Rating: 
Summary: THIS PHONE SUCKS!!!!
Review: THIS PHONE SUCKS. IT BREAKS DOWN TOO MUCH. WHEN YOU DO RETURN THE DEVICE THEY ONLY SEND YOU REFURBISHED PHONES, SO THEY MIGHT LAST FOR A WHILE, BUT ULTIMATELY THEY WILL STILL BREAK DOWN. NOT GOOD SERVICE TOO. AN OVER THE AIR UPDATE WAS GIVEN TO ALL SIDEKICKS TO HELP IMPROVE THE SERVICE, BUT IT STILL LOSES SERVICE AND/OR BREAKS UP, WHEN IN CONVERSATION. A STAR IS TOO GOOD OF A RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS PHONE. THIS PHONE SHOULD BE PULLED OF THE MARKET.
Rating:
Summary: AWFUL product, worse customer service, stay away
Review: I purchased this phone from Amazon and was lured in by the great price (AHEM ..... after mail in rebates which I still haven't received because it takes so long, 10-12 weeks, beware).I am now waiting for my THIRD sidekick in three months. The first one purchased through Amazon was fun when it worked, but reception was pretty lousy and then the device stopped connecting to the network one day. I'd had it about 5 weeks. It would power up, but I couldn't make calls or connect to the net. I called T-Mobile for a replacement. Them: "There's a three-week back-order on the phone."
Me: "What am I supposed to do until then?"
Them: "Oh, we'll give you a credit for when you don't have a phone". How nice of them huh? That credit was $5, which when I worked out the numbers of my service plan, my phone costs me about $1.70 a day. After getting a replacement about 12 days later, I called and demanded a credit that was an accurate reimbursement for how long I'd been without a phone. They agreed. That 2nd Sidekick lasted about two weeks and broke last Saturday, March 6th. I've had T-Mobile since around January 2nd, 2004, by the way. So I call T-Mobile. Them: "The phone is on four week back order."
Me: "That is unacceptable, I need a phone for a business trip in a week. If I can't get a Sidekick, I want a Motorola V300 or that Samsung one".
Them: "They're $150 for the Motorola, and $250 for the Samsung, sir".
Me: "Why should I shell out another $150 for a phone, when I paid over $200 for the Sidekick and the piece of junk doesn't work? I haven't even received my mail in rebates for it!".
Them: "That's all we can do. Otherwise you can get a loaner from a T-Mobile store in your area".
Me: "Fine, I'll do that." Little do I know that all the T-Mobile stores in the Chicago area are completely out of the cheap, loaner Nokias. I call many stores, none have any. I call T-Mobile back, absolutely irate. Me: "No one has loaner phones, and I'm waiting for a new Sidekick, MY THIRD, that is on four week backorder. I expect T-Mobile to send me a phone as a loaner".
Them: "We can't do that sir, only the stores have phones to loan out".
Me: "Unacceptable as they DO NOT have any phones to loan out. I want out of my contract with T-Mobile or I want a replacement, different phone for free."
Them: "To get out of your contract is $200. A replacement phone like the one you want is $150."
Me: "This is awful. I'm expected to go without a phone, while I continue to stay in a contract that I'm locked into, isn't this some kind of blackmail? Either I pay the $200 or you'll wreck my credit by reporting me? All the while I don't have a phone because your piece of junk phone can't last more than few weeks?"
Them: "I'm sorry, that's all we can do."
Me: "Well I'm not paying the early termination fee."
Them: "That's your choice, sir." This went on for nearly 45 minutes last night, the culmination of which was some serious yelling on my part. They said I was being unreasonable. I guess T-Mobile customers are expected to live without a cell phone while they have T-Mobile (DIS)service. The situation was sort of resolved when they agreed to pay for a rental from T-Mobile rentals. I called them and it's $5 a day which is going to cost T-Mobile a pretty penny if it really takes them another 4 weeks to get me a new Sidekick. Then I'm sure it will break again and I'll be back to square one with this. Also, the rental people are a totally separate T-Mobile company so it will be interesting to see how I get my reimbursement. Please, PLEASE be aware of the situation when you go into a contract with T-Mobile and especially if you want a Sidekick. Other Amazon reviews (unfortunately written after I bought mine) are noting the same problems with the phones breaking. In case you're wondering, I treat the phone like gold and have not dropped it or mistreated it. As I said, it still powers up, but just doesn't connect to the network. T-Mobile obviously cares nothing for their customers, keeping them happy, or the inconvenience they're causing by selling faulty equipment. I had AT&T GSM service before and I thought they were bad! I guess the grass is not always greener on the other side? Buyer beware!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great for mobile emial and web connected PDA
Review: For years I was looking for the perfect PDA. I tried the palm 3c, and it was nice, but very limited. then I moved to Pocket PC's and tried the hp jornada, and cassopia, but both were lacking something. No abiliby to upgrade. So then I feel in love with the Ipaq, and had every version from the Ipaq 3700 to the 5550. My favs were the 3900, 5400 and 5500 series Ipaqs because they all came with built in Wifi (802.11b) wireless networking. I could browse the web in my living room. But it was still lacking. I wanted to connect anywhere. Get my email and browse the web anywhere and anytime. Then I saw the T-Mobile sidekick online and instantly fell in love. After some time I purchased it with the $30.00 per month unlimited data plan, and altought it is not perfect it is the best designed and fully featured PDA on the market. The layout of the buttons on the side are nicely placed and easy to reach, and the built in keyboard that hides under the screen, perfect. It doesn't take up space when you aren't using it, just flip the screen down. Although I wish it could sync with outlook. I hear that is coming some day. Also I wish the events application had the ability to add attendies to the event from your contacts as per outlook. Even with those small announces, I love it and will not trade it for anything, except for the next generation sidekick from Danger.
Rating:
Summary: Lousy because it breaks alot, but it's good when it works.
Review: I have had the black & white and now the color version of the Sidekick since the first day each of them came out. I love the Sidekick while it works, but unfortuately it only works for a number of months and then breaks, at which time I have to call T-Mobile and send me a replacement. I went through 2 of the black & white version models because they broke, and I am now waiting on my third color Sidekick because the previous two have broke on their own for different problems. I am not the only person who is having these problems, as there is currently a 14-28 day backorder to receive a replacement Sidekick! These things are breaking so often, T-Mobile is unable to keep up with the demand for replacements. If you have alot of money to throw around and want to buy an unreliable product that is cool when it works, then definitely buy the Sidekick. Also, buy yourself a backup phone to use for when your Sidekick eventually breaks. If you do not have alot of money to waste, then hold off and wait to buy a similiar device from a competetor. Unfortuntely, there are not really many similar phones out there right now, but it looks like some could be coming in the future from companies who know how to make reliable products. Danger is not one of those companies and they will probably not be around much longer.
Rating: 
Summary: Good phone, horrible service and customer support
Review: I got the T-Mobile Sidekick a few months ago and it was a neat device. The keyboard and scroll wheel work very well for navigation and input, and the mobile web browser, email, and AIM are very good over the mobile network, when it works. Voice quality is OK as well. The phone is big. That's pretty much expected and normal since it's a PDA with a full keyboard; however all they provide you with to carry it in is a chintzy belt clip. However, while the device itself is good, the service is horrible. I had previously used a Nokia 3390, a cheap entry-level phone which, like the Sidekick, also used T-Mobile's GSM network and had a built-in antenna. The 3390 had given me good reception pretty much everywhere in the metropolitan area. However, the Sidekick's reception was horrible. I would get dropped calls and no network service in places where I used to get decent reception on the 3390. It's laughably bad when a $300 phone fails to get a signal in the exact same place where a $90 phone gets decent reception on the same network. However, the worst thing of all about it is T-Mobile's horrible, horrible customer service, which is very uncoordinated and contradictory. When I first got the Sidekick, the "Customer Care" representative told me I'd get a free camera attachment with it. But when I got the phone, it had no camera attachment. I called Customer Care again and they told me that the first representative was wrong, and that I had to spend $40 to buy it seperately. Also, when I eventually lost my Sidekick (because the belt clip fell off) I had to speak to Customer Care multiple times about buying a new Sidekick, and each person's advice contradicted the previous one. One Customer Care "representative" even told me I could order a new phone off the website, but it turns out that if I did what he said I would have created a new account and been charged a $200 cancellation fine. And in the end, it turns out that they were out of Sidekicks and they wouldn't be in stock again till mid-March. I ended up going back to my trusty Nokia 3390 and I don't ever plan on buying a new Sidekick. If a wireless provider other than T-Mobile starts selling Hiptops like the Sidekick then it would be worth buying. However, stay away from T-Mobile.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Awesome Phone
Review: This is truly a awesome phone, I had it for like 5 months and I am still discovering things!The ringtones, the wheel lights, the vibration(which they fixed in OTA ver. 1.1)Speaking of the new OTA it includes a Catalog where you can download new applications like AOL Mail!The only "problem" I have with it (and why I'm not giving it 5/5) is because the device needs to be changed out every so often because something malfunctions, since September I personally have gone thru 5 phones. However T-Mobile makes it VERY easy to get it exchanged!!!!Good Product, GREAT FUCTIONALITY, just better Quality Control
Rating: 
Summary: Too Many Features to Wrong!!
Review: I have had this phone since October...and it is both the gift and the curse. This phone has many awesome features, however, so many features bring so many different problems. When one thing goes wrong the whole phone is hell. I have had to get the phone replaced THREE times since October. This is a good phone if you don't use the PHONE a lot. It is great for internet browsing, aol instant messaging, pda, etc. Also the ringtones are the worst, and you cannot download ringtones. The pros to this phone are every feature except the actual phone feature. If you talk on the phone a lot this is not the phone for you. However, if you use the phone minimally but need instant internet access, pda, etc. it's cool. The phone is very large, and takes up too much space in my purse. It is also awkward to hold. The earpiece is annoying and the phone is simple too BIG!! The worst problem of all is again that there are so many features that frequently go wrong.
Rating:
Summary: The next generation of phones
Review: Calling this just a phone really is a disservice. As a matter of fact, as a phone the SideKick really is only average. Reception is very good (better than my old Nokia), but the form factor takes some getting used to, and dialing #'s not already programmed in can take some work. That said, in every other aspect the SideKick is the best electronic gadget I've ever seen, it just works and works wonderfully. 1) Email. Wow. I am on email constantly, have used every client under the sun, and I can say reading and replying to email on the SideKick is the best environment I've yet to find. It's lightning quick, always up to date, and of course, always available. I can't tell you how well this works. 2) Address book. What makes this one so useful is of course the form factor. It doesn't take 5 minutes to type somebody's name in, it takes 5 seconds. Very well done. 3) Calendar. Finally a calendar system I can use. Simple and functional, plus it'll sync with my outlook contacts and appointments without me every having to dock. This is how life is supposed to be. 4) The Web. An excellent implementation. Checking movie times, slashdot, fark, cnn or most any other site works extremely well, and quickly. It has saved me more than once. The biggest thing you can't appreciate is just how good the screen and keyboard is, and how well the wheel works as a navigation aid. Some Apple people worked with Danger to create this device, and their attention to detail is apparent here. Did I mention you also get a Telnet and SSH client, and it has an open API to write new applications for. For the geek, there is no cooler toy.
Rating:
Summary: Very good for certain things
Review: The good:
1.when signal is strong it does a surprisingly good job of surfing the web. NOTE_ IF YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT PICTURES WHEN SURFING YOU CAN CHOOSE AN OPTION TO SUPRESS PHOTOS (ADS MOSTLY). THIS MAKES PAGES LOAD MUCH, MUCH FASTER!!! 2.Great for email and AOL Instant messenger when you are on the go. 3. Quality of phone is good ( ease of use is another matter....more on that below) 4. Screen is clear and bright. 5. Web interface is great. You (or anybody you give your password to) can send/receive emails, update calendar, or address book from any internet connection and will appear on your handset almost instantly. The Bad: 1.Without a conventional phone keypad dialing is difficult, near impossible when driving (looking up stored numbers is a breeze though). If you have to punch in a lot of passwords and symbols (like # - which requies us of a shift key) to retrieve your voicemails, this can be very difficult. 2.While the web interface is great - you can not synch up to outlook or lotus notes. For some people this makes the PDA functions useless. 3. Battery only goes 16 or so hours - can die out on you at the end of a long day. 4. Signals are very weird. I can get the web in some rooms in my house an not in others (normal size house). Signal strength at work is top notch though. 5. Amazon will make you wait until you get your first bill to file for rebate ( must lead to a lot of forgetting to request rebate....hmmm...)
Rating:
Summary: Finally! Someone got it right! Fantastic !
Review: I received my T-Mobile Sidekick at Christmas (Thanks Sis!). Within minutes I was up and running; activated and registered an account. I was able to upload all my Handspring Visor contacts (+1200) by exporting them and importing into the Sidekick's web portal. All my POP accounts are configured on the Sidekick to receive my email almost real time. Man, if you communicate through email the Sidekick will increase your productivity 10 folds! I have a small business and communicate to my customers via my Sidekick from the golf course, restaurants, car, etc...<grin>! Highly recommend the Sidekick!
| 
