Looks like the FCC docs for a “Slide Dual-band CDMA Phone with Bluetooth/WLAN” made by Sharp have shown up on the FCC site. The model number, PB20ZU, is unsuprisingly close to that of the Turtle.

Of course, nothing juicy like external shots until 180 days after the filing, which would put us out at early August. I imagine the Pink devices will be out by then, or at least for Microsoft’s sake I would hope so.

For the record, the FCC ID is APYNAR0066.

FCC site

Looks like one of Microsoft’s Pink phones, the “Turtle“, hit the FCC. Model PB10ZU appears to packed with dual-band CDMA, EVDO, Bluetooth, and 802.11b/g. There’s also a reference to PB20ZU (the “Pure” perhaps?) but no details on that one. March 29th is the date to wait till for the rest of the FCC docs to be released. For the record, the FCC ID is APYNAR0067.

FCC Docs via Engadget

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:

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

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

Michael left a comment on one of my previous posts about the Sidekick 2009 FCC Filings? about an additional filing for the same device from Option N.V. with two more photos, and a bit more info. Here’s what he had to say:

On that list is a document called Modular Approval Letter which has a couple more pictures (to show the location of the Bluetooth antenna and antenna connector), and which states that the device consists of:

‘Modem OS: AMSS
CPU: Qualcomm MSM7201A
Display interface: MDDI interface
Memory: 128MB SDRAM / 256MB NAND Flash
Keyboard Input: Digital interface supporting full QWERTY keyboard
RF Technology: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Camera interface: digital interface to camera sensor
Other I/F: microSD card slot x1, microphone, speaker, vibrator, trackball interface, Stereo headset port, USB port, A-GPS, Bluetooth
RF: UMTS/HSDPA Band I, Band IV, Band V
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
GPS
Bluetooth’

If a bit of online research I did is accurate:
The HSDPA Bands I (2100MHz), IV (1700MHz), and V (850MHz) are used by T-Mobile.
The Qualcomm MSM7201A integrated chipset has been used in existing mobile devices including the G1.

Certainly seems that this is to be part of a smartphone type of mobile device for the T-Mobile network…

Great detective work Michael! The Qualcomm MSM7201A is a pretty common CPU and is used in many devices, including the G1. All the features seem to line up with the expected Sidekick 2009 too. If you want to take a peek at the PDF that lists all this, it’s on the FCC site and we’ve mirrored it here: Option Wireless FCC Modular Approval Doc.

What do you guys think? Sidekick 2009 or not?

With the mention of FCC filings, we’ve gotten several messages about a filing from Option Wireless in mid-January. We took a look at this originally, and were not really sure whether this could be the Sidekick. The more we look at it and research, the more it looks like it just might be. First off, the filing itself is _not_ for a Sidekick, but for a “GSM/UMTS/GPS Module CU1407”. Basically just the radio and GPS (not the cpu, circuit board, keyboard, etc).

The photo, as you can see with our added markups (click for full size), really looks like it could be the right side of a Sidekick 2009, with the 4 buttons, and space for a trackball, not to mention the port in the lower right that could very well be a mini-usb port. We can’t think of anything else that would look like a Sidekick 2009 so much.

So why aren’t we calling this one 100% for sure?

A minor point is that the last two Sidekicks (LX and 2008) have both used Enfora radios. Since the Sidekick 2009 is a 3G phone, it’s very possible that MSDanger would be switching to a different manufacturer.

Also, in the filings there’s this bit:

The antenna(s) used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all the persons and must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.

This is fine for cards that are meant to go in laptops (Option’s normal product), but totally unacceptable for mobile phones that are held against your head. We’re hoping that this is just Option covering their butts and putting the responsibility of brain-tumor-testing on Sharp/MSDanger because they do also say “If the final product after integration is intended for portable use, a new application and FCC is required.”

And finally, this is not technically a filing for the Sidekick 2009. It’s just for the radio module that might be used in the Sidekick 2009, but has the potential to be used in any other devices. So while the confidentiality agreements say an expiration of April 13th, 2009 don’t get your hopes up for an April 1st release just yet. We still need to see the Sidekick 2009 show up.

Can you tell that we really want this to be the Sidekick 2009? If you want to take a peak at the FCC filings for yourself here they are: FCC ID: NCMOCU1407

We’re getting a couple emails each day letting us know that PhoneDog is pegging the Sidekick 2009 release date for April 1st at CTIA. While we’re just like you guys, we hope the Sidekick 2009 comes out earlier rather than later, we’re not too sure if MSDanger/T-Mobile will be able to hit that date. Here are the thoughts we have:

* Releasing new products at CTIA isn’t great from a marketing standpoint. Your announcement can get lost in all the press about everything else.
* BUT we did however see the Sidekick iD info leak out accidentally via CTIA. It wasn’t an official announcement, but still something.

* An April 1st release does mean that the Grammy Tour could be used for some excellent marketing opportunities and increase the hype around this long-awaited upgrade to the Sidekick line.
* BUT last year’s Grammy Tour (also around April) saw the Sidekick LX as the showcase device, even though the Sidekick 2008 dropped 3 months later in July.

* We know the device is in the hands of some trial users and is being tested in the wild.
* We haven’t found a filing on the FCC for this device yet. With the Sidekick 2008 we saw FCC docs around May 2008, with the device releasing about 3 months later at the end of July. With the Sidekick LX we found FCC docs in the beginning of August 2007, device was released mid-October, again in the 2-3 month range. This FCC filing is legally required for the device to hit the market in the US, but companies don’t want to file early otherwise us rumor sites get some indisputable proof. Even if we find an FCC filing today, April 1st gives them only a month. Not impossible, but cutting it pretty close. Anyone found the FCC filing yet?

So, like I said, we want to believe, but every day that goes by without seeing any promotional material or FCC filings makes us less and less hopeful.

The confidentiality request for the FCC docs for the Sidekick 2008 (Gekko) has expired and all the docs submitted to the FCC are now available on their site. There’s not much new and exciting since the Sidekick is already out and everyone and their brother is picking one up. But there are some internal photos of the device as well as some photos showing how they test the device to make sure it doesn’t microwave your brains. It’s also kind of interesting to know where the actual antennas are located on the device. If that kind of stuff interests you, here are some of the pics we pulled out:

Original FCC Docs

What you’re looking at is the required FCC label for the next Sidekick. What we’re assuming is the Sidekick Gekko/Aspen is now up on the FCC site as a device manufactured by Sharp named PV210. It’s always nice to see a device confirmed by the FCC because that means their is actually a physical device in the hands of someone. Even with the recent excitement of T-Mobile launching their 3G network, the PV210 is not a 3G device, it’s just good old GSM-850 and PCS1900. Beyond that all we can gather from the FCC docs is that it still uses a microSD card, which means support for music, (probably) videos, themes, and more. Oh, and it has a removable battery, no big surprise there.

The confidentiality on the filed documents expires on August 16th, so unless the FCC screws up then we won’t be seeing the FCC filed pictures of the device until after the rumored July release date. We’ll just have to find some other way to get pictures of the device in the wild. But this date means we’ll definitely be seeing a new Sidekick by August!

FCC Docs

FCC Docs for the Sidekick Slide have finally hit the FCC site today (FCC ID: IHDT56HE1). What’s surprising though is that the user manual has been posted as well as external and internal photos of the device. Normally a confidentiality request is submitted to hold this info under wraps until close to release date. It looks like Motorola skipped on this part, so it means the device is coming out soon. This also means that the device will be released in the states, most likely on October 16th at that T-Mobile Release Party. For those interested in the FCC docs, we’ve mirrored copies here so you don’t have to trudge through the FCC site. They’re all in PDF format though.

Confidentiality Request
Exhibit 1 FCC ID Label and Location
Exhibit 2 Attestation Statements
Exhibit 3 External Photos
Exhibit 6A1 Bluetooth Report
Exhibit 6A2 UL Test Report
Exhibit 7 Test Setup Photos
Exhibit 7A UL Test Setup Photos
Exhibit 8 Users Manual
Exhibit 8A Supplemental Users Manual
Exhibit 9 Internal Photos
Supplemental Response to IHD7621

Thanks to EngadgetMobile for the find and for pulling out the images