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!

Do you use Photobucket to share photos? You’ll be happy to hear that there is now a Photobucket application for the Sidekick that will let you send photos directly to the service and manage your account from your device. Rumors about the Sidekick Blade said that this app would be available, and here it is for existing devices (Slide, LX, and 2008).

The application will set you back $1.99 to purchase, and then a recurring fee of $1.99 each month thereafter. So it looks like this is geared more towards hevy users of Photobucket. To get it, just check out the Download Catalog. Here are some screenshots of the app:

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More info on Photobucket’s blog post. Screenshots are via PoweredByDanger’s post.
Thanks to everyone that sent this one in

We’ve been hoping for an official Twitter application for the Sidekick for a long time now. Those of us with developer keys have enjoyed different Twitter applications on our Sidekicks, but had to endure complaints from all our friends who were stuck with SMS and the browser for their Twitter fun. It looks like in the near future these friends won’t be complaining anymore as an official MSDanger app for the Sidekick appears to be on it’s way.

Clue #1: We’ve seen and heard rumors about an internal Twitter application at Danger that was being developed.
Clue #2: Developer apps for Twitter have not made any progress towards getting into the catalog and several have been made. You would think with a service like Twitter that is growing more and more popular everyday that a cheap application for it would make it’s way into the catalog.
Clue #3: Remember that screenshot from the online survey that mentioned Twitter?
Clue #4: There’s a whole lot of people Twittering from an application that’s only identifying itself as “hiptop”. Several of these people are known to be Danger employees.

So, we’re almost positive you’ll be seeing a Twitter application on the Sidekick LX 2009 / Blade when it drops. We also hope that MSDanger offers a Twitter application in the catalog (or via OTAu) for those users on the older devices. It would definitely round out the social networking capabilities of the Sidekick.

Follow Hiptop3.com on Twitter.

Price check on blog post #462… price check on blog post #462.

Just wanted to let you guys know of the current prices for Sidekicks from T-Mobile.

Sidekick 2008: $99.99 on T-Mobile – Check eBay

Sidekick LX (Brown): $149.99 on T-Mobile – Check eBay for both brown and blue Sidekick LXs

Sidekick LX (Tony Hawk Edition): $199.99 on T-Mobile – Check eBay

Sidekick iD: $49.99 on T-Mobile – Check eBay

Since most people have a Sidekick that plays video these days, one of the most asked questions is how to get video converted so you can actually watch it on the Sidekick, especially YouTube videos. CubanitaStylez (the same one that puts together those awesome themes) has recorded a video walking you through the steps to download a YouTube video to the Sidekick. You’ll need to use a website to download from YouTube and the video encoding program eRightSoft SUPER. Here’s the video walking you through it:

This should work for converting videos for the Sidekick LX, Sidekick Tony Hawk, and Sidekick 2008. For more details and other handy videos, check out cubanitastylez.blogspot.com

Want to theme your Sidekick LX or 2008/Gekko to mimic the G1 device? CubanitaStylezz, a talented and well-known theme artist, has put some G1 Themes up for the Sidekick. You can get them over at sk08Themes.com and skLXthemes.com.

The G1 device (aka the Google Phone) that many people have been waiting for has hit in full force. We know there’s a lot of Sidekick user’s switching to this device. We love the Sidekick, always will, but we don’t blame people for wanting to give the G1 a try. After all it does have some of the same people working on it that were behind the beginnings of the Sidekick. If you’ve picked up a G1, let us know in the comments what you think and how it compares to the Sidekick.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones who couldn’t score a pre-sale G1, you can still get one from T-Mobile, or we’ve setup a site to help filter through eBay and find you deals on no-contract G1 phones and accessories: G1Shopper.com.

A press release from T-Mobile went out yesterday that basically said they’re renewing their partnership with the NBA. This of course leaves the door open for more limited edition Sidekicks like the Dwade Sidekick 3. The full press release is below:

– T-Mobile Expands Partnership to Include the NBA Development League and Joins NBA Europe Live 2008 presented by EA SPORTS as an Official Partner in the Host Cities of London and Berlin –

NEW YORK, October 6, 2008 – T-Mobile USA, Inc., the National Basketball Association and the Women’s National Basketball Association today announced a multi-year extension of their marketing partnership. As part of this agreement, T-Mobile will expand its partnership to include the NBA Development League, the NBA’s official minor league. T-Mobile will promote its wireless products and services across virtually all channels of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League, appealing to the leagues’ broad and avid fan bases.

T-Mobile and the NBA will continue to work together on several successful programs and platforms that have been developed since the partnership began in 2005. T-Mobile also will have a significant presence throughout the NBA’s extensive media platforms, including the leagues’ national television partners, to further grow its customer base. T-Mobile will unveil new NBA-themed advertisements, marketing materials, sweepstakes, and promotions, while utilizing various NBA personalities, including Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley, for ad campaigns, player appearances, and special events.

T-Mobile will continue to be the sole title partner of the T-Mobile Rookie Program, a comprehensive year-long national program that introduces NBA Rookies to the league and prepares them for their transition into the rising stars of tomorrow through various community events, awards, and special events. Highlights include the rookie awards presentations for the T-Mobile Rookies of the Month and T-Mobile Rookie of the Year and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, an NBA All-Star competition between NBA Rookies and second-year players, where T-Mobile rewards local youth with the best seats at the game. T-Mobile will highlight Rookie performances and help provide special analysis and content about the NBA Rookies through the T-Mobile Rookie Report on NBA.com. T-Mobile will have a presence at all major events for the NBA Rookies, including the NBA Draft, NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NBA Rookie Photo Shoot, and the Rookie Transition Program.

“Since the inception of our relationship, T-Mobile has been one of the NBA and WNBA’s most active partners creating a variety of innovative basketball-themed programs that have brought our fans closer to the game and players both on and off the court,” said Mark Tatum, NBA Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships. “This extension of our very successful partnership will expand the scope of our relationship to new areas, such as the NBA D-League and NBA Europe Live 2008, and will give us the ability to develop an even greater number of exciting programs that will reach more basketball fans than ever before.”

“T-Mobile has achieved great success over the past three years with the NBA,” said Mike Belcher, vice president of brand communications, T-Mobile USA. “With the multi-year extension, we have the opportunity to continue creating unique and memorable experiences for our customers and avid NBA supporters. From integration during NBA All-Star to making a difference in communities by supporting local teams and the NBA Rookie Programs, T-Mobile, with the NBA, helps bring our brand to life for millions of fans.”

T-Mobile will continue to work with the NBA to create innovative and integrated programs that use technology to connect fans to the game and make their voice heard during key periods of the NBA season like NBA All-Star and The Finals, through interactive voting programs: NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, where fans can select their favorite players as starters for the NBA All-Star Game; and a Finals Fan Vote presented by T-Mobile, where fans can select the top performers (Player of the Game, MVP) during The Finals.

In addition, T-Mobile also will be heavily involved with various high profile events during the season, including NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile and Kia Motors, NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas, the McDonald’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and the NBA Draft. As a new partnership element, T-Mobile will partner with the NBA in Europe, where they will serve as an Official Partner of NBA Europe Live 2008 presented by EA SPORTS in the host cities of Berlin and London. T-Mobile will also continue to build close relationships with various NBA teams in key local markets, which will allow them to engage with fans on a more local level.

Following these activities, T-Mobile will launch support surrounding its WNBA partnership, which is focused around WNBA Draft, WNBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, the WNBA All-Star Game, WNBA Summer Jam, and the WNBA Playoffs and the WNBA Finals.

As part of this expanded partnership, T-Mobile will engage with NBA D-League fans for the first time. T-Mobile will reach a new group of basketball fans through NBA D-League All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, at the D-League All-Star Game at NBA All-Star, and during regular season games by way of special in-arena promotions, signage, and concourse displays.

No, this isn’t some new fancy device that’s going to kill the Sidekick. It’s a corrupted 3gp video file that has the potential to hard reset a Sidekick with very little user interaction that’s out in the wild. That’s right, hard reset, as in wipe out all of your data and force you to redownload it from Danger’s servers. Luckily with the way the Sidekick is designed you won’t lose anything, but it’s still an annoyance to have to wait for all your email, settings, etc to download. It’s also a really nasty trick to play on someone you don’t like.

This was first posted in the PBD forums under a thread titled “Virus In Email?! Important!! Read!!”. I know, my first thought too was, “yeah right, Sidekicks don’t get viruses”. Technically this isn’t a virus, and it isn’t even malicious in intent. It looks like it’s just a bug with the way the email application handles a corrupted video. Needless to say though, it is a serious bug that Danger will hopefully fix in an OTA quickly. This currently affects the new Sidekick 2008, as well as Sidekick LXs with the video OTA.

Want to protect yourself from this sort of crash? In your Email, go under Menu->Settings->Attachments->Remove Attachments of these types, and check “Multimedia”. This will remove any movie files that are attached to emails sent to you, including this nasty one.

Want a Limited Edition Sidekick LX? If you’re Soulja Boy it’s as easy as this:
Step 1: Get a Sidekick LX
Step 2: Show off your big LCD TVs so everyone thinks you’re cool enough to get Limited Edition stuff
Step 3: Get your Sidekick repainted by Colorware or snag a new Lens Frame.
Step 4: Jump on sklxthemes.com and grab the Sidekick LX XBOX 360 Theme
Step 5: Go into the Catalog and download Resident Evil for $6.99
Step 6: Make a video about how you’re the only one who has this and post it to the internets!

Nice try Soulja Boy, we’re on to you. A Soulja Boy Limited Edition Sidekick LX would have been better. Maybe you should stop trying to punk people and start working on your music so you don’t stay a 1-hit wonder. Hopefully you realize how much easier (and more convincing) this would have been with a Sidekick 2008 and a custom made XBOX 360 shell.

If you follow the above steps, please let us know which “Limited Edition” you’re faking and where the video is. If you want to see Soulja Boy’s video, check it out here or below:

Via GamerTagRadio – Bury it on Digg