Product Review: T-Mobile SideKick
Review by Mike Outmesguine
It’s hard to summarize the Sidekick. Except, to say it’s almost everything you’d want in a tiny wireless computer. The Sidekick is the first generation Hiptop computer from Danger, Inc. Currently, it’s only available from T-Mobile (which has its downsides, see below.) It uses the T-Mobile (or Cingular in Los Angeles) GPRS cellular network so coverage is similar to a cell phone.
The very cool features are email, the web browser, and AOL Instant Messenger. These are what I use most. Almost exclusively, in fact. These three items alone make it worth the meager $40 per month. Most of the other features (listed below) are pretty standard. A notable addition is the snap-on color CCD camera. The camera is fun, since you can snap and email them instantly. But the pictures are quite small. Bring along a digital camera if you want to cherish the moment.
The email client is top-notch. The screen is very readable and the keyboard shortcuts are so intuitive… Just hit MENU > N for a new message, MENU > R to reply, and for some reason, MENU > J to forward (which becomes second nature in no time.)
The web browser is much more powerful than I expected. Graphics are scaled down to screen width. Text is readable. Since there is no sideways scrolling, web sites get morphed into long, vertical skyscrapers. On most sites, you just scroll down past the site logos, navigation buttons, and ads to get to the content. For example, CNN is easy to read but the headline is about one third of the way down the page. There are several built-in mobile sites for weather, news, and searching. Most popular sites have no problem.
One noticeable downside in the browser is the clunky frames support. Instead of displaying the frame as it would on your computer, it will recognize a frame site and ask you which page to load. So it’s easy to work around but it is irksome. I blame the webmasters for that (damn frames.)
The support for AOL Instant Messenger makes this the ultimate keep-in-touch tool. And since the Sidekick boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, sending messages is fast and easy. The AIM client lets you store multiple screen names, but you can only IM from one screen name at a time.
Feature List:
- Web Browser
- AOL Instant Messenger
- Internet Email
- Cellular Phone
- SMS, Short Message Texting
- Address Book
- Calendar
- To Do List
- Notepad
- Color Camera attachment
- And a few games, too!
Upsides:
- Very easy interface!
- Full QWERTY keyboard including number keys & special characters
- Integrates with regular Internet SMTP/POP email accounts
- Decodes email attachments automatically, including images, Word Docs, even PDF!
- Easy to send SMS text messages to cell phones
- Computer interface is through T-Mobile website
- Price point is remarkably low!
Downsides:
- Spotty service in Southern California
- No custom apps yet
- Eats through the battery even when shut off (you’ll need a charger for a long weekend.)
- Computer interface is only through T-Mobile website (no direct cable connection)
- Hard to use the keyboard with one hand
- Pretty big for a phone (i still use a Nokia 8260 cell phone for voice)
- No multimedia web support
- Monochromatic display (i.e. not color - but it keeps the cost way down)
This is a first generation device. There is supposed to be automatic updates every so often. I have yet to hear anything specific about updates. There are a few quirks if you rely on it for all the features. But I expect these to be worked out as time goes on.
To summarize, this is a great wireless communicator. It has become an essential part of my daily tech gear. When you see me, I’ll be wearing the Sidekick on my right Hiptop!
More information:
Copyright 2003, Mike Outmesguine