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Color Sidekick to be Released Tomorrow
Saxton writes "Just announced by hiptop.com's T-Mobile Rep, the awaited Color Sidekick will be available at CompUSA and 1-800-TMOBILE tomorrow. The thread is here. Now available is a data-only plan for $29.99, and you can now use any other T-Mobile price plan with the Sidekick. Anyone meeting me at CompUSA tomorrow morning?" Here is
my Review of the Original device, which I still think is among the most useful portable electronic devices I've seen. I'm looking forward to testing out the new version to see what improvements have been made to an already great unit.
Here is the compusa page:
p ?p roduct_code=303888&pfp=SEARCH
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.as
It looks like they are in stock and available for pickup in the Northeast US. The price seems high, and they will probably change it to $299 on friday.
Chicago2600.net more than a lifestyle, its a survival trait.
Cnet has a review at http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-2 1169039.html?txt that goes into more details.
Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
I suspect that we may all still have a very long wait until we (non-developers) can install applications on our (non-development) SideKicks.
Like you, I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an SSH client for my SK. The fact that the application has existed for months, and that I've played with it on the emulator, and that it appears to be fully functional just makes the wait more frustrating.
Although the guys at Danger are relatively responsive and appear to be competent, they seem to have an excruciatingly long software developement cycle. Combine this with the closed nature of the SK's operating system and application distrubution mechanism, and I would be suprised if we have SSH running on the SK any time soon.
As I understand it, Danger must revise and upgrade the SideKick's operating system before you'll be able to install applications. And even after the upgrade, obtaining and installing new applications will never be straight-forward in the same way that it is with PalmOS or PocketPC phones. I suspect that the mass-distribution of applications will require the blessing and cooperation of Danger Inc. to provide the backend equipement for over-the-air installations.
Hopefully, this color SK will have the needed OS revisions to allow the installation of applications, or better yet come with SSH built-in.
How about a review of the new model rather than the old one? Here is one:
Cnet Color Hiptop Review
...and let me guess: So you can make a beowulf cluster of them? ...and to comment on a couple of your points (heheh) 1. Unlimited Data plan (not .02/kb) and 2. it does include the tilde. We'll have to wait for the release of the version that includes pipe, though. ;-)
Funny post... but c'mon, give it at least a 3.5!
My name is Aaron Landry, and I approve this message.
It is called HiptopOS, it's a Java based OS that Danger rolled for the device.
You're very close to the problem, but not quite right on. The best explanation for the reason normal non-developers can't have SSH right now (aside from needing an OS update, which is indeed true), is that T-Mobile has to approve everything that goes out to their customers. This is exactly the reason why app distribution will never be as straightforward as it is with PalmOS or PocketPC phones: T-Mobile is scared to death of this thing (well, sorta.) - in particular, the concern is of 3rd party developers writing apps that access the data that hiptops store on t-mobile's servers (every bit of info you put in the hiptop is stored on t-mobile's servers as well as the hiptop. Yes, this is a Good Thing, trust me) - anyway they don't want 3rd party developers screwing things up and creating tech support nightmares for them.
While i guess there's no _guarantee_ that particular websites will work on the Hiptop, my experience over the last 3 months is that the vast bulk of sites work great. The only sites that haven't worked are ones that rely on JavaScript to do everything useful in the site.
My advice, if there's a small number of sites you're most concerned about, is to post a list of them on the hiptop.com board and ask people to try them for you. Or go to a T-Mobile shop and try them yourself.
To clarify, it's not like you have to be on some Danger-approved list or anything. The sites i run all work fine.
Personally, my Hiptop has been life-changing the way that my first Palm was. Does it always work and do everything exactly the way i want, everywhere? No. Is some mobile web/email with a real keyboard better than none? Hell yeah.
mahlen
"Perhaps it IS a good day to die! I say we ship it!"
--From the "Top 20 things likely to be overheard from a Klingon programmer"
Is a handy, useful device if you need mobile connectivity. I've liked using mine-- the IM client is a very usable adless implementation of AIM. No group chats, but that's no big deal. The web browser is fairly capable, helped heavily by a recompressing/reformatting proxy on the server-side.
Where it loses out is as a PIM-- the calendar has a very limited number of entries, and sync for the calendar and address book is only one-way. You can import your records from Outlook, but there's no getting them back out. Sync was expected Q1 this year, but hasn't materialized yet, so I wouldn't bank on that feature.
The Java SDK is cool, but so far there is no way for developers to actually put code on users' devices. So, although lots of great apps have been written, they can only run in the emulator.
And finally, while I really like the way the device was designed as a whole, whoever is assembling the device is not doing them justice. I am on my 4th unit in 6 months. Some folks at hiptop.com are on their 8th unit. For a device that hasn't even been available for a year! I'm hoping that they have fixed their issues with the release of the color unit, but I would wait a few months before purchasing to see how they're holding up.
I like the unlimited data plan, and I'll be keeping mine. It's great as a wireless IM client and to check webpages (but their proxy doesn't like games.slashdot.org), just don't expect it to be everything they list in their features list. It's like a video game-- it got released before it was ready, and it's going to be a while before all the patches get put in place. And don't expect it to last more than 2 or 3 months. Fortunately, they've been good about shipping replacements.
If only this device can deliver always on connection it would be a great gadget. Being an owner of the first version of Sidekick, however, I was disappointed on the connectivity. The problem in San Francisco Bay Area is Cingular's poor radio signal. The device frequently lose sync with the server. To resync it often takes one to two minutes. Everytime I click a hyperlink it may fetch in a reasonable amount of time or it may take many minutes. You are not going to enjoy web surfing given the unreliablity. I have adapted to the problem of this device. When I use it usually I have a book on one hand and the sidekick on the other hand.
And if you leave the device on overnight and you want to check the weather next morning. Chances are it has already lost sync. Wait another few minutes for it to get connected again. Sometimes you have to reboot the phone altogether in order to get connected.
Wai Yip
The Handspring Treo 300 ($199 at Amazon.com) can do SSH via Top Gun SSH. It also has the benefit of using the Sprint PCS network, which is much larger than the T-Mobile network and runs at 128K instead of 19.2K. (The difference is huge.)
The really cool thing about the Treo is that you can hook it up via a USB cable to your laptop and get Internet access anywhere you have a Sprint PCS connection. This means that you can be on the Internet pretty much anywhere without worrying about wireless hotspots. (Treo Central has more information on this.)
I'd pick the Treo 300 over the Sidekick any time. It's cheaper, works on a network that has much greater coverage, and can run any applications that run on Palm OS. With the laptop connector, it's a no-brainer.
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Cons
-The phone is still awkward to use after 8+ months of use, and the audio quality of the phone is pretty poor.
-The lack of Outlook synching is a major negative for me and I'm sure many other business users. Danger seems to be of the opinion that this device is for kids and hip twentysomethings that don't use corporate email.
-T-Mobile's network coverage really sucks even in areas where they supposedly offer solid coverage. It's funny that most of the time I can maintain a solid signal at home or at the office, but almost 20% of the time I get no signal in these exact same places.
-The devices are very fragile. I'm on my third unit. The first had a major screen crack within a week of purchase even with no drops. The second just inexplicably lost receiving ability and had to be replaced.
-Too bulky to be pocketable. This one isn't a big deal to me, but it is quite thick for pocket carrying, and there is a real lack of beltable carrying cases on the market.
-No email filtering. My Sidekick access multiple POP3 accounts, and there's no way to separate those into separate folders, they are all just dumped into the Inbox.
Pros
-The easiest data entry on a portable device I've used. I've used just about every type of PDA on the market, including the Treo, Clie, and Zaurus with keyboards, and nothing comes close to the Sidekick keyboard.
-Web browsing is outstanding. None of the WAP that most portable devices offer, this is a full-fledged browser that works great in most cases.
-Portable email works very well. This sort of goes along with the ease of data entry point above, but it's as easy for me to email from my Sidekick as it is from my desk PC. And as long as co-workers don't read email headers, they don't know if I'm at my desk or on the road with my setup.
-It's always connected. No need to engage a dial-up connection. Just open the browser and you're pulling down data right away. And email is always-on and checking for new mail.
-Very affordable. Comparable hybrid PDA/phone devices are hundreds of dollars more. The B&W model even got below $100 after a few months.
I'm not a heavy phone user, so the Sidekick has worked well for me. I basically view it as a portable communications device rather than a phone or PDA. It's not a great phone, it's not a great PDA, but it is a great all-purpose device. If only they could get Outlook synching to work, I might consider upgrading. As it is, I'll be looking at other devices once my contract runs out.
Sony Ericsson P800.
Color, bluetooth, GPRS, and a PIM (not palm though, uses symbian os)
I have one, and I had a sidekick before. Biggest problem with Sidekick was its phone functionality sucked. It was so hard to hear people, reception wasn't that good, dialing wasn't easy, espicially when you were in a car.
P800 doesn't have a keyboard, but can regcognize input from a stylus ala grafitti. I just wish they'd come out with a little bluetooth thumb keyboard for it.
Blackberrys have SSH and Telnet apps running on them, why not give it a shot?
Upgrades are now available, for roughly $299+tax depending on how long you have been a T-Mobile subscriber.