Gizmodo has an exclusive interview with Dwayne Wade, asking him a couple of questions regarding the limited edition Sidekick 3 that’s coming out with his name on it. Apparently the guy is a heck of a ball player, but not so much of a tech guy. The best question?

Giz: Our readers need to know: are you a Mac or PC guy?
D.W.: Neither. I’m a Sony guy.

20/20 has a small article up on how people are getting even over the Internet these days. Everything from thefts, to poor tippers and cheating boyfriends. The infamous Sidekick-celebrity Evan Guttman is of course part of the story for his site EvanWasHere.com/StolenSidekick. We reported on this awhile back, along with half the internet.

The other night I was talking with a friend about how great it would be to be able to access my Google Calendar from my Sidekick in order to add and view events. We lamented about the lack of a solution even though it seems like it should be possible. Then I heard about IMified this morning. IMified describes their service as such:

Imified is an instant messenger buddy that works across all major IM networks and offers access to a growing number of web applications, as well as productivity tools like notes, reminders, and todo’s. Imified helps you get things done faster.

In short, you can send an IM to their bot and Edit or View information on your different web-based applications such as Google Calendar, WordPress, Blogger, Backpack, etc. It just launched, so it’s totally beta at this point and bugs are expected as they work out the real-world usage. But so far it looks very promising! It’s also perfect for the Sidekick user as Instant Messaging is built into the device and always available. There are even shortcuts to save you the hassle of multiple IMs. Here are some more details on IMified:

Supported IM Clients:
– AIM
– Yahoo
– MSN
– Googletalk/Jabber

Supported Services:
– 30 Boxes
– Backpack
– Basecamp
– Blogger
– Google Calendar
– MoveableType
– Remember the Milk
– TypePad
– WordPress
– IMified Notes (for when you go over 50 notes on the Sidekick)
– IMified Reminders
– IMified Todos

We recommend checking it out now if you’re willing to put up with the bugs, or else just give them a few weeks and check them out when they’ve ironed out the initial issues.

No, it’s not the Sidekick 4. And it’s not another Sidekick 3, but more like a Hiptop II with less hardware features and a Sidekick 3 OS. Sharp is still the manufacturer on this one, so it’s not the Motorola device we’re guessing is in the works. It sounds like this is going to be targeted at people who don’t want to drop the cash on the full feature set of a Sidekick 3. Rumor has it that it will be missing a camera (good for those in high security jobs), no miniSD card, and of course no MP3 player since there’s no storage. That’s about all we’ve heard so far. No word on whether it will be carried by TMobile, or what it will be named. We doubt it will be a Sidekick, or even a Sidekick Light, but you can bet the OS is probably similar since that’s what Danger banks on. We’ve heard that the hardware is similar, however with a different screen (lower resolution cause it’s cheaper). We’re still digging for details past that.

FCC Link

It looks like T-Mobile has taken a brave step and setup a Sidekick wiki. Things are a little slow moving so far, but as with all wikis, if the users want to create it, it will grow. Is a wiki really needed, or do the forums [hiptop.com (official) and hiptop3.com (unofficial)] and websites already out there cover all the necessary bases for the Sidekick? Regardless, it is nice and refreshing to see T-Mobile stepping up and providing something like this for free to their users.

For those looking to add a little bit of customization to their Sidekick 3 without having to buy a limited edition device or deal with the task of disassembling and spray painting their device there is now an option. Colorware, the company probably best known for giving Apple users a choice other than black and white, is now coloring Sidekick 3s. You’ll have a huge choice of colors that you can mix and match at your command. It’ll only cost you $99-$129 depending on your color choices, and you’ll have to send in your Sidekick 3 and wait about a week. Not only will you have new colors, but you’ll get some additional scratch protection and color that won’t fade. All the more reason to buy a Sidekick 3 and make it your own.

The Sidekick as a protest tool? Student activists at the nation’s only university for the deaf and hearing impaired utilized handhelds, specifically Sidekicks, to organize a protest that led to the led to the ouster of incoming President Jane K. Fernandes. From the article:

After a sleepless night protesting at Gallaudet University, student government leader Christopher Corrigan was ready to crawl into a tent near a campus gate at 7:45 a.m. Then he felt the familiar buzz on his Sidekick wireless handheld computer.
…
Almost every Gallaudet student has a BlackBerry, Sidekick or other handheld. The students say the technology has brought them more equality and has opened up the world.

Read more..

We’ve been waiting and waiting for an official changelog for the 3.1 OS, but haven’t seen anything official yet. However, on the Hiptop.com forums (not associated with hiptop3.com) jenniferkvm posted the following:

The list updates I have handed down from my bosses include:

Correction to the battery level indicator.

Correction to battery charging icon. Previously the icon displayed charging even when th battery was fully charged. The OTA fixes this.

Previously the device might have had problems with powering on when the power button was used to power off. The OTA fixes this.

Previously, the clicking DONE in the address book will not save/close an address book edit. The OTA fixes that.

Som beeps in the sounds profile did not also flash the trackball. OTA fixes.

OTA will ensure that redialing occurs when button on headset is pushed after busy signal.

Added Menu + Cancel shortcut in Music Player to remove menu item in playlist editing menu.

Media Player used to be case sensitive when sorting playlists. After OTA, it is not case sensitive when sorting alphabetically.

OTA will allow deletion of multiple selections from a playlist.

Device locking up after going to “sleep”. OTA fixes that.

Fixes echo in Speaker mode.

Battery Cover Notification is noticable when keyguard is activated.

AND Lastly ( I know I saw a couple of threads on this):

Ya know how when you answered a call and the person on the other end couldn’t hear you for a few seconds? Drove ya NUTS!
Yeah, the OTA fixes that……

There’s your list kids……

For those that care about the celebrity crap (count us out), last week was the Sidekick 3 Limited Edition Release Party. E! Online has all the gossipy crap you could ever want on who was there.

October is a great month in the Hiptop / Sidekick community. Watch the video for more info on two of the contests going on this month:

Then follow the links:
HiptopHunt Halloween Hunt!
sk3themes theme contest
Cash and Prizes await the winners!