T-Mobile Sidekick II

The Sidekick II has been around for over a year in the US, although under a different name; Hiptop 2.

Features such as the 640 x 480 integrated camera and dated interface show its age.

However, it still has some technology not seen on other devices, not least the screen.

Lift it up and it will swivel 180º, revealing a backlit Qwerty keyboard. Navigation via a responsive scroll wheel is simple.

T-Mobile’s much publicised Web ’n’ Walk service is prominent on the Sidekick II.

Along with surfing capabilities, AOL Instant Messenger is included as standard, but other popular messaging services such as MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger aren’t available.

Using an email push service, you’ll also receive new mail without having to go online and check manually.

The Internet features of the Sidekick II require a Sidekick II Service Pack (£5 a month), which gives you a hefty 40MB data allowance.

As part of the service, photos, contacts and to-do lists are automatically backed up to T-Mobile’s servers (a separate 10MB allowance ensures you don’t pay for these backups).

All your data is then available online, which is useful since there’s no other way of getting it off the Sidekick II.

You won’t find Bluetooth, infra-red or USB – there is a USB socket, but it’s blocked and for developer use only.

There’s a lot to like about the Sidekick II, but it’s more than a little dated and the lack of connectivity is concerning.

It’s also expensive. A minimum £28 per month contract (currently on offer at £13 per month for a year) is required, along with the £5 per month Sidekick II Service Pack and £49.99 for the phone.

Had T-Mobile released this a year ago, when the US first had it, it would have scored higher. As it is, the device is in need of an update.

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