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Interview of Danger (Sidekick II) CEO Hank Nothhaft
r-blo writes "Know that new T-Mobile Sidekick II that Paris Hilton and Derek Jeter have been totin' around town? Yeah, that one. Well, Engadget has an interview with Danger's (the company that makes the Sidekick) CEO, Hank Nothhaft, talking about all manner of things regarding the mobile-internet device, including its closed development environment. They even ask him what phone he'd buy if it wasn't a Sidekick II, gotta love that!"
The problem with these all-in-one devices is that the ALWAYs, ALWAYs end up doing everything horribly. Since most people use handheld devices to do one or two major things, an all-in-one device doesn't make sense at all. For example, if I were into playing Mp3s, an generic all-in-one device might support this, but say, with only 32MB and mp3 only support, when for the price of the entire device, i might be able to buy an iRiver. In the end, this product won't really sell because it has no singular attractive feature. If a user falls in love with the part of the device that does function X, s/he'll likely get a device decicated and much better at X.
What they needed to ask him about is the durability of the Sidekick 2. I have issues with how well it is constructed, and I am not the only person who feels this way.
I bought a Sidekick back in April and have been vigilant about it's upkeep. Never dropped it, never sat anything down on it. One day, the action wheel just stops working - literally, I am sending an email and it just doesn't work anymore.
One of the things mentioned in this article is that the Sidekick crowd tends to be 30-ish, which means people are going to have active lifestyles where things can happen to a phone. What is the sense of investing in such a snazzy device if it is not going to keep up with you?
M
You have better, more integrated and less fancy and shiny solutions available if you're looking for a mobile business solution (e.g. the Blackberries).
Paris Hilton probably won't win a Nobel prize and a lot of people tend to make fun of her but she does represent that glamerous, in-your-face party girl thing that their target audience (secretly) admires. And it is indeed catching on - it's not just that you see the Sidekick II featured in rap videos (that could be clever product placement, even though I doubt it -- remember the iPod/music video trend 50 Cent started). You also see them in all the places where people go to show off and be seen (ie. the hip bars and clubs, etc).
They should make a system of components that each have a function (MP3 player, Cell Phone, etc). These could stand alone on their own that can be assembled together "Voltron Style" to combine their abilities, processing power, memory, etc to form an all-in-one super device.
:-)
This could different options for components/functionality and perhaps leave plenty of room for upgradability.
Just a thought..
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
Or maybe the guy just doesn't have much to say? Engadget seems to be a pretty good source of news and slashdot's linked to more than just 2 of their articles.
I think that's just not going to happen anytime soon though (at least not without huge technological advances in terms of battery life or power consumption). What makes these things so desirable, aside from the cool factor, is that they're truly mobile devices. Mobile in the way that the 'mobile office' ads in the mid-90's promised.
Sure, my cell phone has WAP, an email client, Bluetooh (PDA interface) and God knows what not. But it's pretty much useless since the keypad makes typing a chore and the screen's just unuseable for real any work.
The Sidekick, on the other hand, just works. It's pretty easy to use, the screen has decent resolution and using the keyboard is at least not worse than using a PDA's stylus to input data.
The other major selling point is battery life. Being truly mobile isn't worth jack, if the thing's dead. That's why you need decent battery life and people have just come to expect their cell phones to last at least a couple of days on a single charge. And that's the expectation you basically have to meet when you introduce any cell phone-like device.
Now, if you made the Sidekick smaller, you'd evidently have three problems: reduced usability, less battery life and more heat. Especially the latter is a huge design problem if you plan to implement WLAN capabilities in the future (as the article hints).
Hence I don't think we're going to see drastically smaller Sidekick-like devices.
You'll want to keep in mind that what you're talking about is T-Mobile's doing, and has little to do with Danger. The celebrity party they talked about in the article, only 4 Danger employees were present (iirc they had a drawing for one or two of them!). T-Mobile also gives away Sidekicks to rap artists, and they eventually show up in videos - from what I understand there is no formal product placement by T-Mobile other than placing them into celebrities hands. Danger does not do too much in terms of directly marketing the product to end users, it's the providers that do the marketing.
-Aaron
My name is Aaron Landry, and I approve this message.
It's all we don't like : no tweaking, no property of the hard, pay per use...
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Can customers upload their own ringtones?
No. There’s an effort by the industry to make people pay for the content on these devices.
Even though we’re 1 percent of T-Mobile’s installed base right now, we generate 10 percent of their data revenue.
What about allowing developers to create user-installable applications for the Sidekick?
Not user-installable. We’re a gatekeeper in that sense. they use our developer kit, they reach an agreement with us, and then through us they can have access to our user base.
The bottom line is still "lock the customer in and bleed them for everything you can get".
Can customers upload their own ringtones?
No. There's an effort by the industry to make people pay for the content on these devices.
And people wonder why I just want a dumb cell phone and a separate handheld for *my* stuff that I can control.
No, I don't. Paris Hilton is a basketcase attention whore who redefines the term "spoiled rich brat", and Derek Jeter is an asshole on and off the field; he beat the shit out of a Special Ed teacher moonlighting as a Fenway groundskeeper, and had some rather unsympathetic things to say about the Devil Rays when they chose to stay in Florida until their families were out of the path of the hurricane.
Furthermore, I'm not stupid enough to fall for celebrity endorsements, because I actually have a brain. This is also why I want a cell phone that doesn't have a camera. Just bluetooth, good signal, good address book, quality construction, and a simple, easy to use interface.
Before you mod me off-topic or flamebait, consider that the article was one giant piece of astroturf- as another poster noted, the story submitter has never made a single comment on slashdot.
Please help metamoderate.
Hey Ryan, the story here isn't my paranoia, it's your lack of full disclosure. For starters, you're hyping up your website with posts using a pseudonym that you do not use on said website. The slashdot community typically frowns on such disingenuous self-promotions. Had you instead been open and said, "Hey slashdotters, here's an article I wrote on my website about XYZ" then it certainly wouldn't have come across as some sort of deception.
Is your site really a news source or a distributor of press releases? I know that sounds like a flame, but I don't mean it that way. I think your site is probably a lot of fun to produce. At the same time, when a site's content is so product-heavy, I get suspicious about the possibility of paid placement, etc. Especially when you gush about a product like this-- "Know that new T-Mobile Sidekick II that Paris Hilton and Derek Jeter have been totin' around town?" The only reason Paris Hilton would have any tech gadget is if she's paid to endorse it. By commenting on Paris Hilton owning a Sidekick II, you've taken on the role of a mouthpiece for the Danger PR department. Does your community really care what consumer products Paris Hilton owns? Actually, it would have been a hundred times more interesting had your contacts at Danger's PR department arranged for you to interview Paris about what she does with her Sidekick rather than the CEO.
If you want to call Engadget a news source, you need to brush up on your journalism ethics. Real journalists don't accept gifts or freebies of any kind from people / companies they might write about. For example, Roger Ebert pays to see the movies he reviews. Quality journalists don't present advertisements as news. Does Engadget qualify?
Please check the Society of Professional Journalist's website on the issue:
Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.
Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.
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