I just turned on my Xbox 360 and what do I see but a giant Sidekick LX 2009 3G staring back at me! T-Mobile is teaming up with Microsoft for a special Sidekick promo on Xbox Live. If you download the T-Mobile Gamer Picture you’ll be entered in a contest to win a free Xbox Live Gold membership. In addition, the weekend of August 29th-31st will be a free Gold Weekend. That means that any Xbox Live Silver members will have all the privileges of Gold accounts for the weekend.

More info

Tour Also Launches ‘T-Mobile Sidekick Live the Rock Life Sweepstakes’ Offering Music Fans a Chance to Win the Ultimate Rock Star Experience

BELLEVUE, Wash., July 16 /PRNewswire/ — T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced today the details of the exclusive partnership with punk band, blink-182, by supporting the group’s first concert tour in five years. The nearly sold-out T-Mobile(R) Sidekick(TM) Presents blink-182 Summer 2009 Tour will go coast-to-coast bringing an energetic rock show to the masses and unique meet and greet experiences for dedicated fans with a national sweepstakes opportunity, T-Mobile Sidekick Live the Rock Life with blink-182.

As the title sponsor for blink-182’s reunion concert tour, kicking off on July 23 in Las Vegas and culminating October 3 at The Borgata in Atlantic City, T-Mobile will give Sidekick fans the chance to text to win seat upgrades, attend meet and greets with the band, as well as enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win the grand prize – all without leaving their spot in the pit to check out the band.

“We love that T-Mobile recognizes that the fans are a huge part of the music for us,” said Mark Hoppus, bassist and singer for blink-182. “They are a great partner to help make the tour happen and we’re going to go out there every night and give our fans exactly what they came for, an amazing concert experience.”

Along the way through the tour, Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom Delonge will keep fans on their toes with Twitter scavenger hunts, a virtual guessing game for fans to win tickets to shows, band merchandise and T-Mobile Sidekick LX devices. The scavenger hunt and trivia Q&A will lead fans on searches through concert venues, local landmarks and T-Mobile retail stores via clues given by the band members on their personal Twitter accounts using their T-Mobile Sidekicks.

In addition to the headlining blink-182 set, the tour will also feature a full line-up of supporting acts on select dates including Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, The All-American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday, Chester French and Asher Roth.

For more information on blink-182’s concert tour or how to obtain tickets, please visit www.blink182.com/tour. For more information on the T-Mobile Sidekick family of devices, please visit www.sidekick.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ TMOBILE_USA, @markhoppus, @trvsbrkr, and @tomdelonge.

Sweepstakes – T-Mobile Sidekick Live the Rock Life with blink-182

For fans who have always wondered what is was like to be a rock star, the T-Mobile Sidekick Live the Rock Life with blink-182 national sweepstakes promotion will offer one lucky winner and their five friends the chance to experience it firsthand. The grand prize package features a VIP trip to Los Angeles for the entire group with first class airfare and luxury accommodations at a private estate and an exclusive meet and greet with the band. To truly live in luxury, the winner will also receive $20,000 spending cash, $1,820 shopping spree at Barker’s Los Angeles store (The Fast Life), a ride on the official blink-182 tour bus, and the exclusive opportunity to be onstage with blink-182 at the band’s Los Angeles concert.

“T-Mobile Sidekick users have a real affinity to music, and our partnership with blink-182 is giving them an exclusive music experience that only T-Mobile can provide,” said Mike Belcher, vice president of brand communications and experience marketing. “This sweepstakes is giving one lucky fan the opportunity to live out their rock star dreams – and best of all, they’ll be able to share their one-of-a-kind experience with five of their friends.”

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the winner and their guests will have the chance to attend a sound check with blink-182 and take home their own complete set of autographed band gear including Barker’s drum kit, DeLonge’s guitar and Hoppus’ bass. The winner and their faves will be able to capture and share photos, videos and messages about all of the weekend’s events on their new 3G T-Mobile Sidekick LX devices.

From July 24 until September 27, fans can enter the sweepstakes by texting ROCKLIFE to 95495 or by visiting www.sidekick.com. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. For official rules, eligibility details, and additional information, please visit www.sidekick.com.

Last night we headed out to the Mezzanine in San Francisco for the Sidekick LX 2009 Launch Party.  The place was packed with people!  There were other parties in other cities and upstairs you could hop on a laptop and use Skype to chat back and forth with partiers in different time zones.  There were also screens showing the red carpet in LA.  If you’re wondering what celebs showed up, PopSugar has a good photo gallery.

Downstairs on the big screens the party in LA was being broadcast while DJ Morse Code spun tunes.  The bars were open and I think T-Mobile paid me back for a few months of data service.  The highlight of the night in San Francisco was DJ Jazzy Jeff showing us all that he still has skills on the turntables.  But perhaps even bigger news was from the LA party where Blink-182 reunited and performed a “surprise” set, their first in over 4 years.  They only played a few songs but there’s already video up on YouTube:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If you have the chance to go to a T-Mobile party, take it.

What’s a Sidekick launch without official parties?  Of course T-Mobile isn’t going to give up the opportunity to throw a party, so they’re having launch parties for the new Sidekick LX 2009 tonight!  Rumor has it that there will be simultaneous parties in several cities across the country tonight: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Baltimore are on the list.

I’ll personally be hitting up the San Francisco party tonight, listening to tunes spun by DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Morse Code.  And of course I’ll be twittering it live with my shiny new LX 2009 Carbon.  You can follow the official hiptop3.com Twitter account at @hiptop3, or my personal account: @edrabbit.  We may even give some live video a shot and upload it to YouTube.

Tomorrow is the first concert of The Grammy Celebration Concert tour presented by T-Mobile Sidekick.  Leona Lewis and Gavin Rossdale will be performing at the Hollywood Palladium.  Don’t forget to bring your Sidekick so you can flash it at the door and get VIP status for the night!  Next stop is April 14th in San Francisco with Natasha Bedingfield and N.E.R.D.  Check out the official site for more info on how you can get tickets for future shows in Boston, Miami, and New York.

Remember that Grammy Tour last year that was sponsored by the T-Mobile Sidekick? Well it’s back again this year. T-Mobile is officially sponsoring the 51st Grammy Celebration Tour and they’ve announced dates and some performers!

Leona Lewis will be kicking things off in LA on April 9th, Katy Perry will be doing Miami (May 13th), and LL Cool J will be rocking New York on May 28th. They haven’t announced all of the other artists yet (last year they had 2-3 artists for each show), but they will be over the next few weeks over on sidekick.com and grammys.com. If last year’s line-up is any indication (John Legend, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Seal, etc.) then it should be another not-to-be-missed tour for Sidekickers.

* April 9th – Leona Lewis in Los Angeles, CA at the Hollywood Palladium
* April 14th – ??? in San Francisco, CA at the Warfield
* April 28th – ??? in Boston, MA at the House of Blues Boston
* May 13th – Katy Perry in Miami, FL at Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
* May 28th – LL Cool J in New York, NY at Terminal 5

So how do you get tickets? A limited amount of tickets will be available through special, in-store contests and giveaways at select T-Mobile stores in each city. The T-Mobile Sidekick website will also give you the chance to enter to win a VIP concert package.

Hope your city is on the list! I’ll see you guys at the San Francisco show!

T-Mobile just recently announced a partnership with the Recording Academy. They’ve been pretty good friends in the past, what with the whole Grammy Tour and all. This is just making it even more official.

If you’re not up for reading the whole press release here are the bullets:

– Announced the 5 winners of the “T-Mobile Sidekick Takes You to the GRAMMY Awards Sweepstakes“. It wasn’t you. 🙂

– T-Mobile is sponsoring the Pre-Grammy Gala on Feb 7th in Beverly Hills, CA

– One lucky winner will be the official T-Mobile Sidekick Reporter with an entertainment news show at the exclusive red carpet event. Auditions for the Sidekick reporter are on Jan. 31 at participating T-Mobile retail stores in Los Angeles.

– T-Mobile is sponsoring the Grammy Tour again this year. More details on dates, artists, locations, and tickets to come. I can’t wait!

Here’s the full press release:

T-MOBILE USA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RECORDING ACADEMY

T-Mobile and The Recording Academy to Bring Exclusive Music Experiences to Fans Across the Country

BELLEVUE, Wash., and LOS ANGELES – Jan. 28, 2009 – T-Mobile USA, Inc., today announced a new partnership with The Recording Academy® to launch an extensive, multifaceted marketing program in 2009 with T-Mobile and the T-Mobile® Sidekick®. Building on the success of last year’s program, the partnership offers T-Mobile Sidekick customers and music fans the opportunity to be a part of a series of remarkable music experiences throughout the year.

To kick off the partnership, T-Mobile launched a national consumer promotion called T-Mobile Sidekick Takes You to the GRAMMY Awards Sweepstakes, offering Sidekick customers a chance to win a prize package that is a music lover’s dream: a grand prize trip to Los Angeles to attend the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 8, including two tickets to the official post-awards-show party and a T-Mobile Sidekick device. Five grand prize winners and their guests have been selected at random from entries received electronically and by mail: Ella Valdez of Seattle, WA, Jason Abrahams of Decatur, GA, Vanessa Alex of Long Beach, CA, Daniel Colon of Bronx, NY, and Meaghan Leigh Morin of Cumberland, RI.

T-Mobile also will help sponsor the annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Feb. 7 presented by Sony Music Worldwide Chief Creative Officer and three-time GRAMMY winner Clive Davis and The Recording Academy. A Davis tradition for 30 years, the star-studded celebration, attended by artists and VIPs in the music and entertainment industry, will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. In honor of the celebration, T-Mobile will offer one lucky winner the chance to be the official T-Mobile Sidekick Reporter with an entertainment news show at the exclusive red carpet event, interviewing and mingling with the music industry’s elite. Auditions for the Sidekick reporter will take place on Jan. 31 at participating T-Mobile retail stores in Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to bring our Sidekick customers another year of unique, exclusive programming in partnership with The Recording Academy,” said Mike Belcher, vice president of branded communications and experience marketing, T-Mobile USA. “Starting with events at the Grammys, the expanded partnership will create special music experiences throughout the year to show appreciation to our loyal Sidekick customers who have always been at the forefront of the entertainment scene.”

“We are delighted that T-Mobile is once again partnering with us,” said Evan Greene, chief marketing officer of The Recording Academy. “With our partnership, we will be able to create a wide range of unique events and experiences that will engage fans and celebrate excellence in music.”

T-Mobile and The Recording Academy also will bring back the exclusive concert series launched in 2008, the GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour Presented by T-Mobile Sidekick. The tour consists of exclusive concerts featuring a lineup of GRAMMY-nominated and GRAMMY-winning artists from all genres of music. Details on the confirmed artists and concert dates will be announced at a later date, along with information on obtaining tickets and participating T-Mobile retail locations.

T-Mobile is tight with the Grammy people. You might remember earlier this year when they threw a bunch of concerts and gave out tickets to Sidekick users to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Grammys. Well, the 51st Grammys are coming up and T-Mobile is holding a contest for an all-expense paid trip for you and a friend to attend. Let me tell you, if it’s anything like my trips to the concerts, they’ll pull out all the stops and it will be a blast.

The awards ceremony is in Los Angeles on February 8th, 2009. There will be 5 winners, and each gets to bring a friend. You should get an SMS on your Sidekick that you can use to enter, or you can just go to www.sidekick.com and enter there. You have until Jan 16th, 2009 to get your entries in. After you enter you’ll also get a chance to get up to 5 additional entries by spreading the word to your friends too.

Set aside a few minutes on Saturday, December 13th to swing by your local T-Mobile store. You’ll score 100 free minutes just for walking in the door or you can land 200 minutes if you bring a friend. Got someone you know that’s about to buy a Sidekick (or one of those other T-Mobile phones)? Tell them to hold off for another couple of days and then take them in on Saturday. You’ll get $25 off your bill for referring them! And finally, if you sign up for @Home on December 13th, you’ll get the first month for free.

Of course the typical sort of disclaimers apply: Limited time offer, participating locations, see store for details, blah blah blah. One thing to note though is that this is only for postpaid and FlexPay customers. Sorry prepaid crew, you’re out of luck on this one.

Thanks to TmoNews for the word.

Six years ago today (Oct. 1st, 2002), the first black and white Sidekick was released to the public. It was groundbreaking, and a completely new approach to the cell phone market. Happy Birthday Sidekick! For more important dates in Sidekick history, check out our Sidekick Timeline