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T-Mobile Sidekick II
Price: Free to £50 inc VAT, depending on contract

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 23/01/2006
Featured in magazine:
Issue 126
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: T-Mobile
Tel: 01707 315000
Web Address: www.t-mobile.co.uk


Since the first Wap phones, the promise of being able to access the internet from a pocket-sized device has been an attractive proposition, but not always a smooth experience. Unless you've had deep pockets, both to fit in a cumbersome device and pay for the services, the reality of a decent, comprehensive, portable internet service has remained tantalisingly out of reach. The Sidekick II, available exclusively from T-Mobile on its Web 'n' Walk tariff, brings the internet features we use daily into a device that should suit your pocket better.

Features
It'd be easier to list what this device doesn't do. It has a full web browser, complete with T-Mobile's handy portal for Google searching and accessing everyday services, it can manage your POP3 email accounts, and it uses AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) to keep you in touch with your buddies. It has the usual phone features – talk, text and send multimedia messages – and includes basic PDA functions, such as calendar, to-do list, contact book (integrated with phone and email, naturally) and notepad. And don't forget the camera and all the downloadable applications already available from developers in the US , where this device and its predecessor have been extremely hot property.

Performance
Expecting the Sidekick II to be as powerful a web browser as your broadband PC is asking too much, but its email options work as happily as any Blackberry mobile device we've played with, and having AIM in your pocket is great for those with friends on the service. The keyboard is a bit cramped and requires firm pressure to get a letter out, but it's fine for knocking out quick email messages. Current PDA users will find its life-organising functions lacking sophistication though, and you won't be ditching your digital camera for this 0.3 megapixel (640 x 480 pixels) device.

Ease of use
With so many features, ease of use is paramount. Luckily, the Sidekick II could hardly be simpler. The main screen uses the scroll wheel to rotate through the various features, and the scroll wheel goes on to be used throughout the phone. There's a menu button in the top corner that can double up to provide keyboard shortcuts to regularly used options. Navigating the device is a cinch and it reacts sensibly and intuitively to what you're doing: open the browser and start typing, for example, and the address bar will open with the presumption that you're typing in a web address.

Value for money
This device won't cost you any more than £50 on T-Mobile's Web 'n' Walk contracts, the cheapest of which costs £30 with 100 minutes of free talk time and 40MB of data download. Unfortunately, the Sidekick also needs a 'service pack' (£5 per month) to do its clever business of pushing email and AIM messages to you. However, this still makes it the cheapest way at present to get a decent internet experience, complete with keyboard for speeding up communications, and T-Mobile has to be applauded for taking the plunge. It's still expensive by comparison with our home broadband connections but at least it's a step in the right direction.

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• Apple iPhone