Sidekick iD

It's all my fault. While it's true that my little girl would probably be an early adaptor like most of her peers anyway, I created a little gadget monster when I gave her all the new products to try out, from Blackberrys to the latest music products. See, I tried to give her my "old" Blackberry the other day but she bemoaned the lack of Bluetooth, camera, and music capabilities. No thanks, she said. She wants a Sidekick, but at $300, it's too expensive.

But today, T-Mobile confirmed the launch of the Sidekick iD today, the new low-cost addition to the Sidekick collection -- figure around $99 (with service plan, of course.) Named the Sidekick iD, it retains the the same form factor and swiveling screen of the Sidekick 3, and the all-important Qwerty keyboard, but drops certain features to allow it to enter the market at a much cheaper price. With 240x160 pixel resolution, full HTML compatible web browser, and support for AIM, Yahoo!, and Windows Live Messenger IM services, it's a nifty little companion.

But I think they made a huge misstep when they dropped the camera feature. The younger set may not care about USB connectivity, which was dropped from this version, but they care about having a camera. (Blackberry recognized this when they inculded a camera with its new, slBB Pearl, aimed directly at the younger consumer set.)

The 6.3 oz. Sidekick iD will be available through T-Mobile starting April 25 for US$99.99 with a two-year service agreement and mail-in range of color schemes will be available at launch, including black, yellow, blue, white, purple, and glow-in-the-dark, with accessories to match.

Via Mobile Burn Posted by: Evan    Source