T-Mobile is launching the new Sidekick LX (2009) on May 13th, but if you Pre Order yours now online you’ll get it earlier (When, is unknown.)

Here’s the featureset:
3G Enabled
Social Networking apps (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) built in
GPS Live Search and Geotagging photos
3.2″ TFT LCD (F-WQVGA 854×480 pixels)
Thinnest Sidekick Ever
3.2MP Camera with AutoFocus
Record your own Ringtones
Carbon (Black) or Orchard Finish

Pre order with 2year contract for $199.99 (Plus taxes and fees, and a 50 dollar Mail In Rebate) at Sidekick.com or buy without contract for 449.99.

*Note: When we spoke with T-Mobile we were told we would NOT have to change the old 19.99 plan to use the 3G on the new devices.

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.

We got the above screenshot in our email. According to the sender and the contents, it appears to be a memo to a Telstra Manager talking about the plans for the “Hiptop LX 2009“. (The Sidekick is marketed as the Hiptop in non-T-Mobile markets) It says that the 2009 was supposed to be release early this year, but is delayed due to “software compatibility issues” and the necessary repackaging for it to say Hiptop/Telstra instead of Sidekick/T-Mobile. The email goes on to say that they expect these delays will “be resolved in the March/April period” and that more info will be sent out then. It mentions that Telstra is going to release the Sidekick 2009 before T-Mobile, much like the Sidekick Slide was released.

We’re filing this under “we hope it’s true” but are very very skeptical. The proof is lacking in context and easily replicated. Just grab a Telstra logo off the web, type up some text, slap it together in Microsoft Word, and save as a PDF. So, if there are any Australian readers out there that can get us more info, please do so! We’d love to hear that this is a worldwide release.

Alright gang, we’ve got some Sidekick 2009 info for you. Here’s the details on the camera that we’ve been able to find out so far.
* It will take photos up to a resolution of 2038 x 1536, meaning 3.2 megapixels.
* There’s a flash, so those grainy shot-in-the-dark photos will be possible.
* There is a new auto-focus feature, so you shouldn’t have to use the jewelry loupe/magnifying glass trick to get up close shots of things.
* Video recording sounds like it’s set to 15 frames per second for now. But might be possible for 30fps.
* You will be able to upload directly to MySpace, Photobucket, and YouTube
* It will support geotagging

All pretty much straight-forward information. For those that don’t know what geotagging is, it means that you can embed location information in the photos you take. So if you take a photo at your friends house and then upload it to a site that supports the geotagging info, it’ll show up on a map at the location you took it. This uses the GPS that’s coming in the Sidekick 2009. It’s all pretty good info, and about what we’d expect from a Sidekick camera.

We knew it was coming. We knew they were visiting and they answered the call. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the photo we’ve all been waiting for. May we present to you, the Sidekick 2009 aka the Sidekick Blade.

We’ve got another mock-up of the Sidekick 2009 sent in by a reader (who even watermarked for us!). If anyone thinks this thing isn’t confirmed by now, they aren’t paying attention. Now we’re just waiting for a photo of it in the wild.

We’ve been emailing back and forth with a reader who claims to have actually held and played with the Sidekick 2009/Blade. We won’t spill the details on how because we don’t want anyone to get in trouble, but here are some of the things he said:

* It looks pretty much like the mock-ups we’ve seen so far, stripe along the back and all
* It’s lighter and “has a more grown up feel to it”
* The keys are more flush with the device and are “flat not round like the lx”
* The USB and headphone jacks are indeed on the bottom of the device
* There is a flash for the camera
* There’s an app for your “My T-Mobile info” that lets you pull up your info (minutes used, sms sent, account info, etc)
* There are lights running along the top of the screen part. Mood-lights anyone?
* It’s being called “Montreal” as an internal codename for T-Mobile. “Blade” is the internal name at MSDanger. It will be sold as the Sidekick 2009.
* It will be running DangerOS 5.0

I know, this is just “some guy said” sort of news, and as such we’re still kind of required to toss this in the “Rumors” category. That being said, we’d put money on the above statements being true.

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.

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