Sharp Sidekick II Smartphone
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- Installed Memory: 32 MB
- Design: Mobile
- Style: Smartphone
- Network Type: GSM 900 GSM 1800 GSM 1900 GSM
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The Original Color Sidekick isn't even a year old...
Pros
Sleek
Cons
Expensive
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Very trendy
...and it's already been replaced by the Sidekick II! Now that's just nuts! In November of 2003, I purchased a T-Mobile Color Sidekick through Amazon.com for my son. I used it for a few months before I gave it to him for Christmas. Since then he's logged many hours on it--so many that the letters are worn off of the keys. It's been dropped and used hard, but it still works. Why then, would he need a new one? Because T-Mobile marketing execs were smart. They targeted all of the current owners with the lure of owning the NEW SIDEKICK even more features for $50 less than the rest of us. Uhhh....that still makes it $249.
Yep, $249 - the amount most people paid for the first one. This time my son has a job so he made the choice to pay for the new one. The catch is, you have to mail in the original color sidekick to get the rebate. Failure to send it in means a $50 charge to your account. This really isn't fair as people who activate a new line also get the discount but they don't have to send in an old one--what in the world are they going to do with all those old CSKs? I was going to use it and add data to my line and they would have ended up getting an additional $19.99 from me every month. Now, they'll get nothing....but I digress.
Why replace a really fun phone less than a year later? Because the new on is sleeker, thinner, and looks cooler. That and because like all teens he wants what's new. The new phone has now been replaced by a Blackberry Pearl because this Sidekick isn't Friends & Family compatible, something that wasn't available when we purchased this phone. Sadly, this phone didn't hold its value. Worth only about $99 now, it'll be on eBay soon.
The SideKick purchases shortsighted on our part. We ended up purchasing two in just a few years when what we should have done is just purchased the higher powered BlackBerry in the first place (or something similar) but we were trying to get by with the lower end unit. In doing so, we ended up having to replace it much to soon. The shortcomings like not having a MP3 player and not being able to stream audio were big missing items for my son. For me surfing eBay and trying to work on live auctions was almost impossible because of the Java limitations. So many websites use java script for their navigation and the SideKick block the script so those sites couldn't be navigated.
The unit was large and cumbersome and probably the reason why both units showed such signs of use. This one also looked well worn after a year. The slide-to-the-side screen was well worn as were the keys. He did a huge amount of text messaging and the keyboard showed it. The screen, unprotected on the Sidekick, was scratched on this one as well.
Buying a unit that was fully functional, like the Blackberry Pearl, has been a much better option in the end.
(editor's note - I started this review in November of 2004 and just finished it in 2007 - the Sidekick II lasted 3 years :)
My Original Sidekick Review: http://www.epinions.com/content_123161054852
My BlackBerry Pearl Review: http://www.epinions.com/content_330417147524
Yep, $249 - the amount most people paid for the first one. This time my son has a job so he made the choice to pay for the new one. The catch is, you have to mail in the original color sidekick to get the rebate. Failure to send it in means a $50 charge to your account. This really isn't fair as people who activate a new line also get the discount but they don't have to send in an old one--what in the world are they going to do with all those old CSKs? I was going to use it and add data to my line and they would have ended up getting an additional $19.99 from me every month. Now, they'll get nothing....but I digress.
Why replace a really fun phone less than a year later? Because the new on is sleeker, thinner, and looks cooler. That and because like all teens he wants what's new. The new phone has now been replaced by a Blackberry Pearl because this Sidekick isn't Friends & Family compatible, something that wasn't available when we purchased this phone. Sadly, this phone didn't hold its value. Worth only about $99 now, it'll be on eBay soon.
The SideKick purchases shortsighted on our part. We ended up purchasing two in just a few years when what we should have done is just purchased the higher powered BlackBerry in the first place (or something similar) but we were trying to get by with the lower end unit. In doing so, we ended up having to replace it much to soon. The shortcomings like not having a MP3 player and not being able to stream audio were big missing items for my son. For me surfing eBay and trying to work on live auctions was almost impossible because of the Java limitations. So many websites use java script for their navigation and the SideKick block the script so those sites couldn't be navigated.
The unit was large and cumbersome and probably the reason why both units showed such signs of use. This one also looked well worn after a year. The slide-to-the-side screen was well worn as were the keys. He did a huge amount of text messaging and the keyboard showed it. The screen, unprotected on the Sidekick, was scratched on this one as well.
Buying a unit that was fully functional, like the Blackberry Pearl, has been a much better option in the end.
(editor's note - I started this review in November of 2004 and just finished it in 2007 - the Sidekick II lasted 3 years :)
My Original Sidekick Review: http://www.epinions.com/content_123161054852
My BlackBerry Pearl Review: http://www.epinions.com/content_330417147524
