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Handhelds Hardware

Color Sidekick to be Released Tomorrow 221

Posted by CmdrTaco from the hardware-to-desire dept.
Saxton writes "Just announced by hiptop.com's T-Mobile Rep, the awaited Color Sidekick will be available at CompUSA and 1-800-TMOBILE tomorrow. The thread is here. Now available is a data-only plan for $29.99, and you can now use any other T-Mobile price plan with the Sidekick. Anyone meeting me at CompUSA tomorrow morning?" Here is my Review of the Original device, which I still think is among the most useful portable electronic devices I've seen. I'm looking forward to testing out the new version to see what improvements have been made to an already great unit.
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Color Sidekick to be Released Tomorrow More

Color Sidekick to be Released Tomorrow

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  • SSH? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by interiot ( 50685 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @09:27AM (#6123536) Homepage
    I'd buy one of these things pretty quickly if they could do SSH. Does anyone know if that's working on the SideKick?
    • I've heard that the SDK [danger.com] comes with source and a binary for SSH.

    • Re:SSH? (Score:5, Informative)

      by jhsewell ( 620291 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @10:15AM (#6124036)
      I suspect that we may all still have a very long wait until we (non-developers) can install applications on our (non-development) SideKicks.

      Like you, I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an SSH client for my SK. The fact that the application has existed for months, and that I've played with it on the emulator, and that it appears to be fully functional just makes the wait more frustrating.

      Although the guys at Danger are relatively responsive and appear to be competent, they seem to have an excruciatingly long software developement cycle. Combine this with the closed nature of the SK's operating system and application distrubution mechanism, and I would be suprised if we have SSH running on the SK any time soon.

      As I understand it, Danger must revise and upgrade the SideKick's operating system before you'll be able to install applications. And even after the upgrade, obtaining and installing new applications will never be straight-forward in the same way that it is with PalmOS or PocketPC phones. I suspect that the mass-distribution of applications will require the blessing and cooperation of Danger Inc. to provide the backend equipement for over-the-air installations.

      Hopefully, this color SK will have the needed OS revisions to allow the installation of applications, or better yet come with SSH built-in.
      • With unlimited data plans, I can't wait for the first developer to get VoIP working.

      • Re:SSH? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Benley ( 102665 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @11:47AM (#6124883) Journal
        You're very close to the problem, but not quite right on. The best explanation for the reason normal non-developers can't have SSH right now (aside from needing an OS update, which is indeed true), is that T-Mobile has to approve everything that goes out to their customers. This is exactly the reason why app distribution will never be as straightforward as it is with PalmOS or PocketPC phones: T-Mobile is scared to death of this thing (well, sorta.) - in particular, the concern is of 3rd party developers writing apps that access the data that hiptops store on t-mobile's servers (every bit of info you put in the hiptop is stored on t-mobile's servers as well as the hiptop. Yes, this is a Good Thing, trust me) - anyway they don't want 3rd party developers screwing things up and creating tech support nightmares for them.

        • Re:SSH? (Score:3, Insightful)

          by FatherOfONe ( 515801 )
          Not trying to start a war here, but why is it a good thing that they mirror all the data on your device with their server? I would prefer the ability to back up that data via bluetooth/80x.11x/FireWire/USB etc to a machine of my choosing. I am not a big fan of anyone having that information.
          • Well, I suppose it is a very bad thing for anyone who worries about tmobile snooping on them. However, the reason I personally like it (I keep my ultra s33kr3t stuff elsewhere) is because if I accidently drop my hiptop in a toilet, or run it over with a lawnmower, or otherwise destroy it, my data doesn't disappear with it. It's truly great, particularly for someone as scatterbrained as I am - I have lost data many times to PDAs as I never remember to sync them with anything.
            • I think the real issue is making syn-ing easy for you to use. Specifically if it could be automated to sync every time it found it's source. I.E. 802.11x or bluetooth, and your computer was turned on (max 1 time a day) Obviously, that would have to be an option. That way every time you came in to range of your computer at home (and it was on) it would automatically sync.

              I somewhat trust T-mobile, but the temptation to sell user data is great. The company I use to work for could sell it's user database

              • That's a really cool idea - and I think it's something that will be possible with the hiptop in the very near future. Danger is currently testing some XMLsync code that will let developers get at their data pretty easily, so custom syncing software ought to be quite possible. A friend of mine has the stuff right now, he says he's working on getting it to work with apple's iSync (not that easy, since Apple hasn't documented how iSync works yet). Anyway, 802.11x or Bluetooth are irrelevant in this device's

    • I recently got a , which has a color palm integrated. The link is to the cached page with Google as Samsung's website seems to be /.'d before my posting this. [216.239.57.100]

      I run Top Gun SSH and it rocks.

      With my Sprint plan (It also can be used with Verizon) I get unlimited web connectivity which doesn't eat the minutes of my plan.
    • The Handspring Treo 300 ($199 at Amazon.com [amazon.com]) can do SSH via Top Gun SSH. It also has the benefit of using the Sprint PCS network, which is much larger than the T-Mobile network and runs at 128K instead of 19.2K. (The difference is huge.)

      The really cool thing about the Treo is that you can hook it up via a USB cable to your laptop and get Internet access anywhere you have a Sprint PCS connection. This means that you can be on the Internet pretty much anywhere without worrying about wireless hotspots. (Treo [treocentral.com]

  • Color Timekeeper (Score:3, Funny)

    by briggsb ( 217215 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @09:28AM (#6123562)
    That's all well and good but I'm waiting for this PDA [bbspot.com] to be released in color.

  • Compusa (Score:5, Informative)

    by cdf12345 ( 412812 ) * on Thursday June 05, 2003 @09:29AM (#6123569) Homepage Journal
    Here is the compusa page:

    http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp ?p roduct_code=303888&pfp=SEARCH

    It looks like they are in stock and available for pickup in the Northeast US. The price seems high, and they will probably change it to $299 on friday.

  • piccies? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Machine9 ( 627913 )
    Has anyone got any links to pictures of the device, that is so cool, it provokes slashdotters to see red?

  • Features I need (Score:4, Funny)

    by Seth Finklestein ( 582901 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @09:46AM (#6123753) Journal

    I am boycotting these so-called "PDAs" until they provide the following features.

    1. Integrated 802.11g access. I'm not paying 2 cents per kilobyte for GPRS.
    2. Full QWERTY keyboard including critically important characters such as | and ~
    3. Color screen with a resolution of at least 640x480
    4. Linux operating system with all code open-sourced
    5. Terminal with all GNU utilities and SSH
    6. Priced under $100 with no contract requirement

    In the meantime, I'm sorry but this gets a 2.5 out of 10 on the Seth Finklestein scale of greatness.

    • Re:Features I need (Score:3, Informative)

      by Saxton ( 34078 )
      ...and let me guess: So you can make a beowulf cluster of them? ...and to comment on a couple of your points (heheh) 1. Unlimited Data plan (not .02/kb) and 2. it does include the tilde. We'll have to wait for the release of the version that includes pipe, though. ;-)

      Funny post... but c'mon, give it at least a 3.5!
      • Don't forget that the B&W Sidekick had huge rebates and price drops a couple of months after release. You could by it for under $100, or even free, though there was still a 1-year contract.
    • I am boycotting these so-called "PDAs" until they provide the following features.

      Yes, I have also decided to never purchase a PDA :)

    • And you get a 10 out of 10 on the Phil Evans scale of unnecessary embolding!

      ;-)

      P

    • If you read the linked site (or the official page for the previous version), it's unlimited flat-rate data, in strong contrast to the norm in this industry.

    • Re:Features I need (Score:1, Interesting)

      by schalliol ( 676467 )
      Yes, and I would like handwriting recognition, GPS, 8 mega-pixel camera (integrated), waterproof, voice recognition, card slot for ultrawideband, and a toaster too. Oh yeah, needs to be less than $10. Get realistic. This is a phone that can be carried around all the time with you. 1. This is not needed, though better GPRS coverage would be nice, there's no usage charges, it's all you want for one low price. 2. The pipe key "|" is anything but critically important, though you can display it if you want.
    • Likewise, only I'm more in the market for:- 1. a hard drive (or wait until Flash gets so cheap I can put 2GB+ in the thing). Being limited to one or two MP3 albums' worth of expensive Flash memory sticks is not acceptable. 2. programmability. I don't care if the OS is Linux, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. If the OS is Linux, I don't have to care about the number of keyboard keys or the bundled software as I know they kbd can easily be remapped and new s/ware installed. However, at the minimum, it has to
    • Forum thread on how to get a pipe character [hiptop.com].

      Basically, you can make a macro that will write out any Unicode character, so pipe is available (as pointed out elsewhere, tilde is on the keyboard).

      mahlen

      Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. --Oscar Wilde, British playwright, poet, and novelist (1854-1900)

    • they do make these. they are called 'laptops'.

  • Review (Score:5, Informative)

    by GeorgeH ( 5469 ) * on Thursday June 05, 2003 @09:50AM (#6123791) Homepage Journal
    Cnet has a review at http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-2 1169039.html?txt [cnet.com] that goes into more details.

    • Re:Review (Score:5, Funny)

      by Chewie ( 24912 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @11:03AM (#6124531)
      I like that one of their "bad" points is its lack of speakerphone functionality. Since when is this bad? First off, most cell phone speakerphones are total pieces of crap anyway. Secondly, I'm beginning to think I'm the only person on Earth who feels this way, but I'm frustrated enough with one side of some jackass's conversation that I don't want to hear *both* sides! This ranks right up there with those Nextel phones. So instead of hearing,

      "Hey, what's up, John? Not much. I'm in the post office. Buying some stamps. Yep."

      I get to hear:

      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Hey, it's John."
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Hey, what's up, John?"
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Not much, man. What's up with you?"
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Not much."
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Where are you?"
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "I'm in the post office."
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Why?"
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Buy ing some stamps."
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Do they have the ones with Mickey Mouse on them?"
      *BEEDEEBEEP*
      "Yep."

      What happened to keeping your conversation to yourself? Damn kids.
      • a) letting the 3 & 5 year old talk to grandma, and that lets me translate from 3year old speech to 75 year old speech and fill in the gaps.

        b) placing the phone down and getting back to coding when you are placed on hold again.

        Don't think about crummy behavior in public with cellphones. Think about cellphones replacing wired phones. The only reason I have a landline is because I cannot find a cellphone with acceptable voice quality, yet. But speakerphones are almost a must have....

        Also, chewie, you
        • Well, fair enough.

          First point, that's probably true. I don't have kids, but definitely a good application. Second point, a headset would do that for me (if I didn't feel like a split between helpdesk weenie [I don't like being reminded of that year] and think-i'm-impressing-you yuppie), but to each his own.

          As far as cellphone vs land-line, I'm with you. Especially since telemarketers can't call cell phones. Whenever I move, I probably won't have a land line (unless I move to Hooterville). I also admi
    • I forgot to mention, I saw that review at the difl? Sidekick Blog [detroitisforlovers.net]...
    • The BeOSJournal has an interview [beosjournal.org] up with the creator of HipTop Nation [bedope.com], which is THE top website devoted to these HipTop devices.

      Just thought people here might like some insight into the world of a HipTop user.

  • I've written flipsheet, a spreadsheet for the hiptop, in the Beta SDK, and posted screenshots [hipme.com]. It doesn't run on the production device yet, but it will soon.

  • Has anyone used this with Mapquest on the go. How is the resolution of the maps? That would actually be a big selling point for me as I travel to lots of remote areas.

    • Re:Is this a good NAV tool? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Duwke ( 586308 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @10:17AM (#6124068)
      They just release a fix so that mapquest comes in very well now. You can actually read names of roads (at least on yahoo maps, which I believe is just mapquest rebranded).
      It is quite useful on the road.
    • If you're in *remote* areas, you won't get the real-time connectivity, unfortunately. Hopefully the connectivity is improved from a year or so ago. Good in some areas, no coverage at all in others (much like some phone service too, but it lessens the usefulness)

  • Meeting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Call Me Black Cloud ( 616282 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @10:04AM (#6123916)
    Anyone meeting me at CompUSA tomorrow morning?

    No. Have fun. Let's see what you will be getting (from the CompUSA site):

    Full Color Web Browser to Access Virtually Any Website

    Get Your Email & Wireless Calls In One Convenient Package

    Get the Internet & POP3 Email, Send Photos** & Read Image Attachments

    Two-way Text Messaging

    Use Your Existing Screenname for AOL Instant Messenger & AOL Mail

    Wireless Synchronization

    Flip Screen Reveals Qwerty Keyboard

    32MB of RAM

    When I see things like this I think, "why?" Some people need to be this connected, but I think that number is small. For the rest, I wonder why people have a need to stay so connected. Fear of loneliness or lack of feeling important? It seems an antisocial way of being social. For me, I'm happy being alone at times...not only alone but unreachable.

    • Okay, so you won't meet me at CompUSA, and that's fine.

      I use my B&W SK constantly, and it has nothing to do with a fear of loneliness or lack of feeling important. Talking about a need for connectivity, I was without my SK this and really all technology this last weekend [s4xton.com], and had a great time. I use it to chat with my friends when I'm away from my computer or prefer to be outside or doing other things away from my desk. Most of these people I know IRL first. It's also very handy for Geocaching. ;-)

      It'
    • I've had the original SideKick since launch last October, and it gets a fair amount of use.

      I use it the most while I'm on the bus to work in the morning. I can read the news, send IMs to my fiance, etc. The part I use the most is e-mail, mainly because it's far less obtrusive than a phone call while I'm working, and I hate talking to people.
    • For me, I'm happy being alone at times...not only alone but unreachable.

      Yeah, me too. I wish they'd make a way to turn these things off, so you could have the best of both worlds.

    • Re:Meeting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by brianosaurus ( 48471 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @10:51AM (#6124410) Homepage
      I've never understood the "why do you want a (cellphone, pda, whatever)? people will bug you all the time" mentality. My mobile phone (which happens to be a Sidekick) is for me to reach people when I want or need to reach them. It has never been a burden on me.

      In fact it has been a tremendous convenience. There have been quite a few times that I've needed to call someone (like to ask my wife which brand of toilet paper to buy... important stuff like that ;), and its nice to be able to do it from wherever I am, instead of having to hunt down a quarter and a payphone.

      And being unreachable is really, really easy: turn off the phone, or mute it, or just don't answer it. I could be "unreachable" at my desk at work (just ask the people I used to work with!). It just requires some amount of self-control.

      If you can't handle owning a mobile phone without feeling like it controls your life, you probably shouldn't own one. Good for you. For those of us who can handle it, its a great convenience.
      • >nd being unreachable is really, really easy: turn off the phone, or mute it, or just don't answer it.

        Socially, it isn't that easy.

        If people know that its your cell, they expect you to answer it or at least return your call very soon. If you don't, they will feel that you are ignoring them. "Why didn't they phone back? They carry their cell all the time."

        • Re:Meeting (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Chewie ( 24912 )
          Train them.

          Seriously, I have a cell phone (or a regular phone) for *my* convenience. I pay the bill, I own it, I use it as I please. If it's someone I don't want to talk to, I don't answer it. The idea that, because you called me, I am somehow obligated to answer the phone or call you back immediately is ludicrous. Worst case scenario, establish a history of "accidentally" leaving your cell phone off, or in your car, or whatever. An electronic leash for work is one thing (they pay my bills). An volun
        • Pretend to answer the phone while taking a dump or having sex. They'll become trained not to expect you to drop everything for the phone.

          • Actually I make it a point to answer my Sidekick or regular phone when working out, which is normally from 5:30-7:30P. Dinner time.

            Nothing better then breathing heavily to telemarketers trying to sell insurance or god knows what. I also like to interrupt with comments such as "woah! my heart rate is now 155, I've gotta stop talking for a few minutes."

            Of course if it's a friend or work calling, I let it go to voicemail before calling back.
        • If your friends can't handle you occasionally not answering your phone, they have problems. Sometimes you're probably busy. Sometimes you leave the phone in another room. Sometimes you don't feel like answering. They'll get over it. Haven't you ever called anyone's mobile and gotten their voicemail? Did you feel hurt? I sure hope not.

          The problem is that too many people see your mobile phone as a tool for THEM to reach YOU. I see it as a tool for ME to use to reach others. After all, I'm the one pa
    • My roommate's company communicates internally via AIM. Much of their product can be configured over a Web Browser (given access codes), and many meetings happen over the phone. And, of course, support issues are brought up via e-mail. In short, except for an empty chair nobody would know she was working from the beach or the waiting room at the doctor's office. With SSH support, she would have no reason to actually be in the office, and could work from the middle of a cafe or (more often) traffic.

      I on
      • With SSH support, she would have no reason to actually be in the office, and could work from the middle of a cafe or (more often) traffic.

        And when she runs into me and I throw her cellphone/pda/whatever ubergadget into a river, she better be ready to shell out $300 for a new one and however much it costs to fix my car. The last thing we need are people using ssh during traffic, cell phones are enough of a problem. Use it in a cafe, fine, but in traffic? People have been shot for less here (seriously, thou
        • >People have been shot for less here (seriously, though this is Texas...)
          Last time I was in Texas, at the zoo there was a sign that said "Please leave your weapons outside the zoo."
        • What kind of dinky little car is that you're used to if someone writes "in traffic" and you assume she's driving? Ever hear of car pools, buses or trains?
    • Deaf people. One of my hard-of-hearing friends has one of the original sidekicks, and she loves it. The phone can be turned up loud enough that it's usable for her. The IM'ing is great too... only problem is that we went out and she ignored me while typing away to other friends on it. :-p

      But, the IM'ing capability is good, especially when combined with the web browser.

      As an alternative, Wyndtell [wynd.com] offers similar services, but, heck, you can get the sidekick from them too.
  • If it can't sync with Outlook to get my appointments and contacts, I'd have to say no thanks.
    • Never have gotten infected by a virus in 10+ years. I've got a Linux box I can pull the mail into as well, but I can't do scheduling with it, so that is a killer for work.

      Yes, I know Evolution supports scheduling, but only if the servers have WebDAV, and for security reasons my company won't enable it.
  • id prefer my more phonely nokia 3650, which seems to have all the same features- is already color and has a builtin camera. what os does the csk run? i sure hope its as flexible as symbian/java combo ;)

    and seriouslly,a data-only plan? geeks need lives-not another way to check slashdot :) j/k

  • Real review (Score:5, Informative)

    by Espen ( 96293 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @10:22AM (#6124121)
    How about a review of the new model rather than the old one? Here is one:

    Cnet Color Hiptop Review [cnet.com]
    • I wouldn't break out the champagne just yet. I've been a SK owner since it was released in October and the device is truly a lemon. I'm on my third one right now and on my second SIM card. I'm not even up there with the real lemon owners. Others at the official forums http://www.hiptop.com/forums/ have gone through six to eight of these things.

      The B&W was only $200 and was a gamble back in October, but I'm afraid Danger and T-Mobile have shown their true colors since. Very poor customer communicat
      • Word up.

        I bought a SK the day they came out. Love it for some things, hate it for others. We bought one for work too to replace an aging blackberry. Problems with the SK:

        1) SIM? SIM? SIM? -- woops, lost carrier (full signal strength), have to reboot

        2) Flash dots - woops, temporarily lost connection, then regained. SK won't log in, have to reboot.

        3) Danger servers down - A couple months ago the servers were down and no email was being delivered. T-Mobile: well, if it doesn't get fixed in the next 72 hour
  • I considered getting a Sidekick device, but decided not to for one big reason: if I decided to switch from T-Mobile, I'd be left with a paperweight. All the functionality relies on being network-connected with T-Mobile's servers.

    That being the case, they need to make it much cheaper. I'm not going to pay $200 for the privilege of committing myself to using T-Mobile.

    (Yes, I have an unlocked GSM phone.)
  • a unit with the following:

    1. GSM or GPRS
    2. PIM, preferrably Palm OS
    3. BlueTooth enabled

    Anyone know if these things are available in any products? Any product roundup reviews worth pointing to?

    • Re:I'm looking for... (Score:2, Informative)

      by brjndr ( 313083 )
      Sony Ericsson P800.

      Color, bluetooth, GPRS, and a PIM (not palm though, uses symbian os)

      I have one, and I had a sidekick before. Biggest problem with Sidekick was its phone functionality sucked. It was so hard to hear people, reception wasn't that good, dialing wasn't easy, espicially when you were in a car.

      P800 doesn't have a keyboard, but can regcognize input from a stylus ala grafitti. I just wish they'd come out with a little bluetooth thumb keyboard for it.
  • Check out my comments [hiptop.com] on the Hiptop forum about the B&W version and the responses that were posted.

    I was going to get the B&W unit until I found out (from reading the message boards) that websites have to be "supported" by Danger in order to display on the Sidekick. In other words, if you go to an unsupported site, you get a "sorry" error mesage on your screen. Then you e-mail Danger and ask them to add the website, but people on the boards have complained that AFTER A YEAR it hasn't happened.

    • Re:web proxy (Score:3, Informative)

      by mahlen ( 6997 )
      While i guess there's no _guarantee_ that particular websites will work on the Hiptop, my experience over the last 3 months is that the vast bulk of sites work great. The only sites that haven't worked are ones that rely on JavaScript to do everything useful in the site.

      My advice, if there's a small number of sites you're most concerned about, is to post a list of them on the hiptop.com board and ask people to try them for you. Or go to a T-Mobile shop and try them yourself.

      To clarify, it's not like you h
      • If you want a site that doesn't work, try games.slashdot.org. Weather.com had glitches, too.

        It's far from perfect, but it does a decent job.

        • Yes, I've had problems reading articles on /. as well. As far as I can tell, sometimes the article.pl barfs when viewed from the Hiptop browser. But i think that's an error on the part of the /. server, not the Danger proxy. I could be wrong on that, though.

          mahlen
    • All of my web sites work with my wife's. Including squirrelmail (although she has trouble sending due to some javascript problem, she does use it to read her mail during the day).

    • was going to get the B&W unit until I found out (from reading the message boards) that websites have to be "supported" by Danger in order to display on the Sidekick. In other words, if you go to an unsupported site, you get a "sorry" error mesage on your screen. Then you e-mail Danger and ask them to add the website, but people on the boards have complained that AFTER A YEAR it hasn't happened.

      This is just plain WRONG.

      The Sidekick does not have a "valid-list" of websites. I use my sidekick to c
  • I'm not trolling, but how are people using the Internet portion of the Sidekick? I can see people using the phone function but the T-Mobile prices are pushing unlimited Internet access. I understand the need for accessing the web every now and then while away from the desk computer but do you need so much wireless Internet access that you need a flat price for it?

    I don't see myself using $30/month worth of wireless Internet on a small screen in addition to a broadband connection. So is this a niche product
    • I broke my Sidekick by stepping on it accidentally, so I no longer use it. I didn't want to buy the monochrome version again because the screen is a bit hard for me to read. (The text is very small but clear, but there is horribly low contrast which I think the colour will fix).

      Before I started having trouble with it, I found it extremely useful. When I had lunch, instead of bringing a book book for me to read, I could catch up on my favourite web sites. If you consider that I was chomping through expe
  • I've had color Borland Sidekick since the 80's.
  • ...Id upgrade depending on the price. I paid $75 for the BW version so I would pay another $100 for the color screen, more memory and the higher res camera. I only use it for wireless mail and web, and never bother with the phone function since I have a nokia 5100 cheapie which works fine. I will go with the rumored ($30 unlimited data only, $0.20/min pay as you go cellphone) option. We'll see, wouldnt buy it from compusa since they're a bunch of boobs, unless there's no where else to buy it from than t
  • All the Sidekick would need is an up to date SSH client that supports SSH1 and SSH2. That feature alone would make the Sidekick the most valuable UNIX and other Real Network Admins (Cisco Router/firewall network admins.) gadget available.

    I haven't heard nor have I been able to locate any information regarding an SSH client for the Sidekick, has anyone else?
    • I'm running one now.

      It's available to registered developers, as part of the SDK, complete with source.

      Very useful, although they use blowfish for the algorithm. It's a bit heavy for a small device like the sidekick.

      With a good GPRS signal though, it kicks ass.
  • Last year on the way to Comic Con San Diego, the guy sitting next to me had a pre-release Sidekick. I asked him about it, as it was the coolest PDA I'd ever seen. He gave me a quick demo, and I spent the next 90 minutes pestering him with questions. I've been watching the product closely ever since, but still haven't traded in my VisorPhone. As long as my existing phone works, I'd need a pretty compelling reason to upgrade.

    For those of you who bought the original Sidekick, I have a few questions:

    • Danger
    • How is coverage now?

      The first month or so after I got my SK, I was disappointed to see no coverage when I went home to visit my parents. At some point, they must have installed a new cell in that area (between two smallish-sized towns), since I get a nearly full signal there now.

      I don't follow the forums often enough to know the answers to your other questions...
  • I've had a sidekick for about 4 months and I like it. Sure the phone isn't the greatest but I got it for super cheap thanks to an amazon rebate offer and am quite happy with it.

    I like the PIM applications a lot. They are very well designed

    The tiny camera was great until I Broke it :(

    I love the web synchronization. I can go to the tmobile web site and see all my pim data from my sidekick there. I can edit it and it is instantly synched with the phone which is very very cool.

    Keyboard is great fo

  • My experience with the original Sidekick (Score:5, Informative)

    by raygundan ( 16760 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @12:20PM (#6125167) Homepage
    Is a handy, useful device if you need mobile connectivity. I've liked using mine-- the IM client is a very usable adless implementation of AIM. No group chats, but that's no big deal. The web browser is fairly capable, helped heavily by a recompressing/reformatting proxy on the server-side.

    Where it loses out is as a PIM-- the calendar has a very limited number of entries, and sync for the calendar and address book is only one-way. You can import your records from Outlook, but there's no getting them back out. Sync was expected Q1 this year, but hasn't materialized yet, so I wouldn't bank on that feature.

    The Java SDK is cool, but so far there is no way for developers to actually put code on users' devices. So, although lots of great apps have been written, they can only run in the emulator.

    And finally, while I really like the way the device was designed as a whole, whoever is assembling the device is not doing them justice. I am on my 4th unit in 6 months. Some folks at hiptop.com are on their 8th unit. For a device that hasn't even been available for a year! I'm hoping that they have fixed their issues with the release of the color unit, but I would wait a few months before purchasing to see how they're holding up.

    I like the unlimited data plan, and I'll be keeping mine. It's great as a wireless IM client and to check webpages (but their proxy doesn't like games.slashdot.org), just don't expect it to be everything they list in their features list. It's like a video game-- it got released before it was ready, and it's going to be a while before all the patches get put in place. And don't expect it to last more than 2 or 3 months. Fortunately, they've been good about shipping replacements.

    • I've still got my original device from the month that it came out. It's got a few scratches, and the "Open" label is even beginning to wear off from my thumb pressing that spot so often, but other than some dust and scratches, it's still working just as well as it did I got it, if not better (due to the update a while back)...

      I do wish they'd do updates more often, and maybe ditch the crappy games that come with it for something more useful like a basic calculator...
  • ..TMobile didn't suck. I had two of their phones on their family plan for a year. Lousy coverage areas, shoddy service (like losing the signal while downtown in the center of their coverage area in my region), and HORRIBLE customer service. I would not do business with them again if they paid me. It got to the point where we almost had to call the BBB.

  • If only this device can deliver always on connection it would be a great gadget. Being an owner of the first version of Sidekick, however, I was disappointed on the connectivity. The problem in San Francisco Bay Area is Cingular's poor radio signal. The device frequently lose sync with the server. To resync it often takes one to two minutes. Everytime I click a hyperlink it may fetch in a reasonable amount of time or it may take many minutes. You are not going to enjoy web surfing given the unreliablity. I

  • Sidekick is decent device with some negatives (Score:3, Informative)

    by RedX ( 71326 ) <{redx} {at} {wideopenwest.com}> on Thursday June 05, 2003 @02:56PM (#6126563)
    I've been using the B&W Sidekick since the day TMobile released it. It's a great little device, but there are a few areas where it is really lacking (as some others have mentioned).

    Cons
    -The phone is still awkward to use after 8+ months of use, and the audio quality of the phone is pretty poor.
    -The lack of Outlook synching is a major negative for me and I'm sure many other business users. Danger seems to be of the opinion that this device is for kids and hip twentysomethings that don't use corporate email.
    -T-Mobile's network coverage really sucks even in areas where they supposedly offer solid coverage. It's funny that most of the time I can maintain a solid signal at home or at the office, but almost 20% of the time I get no signal in these exact same places.
    -The devices are very fragile. I'm on my third unit. The first had a major screen crack within a week of purchase even with no drops. The second just inexplicably lost receiving ability and had to be replaced.
    -Too bulky to be pocketable. This one isn't a big deal to me, but it is quite thick for pocket carrying, and there is a real lack of beltable carrying cases on the market.
    -No email filtering. My Sidekick access multiple POP3 accounts, and there's no way to separate those into separate folders, they are all just dumped into the Inbox.

    Pros
    -The easiest data entry on a portable device I've used. I've used just about every type of PDA on the market, including the Treo, Clie, and Zaurus with keyboards, and nothing comes close to the Sidekick keyboard.
    -Web browsing is outstanding. None of the WAP that most portable devices offer, this is a full-fledged browser that works great in most cases.
    -Portable email works very well. This sort of goes along with the ease of data entry point above, but it's as easy for me to email from my Sidekick as it is from my desk PC. And as long as co-workers don't read email headers, they don't know if I'm at my desk or on the road with my setup.
    -It's always connected. No need to engage a dial-up connection. Just open the browser and you're pulling down data right away. And email is always-on and checking for new mail.
    -Very affordable. Comparable hybrid PDA/phone devices are hundreds of dollars more. The B&W model even got below $100 after a few months.

    I'm not a heavy phone user, so the Sidekick has worked well for me. I basically view it as a portable communications device rather than a phone or PDA. It's not a great phone, it's not a great PDA, but it is a great all-purpose device. If only they could get Outlook synching to work, I might consider upgrading. As it is, I'll be looking at other devices once my contract runs out.

  • Upgrades available (Score:3, Informative)

    by leighklotz ( 192300 ) on Friday June 06, 2003 @01:20PM (#6133796) Homepage
    Upgrades are now available [hiptop.com], for roughly $299+tax depending on how long you have been a T-Mobile subscriber.

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