![]() I ran into a snag with the MySpace application. There's also Download Catalog for buying ring tones, games, utilities and such, but it lacks the depth and breadth of the App Store for the iPhone. It lets you shoot video, too, a feature iPhone lacks. The 3.2-megapixel camera has autofocus and an LED flash. By rotating the trackball, icons for the phone, MyFaves (the five people you call most), address book, organizer, media player and other applications rotate in a half-circle until you highlight the one you want. Sidekick runs software from Danger, now a Microsoft subsidiary. The Sidekick keyboard is comfortable for thumb-typing, however. Pushing back the screen is a little clumsy, and hidden keyboards are no longer novel. When you press your thumb against the lower left edge of the 3.2-inch display, the entire screen springs back clockwise, revealing the hidden keyboard you use for e-mail, messages, Web addresses and other stunts. The new device shares a basic design trait with other Sidekicks. In marketing-speak, it comes in carbon or orchard finishes. It's 5.1 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.6 inches and is shaped a wee bit like a hockey rink. Thinner than its immediate predecessor, the 5.7-ounce device is still a relative behemoth nowadays. Press the power button, and Sidekick flashes colored lights and emits a cacophony of sounds, a reminder it isn't some staid BlackBerry. Sidekick LX generally excels at keeping you connected to your social circle. carriers', though the company plans to double its coverage area by year's end. T-Mobile's 3G network isn't as vast as rival U.S. Web pages were sometimes slow to load, even when in a 3G coverage area, and browsing is where a touch-screen would help. You have to flip open the screen on the LX to make such calls. I prefer a regular keypad for dialing unfamiliar numbers, even a virtual one such as on the iPhone. Phone-call quality is good, too, but the unconventional design and various controls flanking the screen take some getting used to. Battery life is a bit better: three hours of talk time and six days of standby when using 3G. ![]() It offers a dandy high-resolution display: The hardware is manufactured by Sharp, the folks behind Aquos TVs. Sidekick can access the faster 3G network and has GPS. (The capability was not available for testing.) In the coming months, Sidekick is adding support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, letting you use the handset to stay on top of work stuff. While LX remains first and foremost a consumer device, T-Mobile plans to make it work for business, if only to keep existing customers from bailing. T-Mobile says the sweet-spot Sidekick customer is a college student, budding professional or anyone who considers themselves a "virtual socialite." This latest Sidekick (which replaces a previous LX model) adds integrated social-networking applications for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. (All prices are after a mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract.) Some current T-Mobile customers will be able to upgrade at the lower price after the launch. But if buying in-store, new customers must pay $250. At $199 if pre-ordered online, the Sidekick LX is comparable in price with some iPhones and BlackBerrys. Instead, you rely on a trackball and PlayStation-like controls to move around.
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