Sidekick iD

Designed to reel in aspiring hipsters with its summer-job-friendly price point, the $99 Sidekick iD is best defined by what it lacks when compared with its pimped-out bigger brother. Unlike the $100-more-expensive Sidekick 3, the Sidekick iD doesn't give you MP3 playback, a digital camera, Bluetooth, or an expansion card slot. What's left is a fun but underpowered messaging device for IMing your buddies and surfing the Web, one that can be personalized with colored removable exterior panels.

The Sidekick iD's back-to-school vibe continues with the return of the SK3's rubber bumpers, which can be interpreted as insurance on Junior's new phone. The device itself, without the bells and whistles, sports nearly identical measurements to that of the Sidekick 3, although the iD is 0.3 ounces lighter. The trackball remains, but it feels a little flimsy and unwieldy compared with the BlackBerry Pearl's; thankfully, rumors that Danger would omit the directional pad proved false, so you can jump around the menus with that. (View Photo Gallery.)

The iD's keyboard is essentially the same as the SK3. The plastic keys are a bit slippery but nicely spaced, and we were able to fire off texts and IMs quickly. The iD's holdover 2.4-inch screen has the same resolution and sports the same number of colors as the SK3; it's not very bright, but it gets the job done. As far as those external customization options go, the multicolored bumpers-available in black, yellow, blue, white, purple, or glow-in-the-dark for $19.99-provide a nice stylized touch. Replacing them is a bit of a nuisance, though. You have to remove two panels on the back along with the battery just to get at them.

Text-based communication is the Sidekick iD's main selling point. You get three integrated instant-messaging services: AIM, Windows Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. We had no problems setting up a POP3 e-mail account, but T-Mobile includes a preconfigured e-mail account for technophobes. Text-messaging performance was quick, with just a second or two of delay between sending and receiving. E-mail delays ran about one minute or less. “Instant” messaging proved to be a frustrating experience, with delays ranging from a few seconds to a full minute before recipients got our IMs.

The iD does include a full HTML browser, but you're stuck with a sluggish GPRS data connection. (Seriously, T-Mobile, how much would it cost to add EDGE?) We noticed that most pages not designed for cell phone browsing suffered extra-long loading times. The New York Times Web site, for instance, took 18 seconds to start loading and more than two minutes to load completely. The rock band My Chemical Romance's MySpace page also took well over a minute to load.

On the other hand, mobile pages like Google Mail and Facebook took only five to ten seconds to pop up. Navigation sites such as Yahoo Maps loaded in less than 30 seconds, and as an improvement over the SK3, most map images displayed legibly. We also downloaded a few ringtones and sound effects in just a few seconds. Downloading games like PumpJack, Casino, and Pac-man took significantly longer.

As a phone, the Sidekick iD is as awkward to use as the SK3, but we like the integration with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows users to make calls to any five people on any network, with plans starting at $39.99 per month. We also appreciate that you can quickly send a text message, e-mail, or instant message to any of those five contacts by simply clicking on their image. However, without an a built-in camera, creating your myFave favorites will take some work.

Coverage around Manhattan was good during our tests, and we had no problems sending text messages or making calls. While outdoors, voice quality was adequate; callers reported that we sounded clear. Indoors, however, we lost a few calls, and Web connectivity was inconsistent. Danger did manage to improve the battery life on the SK iD; you get 5.3 hours of talk time-almost an hour more than the SK3-and double the standby time at six days.

At $99, the Sidekick iD does seem worth it for cash-strapped heavy messengers. The features T-Mobile did manage to cram in work adequately, but the lack of multimedia perks and EDGE data will probably turn off a lot of prospective buyers. If you really need the street-cred, though, we'd advise saving up for the Sidekick 3. But if you want a better multimedia messaging device, go with the comparably priced MOTO Q.

Check out the Sidekick iD photo gallery, now.

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