T-Mobile Asks: Need a Good Sidekick?

There's a hot new contender in the push toward comfortable-size, all-in-one wireless PDAs that let you efficiently store contact and calendar information, make phone calls, and access Internet services. T-Mobile's fairly priced new Sidekick is geared toward the young and hip, but I found it equally suited to getting down to business.

The Sidekick's easy-to-read, 2.25-by-1.5-inch display offers 16 shades of gray and is embedded in the unit's cover, which cleverly rotates open to reveal a small but usable QWERTY keyboard. Three command buttons--Jump, Menu, and Back--on the Sidekick's face, plus a dial, made for easy navigation within the unique interface after just a bit of practice. The rechargeable battery lasted through two days of testing; it's rated at 3.5 hours of phone use and 20 hours of data use.

T-Mobile's service package includes an e-mail address to which you can forward messages from up to three POP3-based e-mail accounts. I found Web surfing speeds comparable to 56-kbps dial-up. America Online's Instant Messenger service was easy to use, and Web pages were quite readable--thanks to a proxy server that reformats pages for the device. Personal information such as your address book and calendar is cached on the always-connected Sidekick--but it's also stored on a server, so your data is safe if anything happens to the unit.

The biggest weakness of the Sidekick was its performance as a T-Mobile GSM/GPRS cell phone. Sound quality was far from perfect, and speaking into the device felt awkward (especially when the screen was in the open position).

The Sidekick's pricing, however, is attractive: $200 for the hardware (after a $50 rebate--offered until at least January). The first year of a basic $40 monthly service package includes 200 anytime phone minutes, 1000 weekend minutes, 1000 short text messages, and unlimited data transfer. After one year the data allowance drops to 15MB per month and T-Mobile charges $3.50 for each additional megabyte you transfer.

If you already live and die by your use of AIM, e-mail, and Web access, this device is one great little Sidekick. By the same token, however, I would advise serious cell phone users to look elsewhere.

SUMMARY

T-Mobile Sidekick Multiuse device will appeal to many, though phone addicts should keep shopping. List: $250 (before rebate and not counting service package)