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Danger Makes Free Sidekick SDK Available

Posted by timothy on from the gratis dept.

DivideByZero writes "Turns out that Danger, Inc. has finally gotten around to making the SDK (Sign up here) available for the Hiptop (Released in the US as the T-Mobile Sidekick) - free of charge . The Hiptop/Sidekick has been mentioned previously on Slashdot.)"

26 comments

  1. What is it with companies and SDKs? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why can't they see fit to distribute the SDK free of charge without any strings attached? Why must they either charge you an arm and a leg for the kit or make you sign up to some sort of "approved" list of developers?

    If there's anything of Microsoft's that ought to be emulated, it's their SDK distribution policy.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:What is it with companies and SDKs? by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Informative

      **If there's anything of Microsoft's that ought to be emulated, it's their SDK distribution policy.**

      not really, tried to get xbox sdk? or ms visual studio for free? the sdk's they got are add-ons to their existing products.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:What is it with companies and SDKs? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, their development products are expensive, but the SDK itself is free and can be compiled against using any compiler from VC to Borland to gcc.

      --
      I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    3. Re:What is it with companies and SDKs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The embedded tools version of Microsoft Visual Studio is included free with the eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 sdk, available from here.

      Download MVT 3.0, the PPC 2002 SDK or Smartphone SDK and you have everything for embedded mobile development. Assuming you have a Windows PC on which to install it.

      However, I agree it sucks for them to not have a free compiler available for their OS, but I suppose that reflects the focus of their company. Which explains the presense of GCC on Win32 I suppose.

      Talking of which, there are a few free compilers for Win32. LCC-Win32, MinGW and DJGPP (for DOS, based on GPP) are particular notables. I think Cygwin includes a port also, amongst the unix toolset.

      The Xbox SDK is a subset of the Win32 SDK. Nintendo doesn't publish SDKs for it's gamecube, Sony doesn't publish (full) SDKs for the Playstation (I know the Linux kit contains a few of the docs though). So why should MS publish the Xbox SDK?

      (I also believe MS shouldn't stop people from trying to mess with their Xbox, but that's another issue).

    4. Re:What is it with companies and SDKs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The (free) Windows SDK does come with a compiler.

      Long standing principle of Microsoft is that developing for Windows doesn't cost a dime, except for OS licence.

  2. Re:How much for hardware and service ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Uh, you need to select a state AND a city. Works fine for me.

    Anyways, list price is $249. T-mobile has a $50 rebate on their site, bringing it down to $199. Like most cell phones, you can get it a lot cheaper if you shop around and/or are willing to sign up for a 12+ month contract; I've seen it anywhere from $250 down to $75, minus monthly fees.

    T-mobile says they're out of stock and won't let me see what plans are available for the Sidekick, but after a quick search the cheapest plan seems to be $39/month for ~1000 voice minutes and unlimited data for 1 year. Not sure about how much data you'll get after that 1 year is up though.

  3. What is SideKick dev like? by RevAaron · · Score: 1

    Anyone had a look at this? What is development for the SideKick like? What kind of model/style? What language? Presumable C or C++.

    (I'm a big platform/PDA nerd, yes)

    --

    Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
    1. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by Wonko42 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I've been playing around with it. The SDK is really nice, and includes a simulator (since there currently isn't any way to actually transfer applications to the Sidekick). Everything is Java-based (J2ME), which makes things really simple. Several very nice example applications are included in the SDK, along with a very nicely-done VT100 SSH terminal application.

    2. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by aminorex · · Score: 0

      So, you've got it. What filenames should I be searching on WinMX and Kazaa?

      I admit that I'm almost pissed off enough to
      give up on developing for this device, but
      not quite.

      --
      -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
    3. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by Wonko42 · · Score: 1

      Why not just register? It's free. Make up a fake email address if you're paranoid.

    4. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by aminorex · · Score: 2

      It does you no good. You can't get it unless you
      supply a tmail address (i.e. sign a contract with
      t-mobile).

      These games do no one any good, and just piss off
      the application developers. Why do they pull this
      crap?

      --
      -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
    5. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by Trinn · · Score: 1

      If the sidekick has a web-browser, why can't you r un a mini-server & serve up the JAD/JAR combo to it? Just make sure the filetypes are right.

    6. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by Gortbusters.org · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Presumably.... but J2ME is taking the big wireless markets by storm. I believe even Motorola is looking at J2ME in there new devices.

      --
      --------
      Free your mind.
    7. Re:What is SideKick dev like? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A tmail address is not needed for SDK access.

      Brian

  4. For everyone griping... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The SDK is quite Nice... uses J2SE and comes with a good bit of example code that is licensed BSD Style...

    Its good stuff!

  5. Malicious Hacker by themo0c0w · · Score: 5, Funny

    I love the the classifications of developer they offer:

    * Hobbyist
    * Open Source
    * Professional
    * Corporate
    * Malicious Hacker

    Gee, I wonder if the last one flags me as a terrorist... *grin*

    --
    ph34r teh p0w3r 0f th3 c0w
  6. EEtimes teardown of hiptop by morcheeba · · Score: 3, Informative

    EETimes has a teardown of the hiptop... Engineers will get a chuckle out of finding the part that won't die!! There's also a block diagram.

    (hint: it's a national part on the same side as the processor)

    --
    HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
  7. Re:How much for hardware and service ? by RevAaron · · Score: 1

    Wow, almost enough for me to want that over my land line. When you get unlimited data, at what speed can one expect for thoroughput?

    --

    Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
  8. Re:How much for hardware and service ? by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

    It's GPRS, so about 60-144kbps is normal.

  9. Re:How much for hardware and service ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Remember that you can't use it as a modem, so unless you want to do all your web browsing through a little 2" greyscale screen, keep your landline. :)

  10. Pig in a poke by metamatic · · Score: 1

    That was what killed it for me. The Sidekick is tied to a single provider, they won't tell me how much it's going to cost per month, and they still expect me to pay $200 for the unit as well? I don't think so...

    --
    GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
  11. Meanwhile, in Baghdad: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny
    *Ring* *Ring*

    Saddam: Hello?

    George W Bush: Can you hear me now?