The original Sidekick was positioned as a data centric device, and as such was offered with plans that, while they offered unlimited data, included only a handful of voice call minutes per month. However, things have changed in the 3 years since the original Sidekick was released. Now in its 3rd iteration, the Sidekick 3 is a fully functional phone and offers far more data connectivity than was available in the original.
The T-Mobile Sidekick 3 features a number of improvements, including a sleeker design, a 1.3-megapixel camera, an integrated music player, Bluetooth, and EDGE support. It also has a Mini SD card slot, a speakerphone, and world phone support.
T-Mobile Sidekick 3 is a smart phone, it’s not quite suited for the busy corporate user, and the Sidekick’s manufacturer doesn’t hide that fact. It’s designed for users who want to keep on top of their social lifestyle rather than their workload, and for teens and twenty-somethings, the Sidekick is a solid and fun device.
At 5.1 by 2.3 by 0.8 inches, the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 is no different, measuring a hair thinner in width and depth than the Sidekick II. On the flip side, it’s marginally heavier than its predecessor at (6.7 vs. 6.5 ounces), but that’s not surprising, considering all the new features packed into the handset. Also, the Sidekick 3 now sports a more sophisticated black and silver color scheme, as opposed to the Sidekick II’s off white casing.
As in previous Sidekicks, the display on the Sidekick 3 can be flipped out to expose the QWERTY keyboard. To me, the action of the spring-assisted flip seems pretty much the same as on the older models.
A push on the bottom left corner of the display housing causes the entire unit to flip up and around 180 degrees, exposing the new QWERTY keyboard. I say “new” because, for the first time, the Sidekick’s keyboard is made up of individual buttons rather than the rubber over chicklet style keyboards that have been on past models. This change, along with the Sidekick’s wide form factor and generous key spacing, has made the Sidekick 3 the best device on the market for QWERTY text input.
T-Mobile’s Sidekick 3 has integrated Bluetooth 1.2, so you can pair the unit with other peripherals, such as a Bluetooth headset or a hands-free car kit, or you can wirelessly send a vCard to another Bluetooth device. In addition, it supports T-Mobile’s growing EDGE network, which means you can enjoy quicker (but still not 3G) speeds of around 100Kbps to 130Kbps. The Sidekick’s Web browser already does a good job of compressing and optimizing Web pages for viewing on the Sidekick, but with the added EDGE support, download times are even faster.
The Sidekick comes preloaded with three of the major instant-messaging clients: AOL, Yahoo, and MSN. You can hold up to 10 simultaneous conversations, and you can switch between conversations quickly by pressing the Menu and D buttons.
If you happen to lose your network connection in the midst of a session, the Sidekick will save the chat until a connection is restored. The Sidekick 3 also supports text and multimedia messaging.
As a phone, the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 offers all the standard features, including speed dial, call forwarding, three-way calling, a call log, a vibrate mode, and a speakerphone. The Sidekick’s address book holds up to 2,000 contacts, with room in each entry for five numbers, an e-mail address, an IM account, a Web URL, a street address, and notes. For caller-ID purposes, you can pair an entry with a photo, a group ID, or one of 22 ring tones.
Images captured with the Sidekick 3′s 1.3-megapixel camera were better than those I’ve snapped with other phone cameras, but still on the fuzzy side. The new music player plays MP3 files only; audio quality wasn’t great over the external speaker, but was quite good through the headphones.
One of the Sidekick 3′s most likable qualities is the ease with which it transfers music and photos to and from an included 64MB miniSD Card to a PC. There are no drivers to install: You simply connect the device to an available USB port using the included USB 1.1 cable, and the PC recognizes the miniSD Card as an external drive.
In my view, the Sidekick 3 has finally come of age. It now is phone enough for me to use on a day to day basis, while still offering most all of the advantages of a smartphone or PDA – including the best QWERTY keyboard available today. In future versions I look forward to possibly seeing a higher resolution display as well as getting a bit of weight shaved off.
For now, I am certain that the legions of Sidekick fans out there are going to be very pleased with this newest version of their favorite companion. For them, it should prove to be a worthy upgrade.
