Great Blackberry alternative
Written: Oct 13 '05 (Updated Oct 13 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Clarity: |
 |
|
| Portability: |
|
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
|
Pros: Intuitive, fantastic ergonomics, strong email support, good speakerphone, good browser, easy to read display.
Cons: No Bluetooth, occasional email spam, marginal camera, potentially fragile, very few games available.
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a solid, comprehensive PDA-style phone, you'll find this to be a strong competitor to the highest-end Blackberry.
|
|
|
| Weave's Full Review: Nokia 6160 Cell Phone |
Having had a number of PDAs, PIM-capable phones, T-Mobile's Pocket PC phone and after buying and trying a Blackberry 7290, I returned the Blackberry to get the Sidekick II.
I was looking for a replacement for my Motorola that had a full QWERTY keyboard for texting, as portable email and SMS have become must-have apps at work.
PLEASANT SURPRISES
A few of my friends made fun of my purchase ("it's targeted at 19-year-old girls, dude!"), but after watching me use it and trying it themselves, they too were converts.
The color flip-up screen is easy to use and easy to read. For a few extra bucks, you can download quantity/currency conversion programs, instant messenger programs for Yahoo! and AOL, calculators and other applications. The unit will download MP3 ringtones, providing real songs for ringers, but you can't download your own MP3s, unfortunately.
ERGONOMIC KEYBOARD: The keyboard is the best part of the unit. The design of the device makes sure your hands stay in place as you use the QWERTY keyboard, and the rubber keys are sized for big hands as well as small. And let me tell you, it is a FAR easier keyboard to use than the Blackberry.
STRONG SERVER/DESKTOP SYNCING: T-Mobile uses Danger, the phone's manufacturer, to offer email, photo sharing, online calendar/contacts and other services that let you sync to a server and your desktop computer. As a Mac user, I purchased an external program called Missing Sync from Markspace.com. For $30 or so, it allows automatic syncing with iCal and Address Book through the .Mac online service. This is the slickest synchronization I have ever seen. My work laptop, home computer and cell phone all sync with one another, and they update the .Mac online database as well, so I can check via Web or even publish my calendar/contacts for others to see. WHAT a timesaver.
GOOD WEB BROWSER: Unlike many cell phones, this isn't just a WAP browser. The web browser will download nearly any website content, allowing me to electronically sign in for a flight, check weather/traffic (yes, I do use the phone for these things), check on movie listings, etc. Graphics are resized to be smaller, and there is some text wrap but I've found it very usable. One slight oversight is the lack of Javascript support, which renders some websites non-functional. This is, however, a problem only occasionally, typically on secure sites like online banking, etc.
BLACKBERRY BEATER
Some of the annoyances of the full-size Crackberrys are 1) the scroll wheel takes numerous aggressive thumbthrusts to scroll anywhere, 2) the backlight doesn't automatically come on when a call comes in, requiring an extra step when in a dark environment, and 3) the 7290, at least, has no speakerphone...an essential requirement in my line of work. The Sidekick's scroll wheel and up/down button interface is very easy to use and very intuitive. The backlight comes on automatically, and the speakerphone works great, even in noisy environments like the car.
CONS
The phone is quite easy to drop, despite the rubber bumpers on both sides. And with no protection on either end, I'm waiting for the inevitable hard-drop on concrete that shatters the phone.
The few times the unit has slipped from my fingers, the screen has sprung open automatically. That's also a bit of a problem, as a hard drop would probably snap the display off and send it flying. So I cradle the damned thing and pay careful attention to where and when I'm taking it out of the holster, whose snug fit can cause fumble fingers like mine to lose their grip.
SPAM: Email support is provided by Danger under the T-Mobile private label. The email capabilities of this unit (up to 3 POP accounts) are fantastic and more than enough for most people. However, I started getting spam on my phone as Danger was unable to keep out the more aggressive spammers. This, fortunately, has waned as time has gone on...but it was very annoying to get buzzed 3 times a day from email spam.
NO BLUETOOTH: If you have a Bluetooth headset or car adapter, you're out of luck. Adding it would have increased the phone's already respectable size, weight and power consumption. I would assume this is planned for Sidekick III.
CAMERA: The camera, while offering flash, is pretty weak. The resolution and quality on my phone are far worse than my Motorola V300. Danger needs to work on this a bit.
SUMMARY
All in all, I've been extremely satisfied with the Sidekick II. I know I'll rue the day I drop it on the ground, but in the meantime, it reminds me of upcoming appointments, sends texts, receives emails and handles calls with ease. Hands down the best PDA phone I've ever used.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.00
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Weave
|
|
Member: Eric Weaver
Location: Seattle, Washington, US
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Advertising executive, corporate road-warrior, Web pioneer
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.