NEW YORK – Every time I’ve had my hands on a Hiptop wireless device from Danger Inc., I’ve been unable to shake the feeling that the future was supposed to be full of things like this.
The Hiptop – most widely sold as the T-Mobile Sidekick – is an all-purpose, hand-held communications machine with a color screen and loads of functions – phone, e-mail, Web browsing, instant messaging, calendar, games and camera. While lots of devices fit that bill these days, what makes the Sidekick so addictive is its hip and clever design.
The HipTop debuted in 2002 and was revamped slightly last year with a color screen. Now the device has undergone a more thorough redesign, and Danger and T-Mobile plan to release it this autumn as the Sidekick II for $299, plus a monthly service contract. Other wireless carriers that sell HipTops are expected to follow suit later.
The most noticeable change is in the device’s signature feature, its swiveling screen that has a full typewriter keypad underneath. The keyboard now sits deeper into the device so the screen no longer protrudes.
That makes the Sidekick – which is about an inch longer than a deck of cards and only slightly deeper – easier to stuff into a bag or a loose-fitting pocket. It’s also slightly less awkward to use it as a handheld phone now.
The drawback is that the deeper keyboard feels a little more cramped after a few minutes of thumb-typing. But you’re not hammering out term papers on this thing anyway, so I’d rate the change an overall improvement.
Another impressive facet of the Sidekick is its flexibility – there are multiple ways to perform every function. More buttons that trigger those functions have been placed on the device’s exterior, meaning there are more ways to operate it with the screen closed. Also a wise choice.
The Sidekick’s camera is finally integrated into the device – it formerly required a separate little attachment. Its quality, at 0.3 megapixels, compares favorably to other camera phones.
Sidekicks now let you download games, ring tones, a calculator, AOL’s e-mail client and other programs, generally for a few bucks. The downloading feature is fueled by a doubling of the machine’s flash memory, to 16 megabytes. It has 32 megabytes of RAM, same as before.
My older Sidekicks were unrepentant juice-suckers that needed frequent charging. But the new ones have slightly better batteries, and the one I tested put up with a lot of phone and Web time before the battery display lost a bar.
Sidekicks have a youthful, dedicated following, but they remain a niche product. Fewer than 1 percent of T-Mobile’s 14 million subscribers own one.
That’s probably because of its cost and the competition from other “smart phones” and handheld computers on the market.
Danger now hopes to increase the Sidekick’s attraction by adding a synchronization program that unifies the calendar and contact lists with those offered on a personal computer by Microsoft Outlook. The price of the synching program has yet to be announced.
Once that gets sorted out, there’s good reason for the Sidekick to be your buddy. It may be because you travel a lot and like to stay connected. But don’t be afraid to admit it if the real reason is that you just want a device with a higher than average cool quotient.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
