The T-Mobile Sidekick II, based on Danger Inc.’s hiptop wireless device, made a red carpet debut in Hollywood.
The device is the first to launch under Danger’s newly announced partnership with Sharp Corp., meant to step up development, production and distribution of the hiptop in North America and Europe.
The new version of the device is 25-percent slimmer, includes an integrated camera, a speakerphone, enhanced battery life and messaging capacity.
In addition, Danger moved several controls previously aligned with the keyboard, including a directional control, scroll key, volume buttons, power key and user-programmable buttons, to the outside of the device, resulting in a “significant improvement in user functionality,” according to Hank Nothhaft, Danger’s chairman and chief executive officer. The new placement of the buttons allows users to access the device’s applications without having to flip up the keyboard.
The Sidekick II also includes new radio receiver transmitters and a new antenna design, improving the phone’s voice quality “on the order of magnitudes,” said Nothhaft.
The device’s integrated camera features four times the resolution that the Sidekick’s original external camera offered. Other capabilities include photo ID, synchronization with Microsoft Outlook and the ability to import v-cards directly to the device’s contact file. Expanded capacity for SMS messages allows the device to store 130 SMS messages compared with 15 in the previous version.
The device will be available through T-Mobile for $300 this fall. The carrier charges $20 per month, on top of a voice plan, for unlimited data usage for Web surfing, e-mail and instant messaging.
Nothhaft said Danger plans to introduce the device with other carriers in the future. Eight carriers offer the original hiptop device, which was launched two years ago.
