All of the Sidekick 3's features are accessed from a central "Jump Menu" which features colorful Application icons and graphics arranged in an arc that you scroll through with the trackball or D-Pad. Applications include Download Catalog (access to ringtones, games, and other applications that can be purchased from the device), Instant Messaging, Email, Phone, Text Messages, Address Book, Web Browser, Organizer, Camera, Music Player, and Games. Instant Messaging and Organizer are actually collections with three applications each: AIM, MSN, and Yahoo IM clients, and; Calendar, Notes, and To Do list. The navigation system is logical, intuitive, and either "fun" or "juvenile" depending on your point of view.
Messaging, Email, and Web Browsing applications - described in more detail later in this review - are on the whole excellent. Organizer and Address Book features are also very good, and take full advantage of the trackball and QWERTY thumbboard. The Calendar, in particular, is such a pleasure to scroll through using the trackball I wonder why other mobile phone makers haven't started building their handsets with balls instead of joysticks. In almost all cases, key application functionality can be found by pressing the Menu key from within a given application. For instance, the Address Book defaults to displaying contacts last name first, which I wasn't used to. A press of the Menu button revealed multiple sorting options including First name first, and a choice of A-to-Z or Z-to-A.
This third version of the Sidekick features removable memory in the form of a miniSD card, and a Music Player application is also built into the phone to extend the functionality of this extra memory. I was somewhat disappointed to discover that the Music Player only supports mp3 and WAV files, since much of my music collection is in the iPod-optimized AAC format. However, mp3 is still the industry standard for compressed digital music, and the SK 3's player handles these files with ease. The trackball and QWERTY board make playlist creation a hair easier than on most mobiles; while this alone certainly isn't a reason to buy a QWERTY device, it is nice to see that the Sidekick 3 software designers thought to get the most out of the device's hardware across all applications.
Another disappointment about music on the Sidekick 3: user-installed mp3/WAV files cannot be used as ringtones. Custom ringtones - including snippets from popular songs - are available for purchase and download through the device's "Download Catalog" application, but pay-for-play is your only option. This makes sense from the standpoint of T-Mobile wanting to create additional revenue through a device so clearly marketed towards the "young, fun" crowd most likely to want custom ringtones. But it's also quite frustrating considering that most other mid- to high-end phones currently on the market support user-installable ringtones. In fact, I'd say that the overall lack of customization options ranks amongst my biggest complaints with the SK 3.
A single game - "Rock & Rocket," an Asteroids clone - came preinstalled on my Sidekick 3. Additional games are available for purchase from the Download Catalog, as are the aforementioned custom ringtones and additional entertainment and productivity software. Ringtones start at $1.69 each while applications range from a few freebies to $9.99, with most games and programs in the $3-6 range.
Again, the overall look of applications is a sort of "grown-up cartoon" style that's a little more hip and fun than your standard Windows Mobile smartphone OS. Speaking of smartphones, the SK 3 can view Word documents ,PDFs, and JPEGs, though it can't edit them. Where the low-res display is detrimental to viewing photographs, it works fairly well with the icons and graphics programmed into the OS and applications.
Next: Display & Audio »
4.3
