If you’ve ever tried to call T-Mobile and get your Sidekick unlocked to use on another carrier, you know they tell you that the Sidekick can’t be unlocked. Well that’s just plain false. You CAN unlock your Sidekick and call and text on other carriers. In fact I just unlocked my Sidekick LX 2009 the other day so that I could use it on whatever carrier I wanted.
UnlockYourSidekick.com is a brand new site where you can get your device unlocked. Rather than sending it off, or waiting for days to get an unlock code, all you have to do is download their software, connect your Sidekick to your computer, and unlock your device on your own.
The guys at UnlockyourSidekick hooked me up with a free unlock because I wanted to see if they were for real. They’re legit and the software (Windows only) is super easy to use. It’ll walk you through step by step. The hardest part for me was getting the battery out of my device. If for some reason you’re not satisfied, there’s a 30 day money back guarantee.
Most of the recent Sidekick models are supported:
- Sidekick 3 (including DWade and Dianne Von Furstenburg Limited Editions)
- Sidekick 2008
- Sidekick LX (including Tony Hawk Limited Edition)
- Sidekick LX 2009
Others are “Coming soon”
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.
Microsoft/Danger has started rolling out an OTA (Over-The-Air) update to all Sidekick users. This update will not make any changes to your device that you’ll be able to see. It’s intended to fix some behind the scenes stuff so that “all Catalog application data will now be more securely backed up in the Microsoft / Danger systems.” This is NOT the Sidekick LX 2009 OTA I posted about earlier, which I assume is on indefinite hold until everything gets sorted out. It’s assumed that this OTA is rolling out to all Sidekick devices. Let us know in the comments if you received the OTA, which device you’ve got, and when you got the update.
Have you ever dropped your Sidekick? Chances are your answer is “yes” as you gaze sadly at the scratch on your screen. I know, I did it just the other week and now I have a big ding in my Sidekick LX’s screen. I’ve been hearing my friends talk about the InvisibleSHIELD screen protectors for awhile, but didn’t get one myself until recently. I’m pretty impressed with them. They brag that they’re “military grade protection” and I don’t doubt it. Apparently this stuff was designed for use on helicopter blades or something. Pretty crazy. Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know that these things are pretty cheap and totally worth every penny. If you ever want to resell your Sidekick to get the latest version, you’ll get a lot more $$$ if it’s scratch free. Unfortunately they don’t have screen protectors for the Sidekick 2008 yet, but we’ll let you know when they come in. If you’ve got a Sidekick II, 3, LX, Slide, or iD you’re in luck now though. Check them out:
Think you’ve got the most damaged Sidekick? Are you still using it? We want to see. Post a link to a photo in the comments or email them in to admin [at] hiptop3.com.
There are quite a few of you out there still hanging onto the Sidekick 3, and wondering if it’s time to upgrade to the Sidekick 2008. Well, here’s our opinion, toss yours in the comments:
If you’ve been sticking with a Sidekick 3 (or one of the older devices) then it’s time to upgrade. Take our word for it, you’ll love the higher resolution screen and won’t be able to go back. There’s video playback and recording. The new features in the browser (full page mode) and some new OS tweaks (Quickfind, new address book behavior, etc) are very handy to have. The keyboard may take some getting used to, but in our opinion it’s better than both the 3 and the II keyboards. And at $150, chances are you’ll be able to score a deal somewhere and get it super cheap. There’s no official word from T-Mobile, but we won’t be surprised to see this device eventually offered for $50 (or even maybe free) with a 2 year contract.
We’ve already got our hands on the Sidekick 2008 and have been playing with it for awhile now. Here’s some photos from our unboxing of the Sidekick 2008 (aka Sidekick Gekko). We also took some photos of the Sidekick 2008 compared to the Sidekick 3, Sidekick LX, and the iPhone 3G. And just for fun, the large bar of soap we call the Color Sidekick. Click for the full review for this device and the hands-on video.
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.
TmoNews is reporting that the Sidekick Gekko will not be a Limited Edition device, but rather a new device. Similar to the Sidekick iD. It is rumored that this device will have a 2mp camera, and video capture along with some kind of video sharing software. Also TmoNews has reported that the device will be “Highly Customizable” Whether this means it’s customizable in the say the iD was, or they mean the catalog themes we don’t know.
The release date is still rumored to be set for July 30th.
Sounds like the Sidekick 3 is getting a Over The Air (OTA) update to upgrade the radio firmware. Doesn’t look like anything significant or major improvements, but all you Sidekick 3 owners may see it popping up on your device soon. I assume it’s rolling out to the pioneer group first, which is basically a small (random) subset of the Sidekick 3 users. As long as that rolls out without significant problems it will start being sent out to everyone.
A lot of the tech blogs have been buzzing about the Nintendo emulator that runs on the Sidekick. Here’s the real scoop. Yes, it exists and you can play Nintendo games on the Sidekick 3/LX/Slide as evidenced by the video above. It’s slow and more of a proof-of-concept sort of thing rather than a truly viable gaming application. It was basically taking an existing Java NES emulator (Vampant) and wrapping it for loading on the Sidekick since the Sidekick OS supports java. No, it is not going to make it into catalog unless T-Mobile gets real friendly with Nintendo and the license holders of all the roms that you would want to load. The application is a developer app that is only available to Sidekick developers. So basically if you don’t know how to write java, you’ll never get to load it on your Sidekick. When asked for comment, the developer simply stated “HOLLA!”
