T-Mobile Unwraps Sidekick LX, Slide

Yep, it's official: the Motorola-made Sidekick Slide is coming to a T-Mobile store near you. Also on its way is the Sidekick LX, a streamlined update of the Sidekick 3 with a sharper screen and revamped interface. I got to take a peek at both phones last week; here are a few quick first impressions.

First, let's take the case of the LX, which will take the place of the SK3 as the flagship Sidekick. Set to go on sale October 24 for $300 with a two-year contract, the LX is slightly slimmer and flatter than the bulky 3 (which was, in turn, a bit more trim than the Sidekick II), although at 5.7 ounces, the LX isn't exactly light. The controls are pretty much the same—there's a speaker/navigation pad to the left of the swivel-up screen, and a trackball to the right, along with the Sidekick's traditional "jump," next, and menu keys. Speaking of the three-inch, 65,000-color screen—it's much better this time around, boasting an improved resolution of 400 by 240 pixels, plus LCD technology borrowed from Sharp's Aquos line, and a slick, updated interface. Happily, the fundamentals of the innovative Sidekick UI are still there (although the annoying, cartoon-like figures have been thoughtfully jettisoned).

Under the hood, though, the LX isn't much different from its predecessor. Besides the improved screen, the LX is still saddled with a 1.3-megapixel camera (c'mon, guys—would two megapixels have killed you?), a music-only player (no video?), Bluetooth (no stereo support), and EDGE-only data access—no Wi-Fi (or @Home support, for that matter). That said, the Sidekick's robust e-mail client, instant messaging apps, and Web browser are still on board, along with microSD memory expansion, quad-band GSM for worldwide calling, and T-Mobile's new MySpace application.

Now let's move on to the Slide, a Motorola-built handset (as opposed to Sharp, which made the earlier Sidekicks) designed to appeal to "a new customer," as T-Mobile reps told me: in short, adults. At 0.7 inches thick and 5.3 ounces, the Slide is lighter and more compact than the LX, and it drops the kid-friendly "mood lights" on the pricier model. The Slide ($199 with a two-year contract, available November 7) also has a slide-up screen, compared to the signature swiveling display on earlier Sidekicks, and its QWERTY keypad will feel cramped to those used to the roomy Sidekick keyboards of old. However, the Slide actually fits in a jeans pocket with room to spare.

The Slide crams in most of the LX's features, with a few notable exceptions. You get the Sidekick Web browser, instant messaging, and e-mail client (although no Exchange support, which would certainly have appealed to adults), plus a 1.3-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM calling, EDGE data, and the revamped screen (320 by 240 pixels, minus the Aquos circuity). There's no stereo Bluetooth support, through, and the Slide won't ship with a microSD card like the LX will (you'll need a memory card to fire up the Slide's music player).

Anyway, I should be getting review units of the LX and the Slide in the near future, so I'll reserve final judgements until I've taken a closer look.

Update: In my original post, I mistakenly reported that the LX comes with stereo Bluetooth support; I got that info from a draft spec sheet, which has since been corrected. Sorry for the mix-up.

Related:
FCC Tees up Sidekick Slide