Hands On: T-Mobile Sidekick 3

Fans of the T-Mobile Sidekick are legion, and both the Sidekick 1 and 2 are excellent devices. In its newest version, the gadget slims down again, and the Sidekick 3 is definitely a potential upgrade if your current Sidekick is getting ragged.

What's new? Aside from a cosmetic makeover (with a notable keyboard redesign), the new version adds a much-needed MP3 player and a higher-resolution camera. The quality of the camera is still pretty poor (1.3 megapixels), but it's vastly improved over the old Sidekick and most camera phones. Still, test pics I took came out blurry and, frankly, ugly. Would Paris want you to shoot her pic with this phone? I think not. There's no video support either.

I personally preferred the older Sidekick keyboard, but this is a matter of individual tastes. Reviewers have come down pretty evenly on both sides of the fence so far. You'll want to try it out the keyboard action in person if you're seriously considering the phone.

The menu system is functionally identical and still outstanding, but getting around it is a bit different, thanks to a new trackball (yes, a real trackball) on the right side of the device. The trackball also serves as a beacon, flashing green when the phone wants to tell you something.

Audio quality on the Sidekick 3 (when used as a phone) will likely depend more on your proximity to the T-Mobile network than anything else. In my tests I had calls fading in and out, though the speakerphone was plenty loud and using the phone up against my face wasn't as uncomfortable as I'd imagined it would be.

Overall: This is still a sexy little phone/PDA combo, perfect for the hip kids, but appropriate for a general audience. You may look a bit strange flipping out that screen to use the keyboard in a staff meeting, but before long you'll be making converts. Soon enough you'll have to bat everyone away from peeking over your shoulder at the thing.

Got your hands on a Sidekick 3? Post your review here!