Ever since T-Mobile introduced the first Sidekick way back in 2002, the phone-cum-messaging device has been a favorite of teenagers and hip-hop artists. While the iPhone gets all the public adoration these days, the newest Sidekick is still a great option for someone looking for a smartphone and does not want to use AT&T -- on principle or because their 3G wireless service requires selling the rights to your first-born every month.
As with most smartphones -- even the messianic iPhone -- the new Sidekick 2008 excels at everything besides being a phone. Making phone calls on the Sidekick can be a little awkward. There is no touchscreen, so you must flip the screen open, dial the number and then flip the screen closed. Also, holding this phone to your face to talk is not the most natural feeling due to its large screen and all the buttons around the speaker.
The whole dialing process would be more annoying, except the flip mechanism on the Sidekick is its single best feature. Less of a flip and more of a swivel, pushing the lower left or upper right corners of the screen causes it to do a 180 on its spring-loaded hinge. During this process the display also flips its image almost imperceptibly. The result is a flashy, loud clack when the screen opens.
Underneath the screen is a very spacious and comfortable keyboard (for a cellphone, that is). This makes the Sidekick a great phone for texting and emailing. Unfortunately, while the Sidekick can access and receive Blitzes, there is no way to send Blitzes. That's a real shame because it had so much potential as a mobile "Blitz-pad."
Additionally, the web browser on the Sidekick is nowhere near as good as the one on the iPhone. It struggles with complicated web sites, although speeds are decent on T-Mobile's EDGE network.
Like lots of phones these days, the Sidekick has Bluetooth, a music player and a camera. The camera is 2.0 megapixels and takes decent pictures. The music player benefits heavily from a full-size 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can plug any headphones you want into it. Both pictures and music are stored on a 512-megabyte MicroSD card that is included with the price of the phone.
Speaking of price, the Sidekick 2008 sells for $149 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile. That initial cost is mitigated by the low prices for service plans, so the overall cost of the Sidekick is much less than, say, two years with an iPhone 3G.
So after spending two weeks giving a Sidekick a trial run for this review, I can see why they have been so popular over the years. Even with all the glamour of the new iPhone, there are still many reasons to get a Sidekick instead: for example, you might prefer having a physical keyboard, AT&T might have poor service where you live, or you might prefer the urban image of the Sidekick over the effete yupster image imparted by the iPhone.
Luofei is a staff writer for The Mirror. He wanted a sidekick after he read this week's Spotlight.
