Looks like the Motorola booth had a red Sidekick Slide on display this year at CTIA 2008. No word yet on when it will hit market (if it even will). I know a lot of people quoted the purple color as being a reason they steered away from the Slide. In my personal opinion the red looks sexy, and I’d totally rock
it. Click here for the full video of the tour of the Motorola booth.

Apparently Motorola/Danger/T-Mobile have worked out the kinks with the Sidekick Slide and solved the powering off problem at least well enough to sell the phone again. For anyone that was waiting to get a Slide, break out that credit card.

TMobile’s Sidekick Slide Page

Looks like T-Mobile has done the right thing and instead of continuing to sell defective Sidekick Slides, they’ve pulled them for the time being. No word yet on what they’ll do to remedy the problem in the long run, but they are offering free upgrades to the blue Sidekick LX for users that are reporting the Sidekick Slide resetting issue. Here is the official word from T-Mobile (via BGR):

“T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide™ on Friday evening, Nov. 16, after Motorola – the manufacturer of the device – confirmed that some devices may inadvertently power off when the slide door on the front side of the phone is opened or closed.

T-Mobile has taken this action to help ensure our customers only receive devices we’re confident will perform at their peak, so they can stay effortlessly connected to those who matter most.

Motorola is currently working to identify the root cause of the power cycle issue in affected Sidekick Slide devices. The T-Mobile Sidekick LX™ and Sidekick iD™ are not affected by this issue.

If a customer purchased a Sidekick Slide that is experiencing the unintended power cycle issue, they may contact T-Mobile Customer Care, or go to a T-Mobile retail store, for assistance and to discuss available options.”

We’ve heard from a number of people that this problem has existed for some time. Why T-Mobile would choose to ignore it until a week after release is anyone’s guess. Here’s hoping they’ll come up with a hardware fix and get these things back on the market soon.

We’ve heard a number of reports from various people and sites that there’s a pretty serious flaw with the Sidekick Slide. Those of you that have moved away from the familiar flip of the Sidekick devices may have noticed that this change comes with a problem. Your Slide turns off when you slide the screen. Word has it that this problem existed with the pre-production devices, and we wonder how in the world this was acceptable for production devices. But nevertheless, it appears that this issue isn’t just a few unlucky folks. The crew over at Engadget gave their Slide a test and said it happened 2 out of 30 or so slides. Any true Sidekick users knows that opening the screen 30 times in a day is nothing! BoyGeniusReport says that this is happening with 2 of their devices, and we’ve heard a number of reports from various users via email. To make matters worse, your data is wiped out when this happens. Luckily it’s all returned thanks to Danger’s servers, but if you don’t have coverage, you’re out of luck until you do.

The culprit appears to be a loose connection for the battery. We’ve heard reports of people using a small bit of folded paper or business cards as a shim to wedge the battery more securely in place to fix the problem. No official word from T-Mobile or Danger yet though. So if you’re Sidekick Slide is resetting when you slide the screen, give T-Mobile a call and let them know.

Still haven’t taken the plunge and bought one of the new Sidekicks? Still not sure which one is the right one for you? Silently cursing Danger for being so on top of things that they released two new devices at once? (It’s certainly cost us some sleep trying to keep up) Well BGR might be able to help. They’ve got a quick comparison of the Sidekick LX and the Sidekick Slide. If you want the nitty gritty details, check out the article.

Their ultimate conclusion:
“If you’re a hardcore Sidekick user you’ll want to grab the LX. The keyboard and screen alone make this a win. The Sidekick Slide isn’t really beneath the LX on the totem pole, so if you want an awesome phone, but love the Danger OS all in a small device, you will definitely want to pickup the Slide.”

We basically agree. If you’re a hardcore Sidekick user, the screen on the LX will blow you away, along with keeping all the good stuff of the Sidekick 3 but squeezing it into a sexier body. If you’re looking for something small that will fit in your pocket better and don’t send a bajillion emails/im/txts/etc a day, then the Slide is cheaper, smaller, and probably more your style.

via BGR
image source via Appletech

CrunchGear has a Sidekick Slide video review up as well as some nice pictures of the new tiny device from Motorola. Video below, post here

Holding out for the Sidekick Slide on November 7th here in the US? Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you Motorola lovers! Hands on reviews for the Sidekick Slide have been popping up now that T-Mobile has officially announced it (along with the Sidekick LX). Here’s a roundup of posts that we’ve found so far. If you’ve seen any others, drop them in the comments!

Gizmodo – Hands All Over the Sidekick Slide (Verdict: Best Build Quality Ever)
Engadget Mobile – Hands-on with the Sidekick Slide!
CrunchGear – Hands on with the Sidekick Slide
BoyGeniusReport – Sidekick Slide (Zante): Hands On!
CrunchGear – Sidekick Slide review [Update]

It appears as if Telstra Mobile is also in the process of testing and getting ready to release the Zante down under.

Unconfirmed reports of Telstra trying to push out all remaining stock of Hiptop 3’s to make way for the new device, and a Mid November release date. Also unconfirmed reports of the Hiptop LX making an appearance down under sometime in December have trickled in via email.

Thanks to all who sent this in

View more photos.

Want to see what the Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide look like in action? There are a couple of videos on YouTube (including one from a well-known forum admin). Check them out below:

Thanks to nic kl for the find

T-Mobile has gone all official with the Sidekick Slide (aka the Zante) finally. The price? A reasonable $199 with a 2 year contract. Official specs are no big surprise either:

Screen: 320×240
Dimensions: 4.6in x 2.6in x 0.6in
Weight: 5.3 ounces
Memory: MicroSD slot
OS: DangerOS v4.0
Messaging: MySpace, AIM, MSN, Yahoo,email (4 accounts), SMS/MMS support. (finally MMS!)
Camera: 1.3mp
Video: No video on release, but we hear rumors that it will support it.
And all the other stuff you’ve come to know and love on your Sidekick 3, just in a new package made by Motorola.
Release date is scheduled for November 7th

Who’s getting one?

…and why won’t Sacha pick up her phone?!