty details straight from the FCC filings, here you go:

OS: Danger OS
CPU: QUALCOMM MSM7200A (MSM7201A)
Memory: 128MB SDRAM / 256MB NAND Flash
Input: QWERTY keyboard
RF: UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Camera: 2M AF or 3M AF or 3M
I/F: µSD card slot x 1, microphone, speaker, Stereo headset port, USB port, A-GPS, Bluetooth
RF: UMTS/HSDPA Band I, Band IV, Band V GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

The documents posted contain the photo up top as well as the following:

Sidekick 2009 Layered Communication Modeloptionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-2optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-9optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-11optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-14optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-17optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-26optionnv-sk2009-externalphotos-27

There are a bunch of other computer generated images and photos of the radio for the Sidekick 2009 in the docs.  You can check out the FCC filing (FCC ID NCMOCU1407), or check out the cached PDFs below:

Integration Manual (contains breakdown of Sidekick 2009)

External Photos

Test Photos

FCC Docs for the Sidekick 2009

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Sidekick 2009 IMEI label

When it rains, it pours.  We’ve got a release date, we’ve got in the wild pics, and now we have FCC docs.  Is there any belief that the Sidekick 2009 is not on its way?  The FCC docs have some external photos and whatnot withheld from the public under the typical confidentiality rules, but it’s easy to tell that this is the Sidekick 2009, aka the Blade, aka the PV300.  The confidentiality expires on June 13th, a month after release date, May 13th, which makes sense too.  There’s not a whole lot of actual info in the FCC docs that we didn’t already know other than the battery is 1250mAh (a touch more than the 2008) and that the FCC had the devices for testing as far back as December 2008.  But if you want to go through the incredibly boring FCC tests yourself, go right ahead.  The FCC Id for the Sidekick 2009 is ‘APYNAR0065’.

FCC Docs

More Proof of Sidekick 2009’s Impending Release

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Sidekick LX 2009 in T-Mobile inventory

Looks like the T-Mobile Sidekick 2009 is starting to show up in T-Mobile’s inventory system.  Not a whole lot of info other than it looks like it will be initially offered in two colors: Carbon (assumedly the black we’ve already seen) and Orchid (probably a purple of sorts). Here’s hoping they hit that May 13th release date!

via Tmonews

Sidekick 2009 Release Date

Sunday, April 5th, 2009
Sidekick 2009 with Hiptop Cat

It’s the information we’ve all been waiting for. The Sidekick 2009 (Blade) that we’ve all be drooling over for months is dropping on…

May 13th

That is of course a tentative date and not officially stated by T-Mobile, but I’m calling this a pretty solid date. This info comes from TmoNews, who got what looks like T-Mobile’s a summer release date list from “a trusted tipster”.

So, you’ve got about a month to start saving (maybe even less if they do a pre-release for current Sidekick users), are you getting a Sidekick 2009?