The much anticipated T-Mobile Sidekick 4G hit stores Wednesday, April 20th in both matte black and pearl magenta. Built by Samsung and priced at a smooth $99.99 like rumors suggested, it comes with $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract agreement. (This is less of a contract blow for anyone concerned about staying with T-Mobile for that long of a period, thanks to the AT&T merger.) T-Mobile has priced the subscription plan at its $79.99 Truly Unlimited plan around data, voice, and text.
The Sidekick 4G is powered by Android 2.2, meaning owners have access to the Android App Market and it comes with functions as feature-rich as just about any other smartphone on the market (as of April 1, Android 2.2 was on 64% of Android devices and its prior version 2.1 with 27% of usage).
Aside from its tech specifications, you’ll note the device’s differentiating features focus on media consumption and socializing — making this the perfect device for teens. It’s good, then, the the device runs on T-Mobile 4G network — the fourth generation of wireless standards that offers faster mobile data transmission rates.
Technical Specifications
The boring basics:
- 2.4 x 5.0 x 0.6 inches
- 1 Ghz processor
- 2GB memory card
- MicroSD memory card slot
- 3-megapixel front facing camera (the iPhone 4, for example, has a 5-megapixel camera)
- Video capture (yes, along with native video chat capabilities)
- Talk time before your battery runs dry: 6.5 hours
More interesting:
- A screen you can flip up and tilt (handy for gaming in particular)
- Auto rotating screen (will display photos, for example, in portrait if held one way and landscape if held the other)
- QWERTY keyboard (which is exactly 92% of the size of a standard laptop keyboard)
- TV out slot (allows you to display the Sidekick screen on your TV to watch media or even surf the web)
- USB Tethering (allows you to use T-Mobile’s data connection to access the internet on your laptop)
Chatting: Groups, Cloud, Swype
With a bajillion group texting applications out there, this functionality is included natively within the Sidekick 4G. The Group Text feature lets you create groups, whereby everyone can text and reply all. T-Mobile has taken this even further with the addition of a cloud-based solution, Cloud Text, that allows you to access, update, and send texts right from your computer as well. They are branding this “Texting – evolved.”
As for the touch screen keyboard, the new Sidekick comes with Swype technology. This allows you to type on the touchscreen without picking up your fingers; instead, swiping from letter to letter to spell words.
Social: Contacts, Status Updates
The Sidekick 4G has made sure contacts stored on the phone are social, another nudge to the world that your phone number is no longer your central contact point. On the Sidekick, social network accounts and respective connections on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are synced automatically so you can reach your friends in any number of ways – on their profiles, over email, text message, etc.
The Sidekick also boasts a Feeds and Updates widget. This allows you to catch up on the statuses of all your friends at once, instead of having to go one by one through different social networking apps.
Media: Video, TV, Radio
T-Mobile and Samsung have put a media center natively on the Sidekick 4G. YouTube video access is included in this, along with T-Mobile TV, Slacker Radio, and standard FM radio. T-Mobile TV offers both free and premium programming from ABC, Fox, PBS, the Weather Channel and other networks. Mostly news, you can also play a premium for other content and shows.
Google, Outlook
Thanks to Android, the device features one touch access to Google applications – like Maps, Gmail, Calendar and even Google Talk. It also features Voice Actions from Google, allowing you to control the phone and execute actions just by speaking into it. Microsoft user? No worries. The Sidekick 4G also synchs with Microsoft Outlook Contacts, Calendar and email.
Don’t consider yourself a techie, but love the idea of learning about taking advantage of all these features? The device comes with T-Mobile Tech Assist, whereby T-Mobile reps can log on to your device remotely and help troubleshoot with you.
