Archive for the 'Sidekick iD' Category

Why does T-Mobile like the idea of the Sidekick iD?

Friday, April 13th, 2007

Greg Andrews, the director of marketing at T-Mobile has a few press blurbs via video snippets on why the Sidekick iD is going to be a great device. Apparently it’s all about individuality and customization. Personally, we’re still curious to see if there will be any way to load themes without an SD card or if you’ll be limited to the catalog.

Videos:
The iD stands for individuality:
The Youth Market:
Sidekick iD Customization:
Sidekick iD Release Date:

More Sidekick iD Videos

Friday, April 13th, 2007

Our favorite so far is this press release video that was released today. It’s intent is to show people using their Sidekick iDs in everyday life. One problem… the woman in the video is talking into the wrong end.

Sidekick iD Video

Friday, April 13th, 2007


John Biggs over at CrunchGear has a video showing off the swappable bumper covers on the new Sidekick iD.

Sidekick iD is here officially

Thursday, April 12th, 2007

Sidekick iD

T-Mobile went ahead and announced the Sidekick iD officially and the embargo has been lifted on the device. The Sidekick iD reviews are already starting to hit the web, with a flurry of photos as well. T-Mobile posted a press release on their wiki and Crunchgear has the first full review. Their review can basically be summed up with the following paragraph:

If you have an SK3, you won’t want the SK ID. It’s not for you. At $99, this phone is priced for the same folks who might get a RAZR, but instead pick up a hot little messaging phone. The UI is exactly the same as the SK3’s. The only real difference is there is no camera or MP3 playback options. Instead, Danger has added a photo album feature that lets you move emailed photos to your album. It is also MyFaves compatible. There is also no memory-card slot nor is there a USB port.

Pics from Gizmodo:
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Pics from Crunchgear:
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T-Mobile’s news release below:

T-Mobile Sidekick iD Makes A Statement
Personalization and Affordable Style Drive T-Mobile Sidekick iD

BELLEVUE, Wash. – April 13, 2007 – T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announces the new T-Mobile® Sidekick® iD, offering the latest in personalization on a communication device at an accessible price of $99.1 Designed to include the spontaneous communication features synonymous with the iconic brand, the T-Mobile Sidekick iD also offers spur-of-the-moment personalization with easily removable and replaceable exterior panels.

The customizable exterior of the T-Mobile Sidekick iD provides quick modification of the outside of the device with fashionable colors to match anyone’s style, mood or that evening’s outfit. Inside the device, customers will feast on the famous buffet of communications capabilities that make it simple to stay directly connected with family and friends, or stay on top of their favorite social networks and other Web sites.2

The T-Mobile Sidekick iD is designed for virtually anytime, anywhere communication through voice calling and a robust variety of options for messaging-based communication. The signature swivel screen is designed to be a large, color window into one’s own personal life. The screen moves to reveal the full QWERTY keyboard providing the luxury of staying connected through the always-on access to e-mail, instant messaging (AIM®, Yahoo!® and Windows Live Messenger), and text messaging.

“The T-Mobile Sidekick has always been about freedom of expression and communicating with style,” said Greg Andrews, director, marketing, T-Mobile USA. “With the T-Mobile Sidekick iD, we’re expanding on the theme of individuality by increasing the personalization aspect and providing pricing that is accessible to a wide range of consumers.”

The T-Mobile Sidekick iD will have T-Mobile’s myFavesSM available out of the box. The unique myFaves experience provides additional customization as the home screen contains images of the five people that matter most or are called the most often. The myFaves interface also enables access to a straightforward communications menu for effortless calling, texting, multimedia messaging and e-mail. Customers can choose from a range of myFaves plans to get unlimited calling to those five designated people — to any number in the U.S., even land lines (excluding toll-free and 900 numbers) — that make up their personal network.3

Key features of T-Mobile Sidekick iD include the easily personalized hardware to express individuality and style as well as the following:

* T-Mobile Sidekick’s signature swivel screen with a large landscape color display (2.4-inch screen with 65K colors and 240X160 pixels) for improved viewing of Web pages and contacts
* A full HMTL Web browser with enhancements for faster downloading and optimized viewing2
* Beneath the screen, a full QWERTY keyboard ideal for speedy instant messaging and other text-based communication
* Dedicated support for three major instant messaging clients (AIM, Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger) with the ability to hold up to 10 IM conversations at one time to stay constantly connected to a social circle
* Support for personal e-mail with a dedicated “t-mail” account or use of an already existing personal e-mail account
* Inclusion of myFaves for additional personalization and the benefit of unlimited calling to any number on any network, including landlines, to stay connected to the five people who matter most
* A convenient trackball for one-handed navigation and an improved gaming experience
* A speedy ARM9 processor to handle the massively multitasking communicators
* Replaceable battery with up to 5.3 hours of talk time and 6 days of standby
* Dimensions: 5.12 x 2.48 x 0.87 inches; 6.2 ounces with standard battery
* Accessories available in black, yellow, blue, white, purple and glow-in-the-dark

The T-Mobile Sidekick iD will be available for $99.99 (with a qualifying two-year contract and mail-in rebate) at T-Mobile retail locations and online at www.t-mobile.com beginning April 25. For more information on T-Mobile Sidekick, please visit www.sidekick.com.

[1] Taxes additional; requires activation of a qualifying two-year service plan and Sidekick data plan. 2 Separate charges may apply to some features. Not all Web sites optimized for mobile browsers. 3 Nationwide plan; myFaves contacts limited to total of five U.S. phone numbers (certain exceptions apply); minimum one-year service agreement required.

SKID is almost here

Thursday, April 12th, 2007


Gizmodo has a teaser up about a review of the Sidekick iD coming this evening at midnight. They managed to get ahold of one before the public launch and did a review of it. They also mention “we’ll dissect it and let you folks know” which makes us wonder if they truly are going to take apart the device. We just want to know where our Danger Zante is for review.

via Gizmodo

The SKiD is colorful and coming next month

Friday, March 30th, 2007



Everyone is slipping these days. Looks like the Rebate guys over at T-Mobile were a little quick to jump the gun and information on the Sidekick iD’s release date, rebate amount, and available colors slipped out. The rebate will be $50, the release date looks like April 18th, and you’ll have your choice of blue, pink, or yellow at first. From what we hear the colors will actually be changeable, so no need to buy all three to match your outfits. They’ll be like the bumpers were on the Sidekick IIs. With the already low price and the rebate, these are almost like disposable Sidekicks, handy for the situations where you wouldn’t want to take your several hundred dollar Sidekick 3.

Rebate Form (PDF)

Thanks Engadget

SKiD Marks at CTIA 2007

Thursday, March 29th, 2007


Looks like someone might be in some hot water over at UT Starcom after a banner was put up by their booth with a larger than life Sidekick iD. Of course the device hasn’t been officially launched yet, and T-Mobile probably wasn’t happy that someone was jumping the gun on their marketing. I can just imagine the conversation at the UT Starcom booth:

“Why is this banner up? This isn’t supposed to be up yet, it’s not official!”
“Oh @!#$ Should we take it down?”
“No, that would be too obvious that we’re trying to hide something. Let’s just spraypaint over the ‘iD’ parts”
“Brilliant!”

Yes, with a can of black spray paint they covered up the ‘iD’ name and the buttons, leaving the familiar screen and keyboard. This led the boys over at Gizmodo to speculate that the keyboard and the screen will be the same. Keyboard, yes. Screen, no. They’re going with a lower quality screen to help keep costs down.

Thanks to Gizmodo for the photos and everyone who emailed this one in.

The Sidekick ID, the SKiD!

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007


When it rains, it pours… We’ve gotten confirmation from several sources that the new Sidekick will be dubbed the Sidekick ID, or the SKiD for short. (Yes, we know, be glad we didn’t pick a different picture for this post) This is the PV-150 we’ve seen on the FCC site, and heard in passing the past few months. Consider it confirmed now though. The details? It’s going to be about $100 with a 2 year contract and $150 with a 1 year contract. No bluetooth, no camera, no miniSD, no MP3 player, etc. Basically it will be a phone, web browser, and AIM client, with the addition of MyFaves. Why would you buy this? It’s inexpensive, people that can’t have camera phones at work can take it to work, and it’ll probably end up being one of those “Free with activation” phones further down the road. Expect it to hit in the next month or two, leaked pictures before then.

UPDATE: Speaking of leaked pictures, CrunchGear already has one: