Well, it’s been 5 months since we first found evidence of the Sidekick LX, but the day is finally upon us. Anyone out there can run to the T-Mobile store and grab a Sidekick LX of their own! (If you live in the US) Have you gotten yours? What color did you pick? The Midnight Blue or the Espresso Brown?

Along with the official press release from T-Mobile there’s also an announcement of the “T-Mobile Sidekick Video Contest” from Sidekick Nation:

In anticipation of the new devices’ launch, T-Mobile kicks off Sidekick Nation: T-Mobile Sidekick Video Contest. To enter the contest, fans across the country can create an original video, no longer than two minutes in length, which exemplifies how their Sidekick serves as their social lifeline. Videos are to be submitted on www.myspace.com/sidekicknation beginning October 2nd and no later than November 12th. On November 21st, the entries judged as finalists will be showcased on the Sidekick Nation MySpace page for community voting which will help determine the final winner who will win the ultimate grand prize: a new Sidekick LX, $10,000 and a trip to Los Angeles to attend a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! where highlights of the winning video will be aired.

For more information on Sidekick Nation: T-Mobile Sidekick Video Contest including the official contest rules, video submission guidelines, prize restrictions and regulations, please visit www.myspace.com/sidekicknation. For more information on the Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide, please visit www.sidekick.com.

No word yet on when the LX will make it overseas, but we’ll keep you posted!

The Sidekick LX has officially hit for current T-Mobile customers. IF you want yours, give Customer Care a call at 1-800-937-8997, or log in to My T-Mobile and click on “Upgrade Phone” in the bottom left. If you’re eligible for an upgrade it will let you select phones. The Sidekick is under the “Handhelds” tab.

– $299.99 with a 2 year contract extension
– $399.99 with no contract extension
– $15 for Express (3 business days) shipping on the phone. Free Express shipping if you order online apparently.
– $9.95 for UPS Ground (7 business days)
– Tracking number is your 10 digit phone number (including dashes)

We grabbed a Midnight Blue Sidekick LX, no contract extension, and Express shipping for a total of $444.86 after tax!

Which one did everyone get?

Don’t forget to get your microSD card for your Sidekick LX!

Thanks to Thomas for processing our order!

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.

Yes, the Sidekick LX has been confirmed by T-Mobile officially as well. Those of you that have been reading for the past few months won’t have any surprises.

Price: $299 with 2 year contract
Screen: 400×240 (high res 3″ screen)
Dimensions: 5.1in x 2.36in x 0.86in
Weight: 5.7 ounces
Battery: 6.8hrs talk time, 4 days standby
Memory: MicroSD slot
OS: DangerOS v4.4
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.
Colors: Midnight Blue and Espresso Brown
Mood lighting LEDs around the device that will flash with alerts
And all the other stuff you’ve come to know and love on your Sidekick 3, just in a new package.

The Sidekick LX will be available on October 17th for current customers in an upgrade procedure similar to the one for the Sidekick 3. Everyone else will have to wait till October 24th to get theirs.

Well now that both devices are official, which one are you getting and why? Tell us in the forum poll!

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?!

An official word has been sent from T-Mobile out to the retail stores. The email is below. In short, the Sidekick LX gets officially announced tomorrow, you don’t need to be a T-Mobile customer to get a Sidekick LX Reservation card, 5 stores will have in-store upgrades on October 17th.

Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:23:05 -0700
12920 SE 38th St.
Bellevue, WA 98006

Dear Store Managers,

In a couple of days your store will receive Sidekick LX Reservation Cards. The cards are part of a national promotion that begins on
Wednesday, September 26. The promotion supports the release of the Sidekick LX, which launches Wednesday, October 24.

This promotion is to help generate more traffic to your store and create excitement surrounding the release of the cool Sidekick LX.

Promotion Overview

· Your store will receive a specific number of Sidekick LX Reservation Cards (see pictures below). This number is based on the Sidekick LX handsets inventory your store will have at launch.

· Beginning Wednesday, September 26, through Wednesday, October 17, anyone, whether a current T-Mobile customer or not, can come into any T-Mobile Retail location and request a Reservation Card to ensure they can receive the new Sidekick LX at the time of launch.

· Reservation Cards should not be distributed to customers after Wednesday, October 17. This will allow Retail Replenishment to get the proper handset inventory levels to your store.

Retail Process for Receiving and Selling Sidekick LX Reservation Cards

Receiving Cards

· Cards have already started to ship from the Distribution Centers.

· The Sidekick LX Reservation Card, SKU SIDEKICKRSVP will need to be received into inventory following the normal Goods Receipts process (StreamLine > Sales > Retail Sales > Inventory).

· Information about the Sidekick LX Reservation Card promotion is confidential and may not be shared with customers before Wednesday, September 26.

· These cards may not be handed out to customer before Wednesday, September 26.

· Reservation Cards must not be transferred from one store to another store. Each store will only be shipped inventory for the amount of cards that were shipped to the store.

· Additional cards are not available for special order.

Requirements In Order for the Reservation Card to be Valid

· RSRs needs to fill in your store’s address on the blank area provided to ensure the customer returns the card to your store on
October 24.
· Customers must return to the original store they received their Reservation Card to purchase the Sidekick LX.
· The Reservation Card must be stapled to the original receipt that was given with the card.
· The card is only valid on October 24. Each card reserves one Sidekick LX, but does not guarantee a particular handset color.

Processing Cards in POS

· Each card that is given to a customer needs to be scanned out of POS.
· Do not capture a customer’s name in POS. Use the No Input button in POS.
· Scan the barcode located on the back of the Reservation Card.
· The price in POS will default to $.01.
· Perform a price override to $.01 using the price override code of in-store rebate.
· Tender the transaction.
· Print out two copies of the receipt. Keep one copy for your store’s nightly paperwork.
· Staple the Reservation Card to the customer’s receipt.
· Remind the customer that they must return to your store to pick up their reserved Sidekick LX.
· Do not attempt to order more Reservation Cards once you sell out of them. Do not transfer extra cards from store to another.

If POS is down, process the transaction manually following the Downtime Procedures which can be found on the Retail Sales Homepage in StreamLine.

Day of Sidekick LX Launch

· During store business hours on October 24, the customer will bring this card back to the Retail location where they received it, and the store will have a new Sidekick LX waiting for them to purchase.
· Stores are responsible for putting aside one Sidekick LX for each card handed out.
· Beginning October 25, any Sidekicks set aside that have not been purchased can be sold to any customer. The Sidekick LX Reservation Card is no longer valid after October 24.
· When the customer returns to the store on October 24 with their Reservation Card, do not return the card in POS. Simply collect the card from the customer, so we can track how many cards were redeemed.
· During store closing on October 24, please count all redeemed cards and report back to your Market Manager.

Key Dates

· September 26 – Sidekick LX is announced to the public, and customers can begin requesting Reservation Cards at all T-Mobile
Retail stores
· October 17 – Last day to give out Reservation Cards
· October 24 – Sidekick LX becomes available to any customer and Reservation Cards can be redeemed
· October 25 – Any unclaimed Sidekick LX handsets set aside for promotion can now be sold to any customer

Note: Five T-Mobile Retail Stores will have in-store upgrades for current T-Mobile customers on Wednesday, October 17. If your store is in one of these markets and a T-Mobile customer comes into your store looking for a Sidekick LX Reservation Card, first recommend that they go to one of the following locations on October 17:

· Atlanta (#5725 Buckhead)
· Chicago (#8428 State & Monroe)
· Los Angeles (#7393 Santa Monica)
· Miami (#6844 Kendall Corners)
· New York (#8882 Times Square)

This is the final communication piece for this promotion. Some of the directions in this piece may contradict thedirections that will arrive to your stores in the packages of Sidekick LX Reservation Cards. Please
abide by these directions.

If you have any questions, please e-mail [email removed by hiptop3.com].

Sincerely,

The Retail Event Marketing Team

We got ours from the local T-Mobile store, did you?

More pics:

   

Ahh blurry pictures (of pictures) of new devices, our favorite. No words needed other than, October 24th. Well, maybe you want to know what the card says without squinting:

The wait is almost over! On October 24 during store business hours, you can bring this card to the retail location where you received it and we’ll have a new Sidekick LX waiting for you to purchase. With fantastic features like access to MySpace 24/7, and a larger, sharper high res screen, you won’t be disappointed

Thanks JRE!

If T-Mobile says it, it’s pretty much official. The Sidekick Slide (aka the Sidekick Zante) is coming in October, at least to the UK. On T-Mobile UK’s Coming Soon page they have a listing for the Sidekick Slide with “Expected October” listed (along with a confirmation of a 1.3megapixel camera). We find it pretty odd that the UK would get a Sidekick model before the US based on the history of the devices being released. In the past a device has always launched in the US and then trickled out to other markets. Perhaps this is a change in things and T-Mobile is trying out the Slide in the UK market before releasing it in the US. This would definitely explain the lack of FCC documents so far. It looks like maybe the US will be getting the Sidekick LX while others will be getting the Sidekick Slide, at least for the time being.

Thanks Luca

UPDATE: Looks like T-Mobile has pulled the listing from the Coming Soon page….

Some of those MySpace kids who keep a close eye on things have noticed that DJ AM has a “Private” event with T-Mobile on October 16th listed in his MySpace profile. DJ AM has played previous Sidekick release parties, including the Sidekick II and 3. There’s no information on whether this is for the Sidekick Slide or the Sidekick LX (or both) yet. Our first guess is that it’s for the Sidekick Slide. Our second guess is that it’s for both devices, and our third guess is that it’s for the Sidekick LX. The Sidekick Slide has been out and about being tested longer than the Sidekick LX, but who knows what decisions T-Mobile is making behind closed doors. Regardless, be on the lookout for at least one of the new devices in mid-October.