Yet, when I powered the replacement phone up, after I logged into my Tmail account (which was or something), all my data was fully restored to my surprise.Īround this time, the world realized the dangers of having a phone that was connected to a server. I was told that I wouldn't get back any of the data, messages, notes, ringtones, or apps that I purchased from the Sidekick II's "Fun and more catalog": a primitive app store. My phone was stolen once and I was able to get a replacement through the insurance. My favorite part about this was that the phone was completely backed by the granddad of today's cloud services. The images didn't take up terribly much space since they were taken with a low-res 0.3 MP (VGA) camera. You could also view any of the 36 images that you could store on the phone's 48MB of internal storage. and you could also update your notes, calendar, and to-do lists. The Sidekick II offered a cloud sync service which could sync your notes, Tmail address (which had a 5 MB email storage limit), address book (which let you add and view contacts). Similarities to Android's navigation aren't entirely accidental - Danger was co-founded by Andy Rubin, the eventual co-founder of Android, much later followed by Essential. The four buttons on each corner were similar to Android: going clockwise: Back, Done, Jump (Home), and Menu. You could also navigate quicker with the scroll wheel, opposite the d-pad. It had an earpiece that featured an RGB LED light that flashed when a call or message came in and it also doubled as a 4-directional pad for navigating. There was a browser, SMS (no MMS), a Notes application, To Do list, Email application with POP and IMAP support, and the pre-installed Rock & Rocket game: a modernized version of the classic Asteroids Atari game. If you restarted the Sidekick or lost signal, your online time was reset. The best part was that you could be connected 24/7 so your friends could see how internet-addicted you were when they saw your "Online time" was several days or weeks long. It was the way to stay in touch with your friends in the States at this time. Social media wasn't popular at this time, but MySpace was starting to grow.ĪOL Instant Messenger came pre-loaded in the phone and was a major selling point. It was a pre-cursor to the mainstream consumer smartphone and the Sidekick brand was a part of popular culture. Its 180-degree flipping 240 x 160 px display revealed a full QWERTY keyboard underneath and made a sound that was instantly recognizable and so satisfying. The T-Mobile Sidekick II was one of those phones you saw commercials with A-list celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Molly Shannon, and Wee Man. I made enough money to pay my monthly bill of $60, which included unlimited 2G data, texting, and 200 minutes. I made enough over one summer to save up for the $299 it cost to get this phone on a T-Mobile contract back in 2004. I helped the electricians cut and crimp terminals to electrical wire used in power generator control panels. I paid for my phone out with the hard-earned money I made helping my dad at his industrial business. Yes, I was only 12 when I got my first cell phone, but I was not some spoiled brat. Keep in mind that a few of these devices aren't even in our database, so some will have a link to our spec page while others don't. Sit back, grab a cup or glass of your favorite hot, cold, fizzy, or alcoholic beverage of choice as we head back to the year 2004. In fact I may have gone a bit overboard, which meant we had to split the article in two parts. It certainly took me through a nostalgia trip going through which phones I owned at various stages of my life. I'd like to start off by saying that I had a lot of fun writing this. I'm Ricky and I'd like to walk you through my history of phones. In Past Tense is our series of articles in which the GSMArena team takes you on a nostalgia-infused ride through the phones that impressed them the most through the years.
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