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Wireless carrier T-Mobile, which introduced the Sidekick II smartphone at a Hollywood-style premier last month, is now shipping the highly anticipated mobile handset.

Based on Danger's hiptop platform, the Sidekick II, like earlier models, lets you make phone calls, surf the Web, send and receive e-mail and SMS messages, take pictures and more, from what can best be described as a BlackBerry for the consumer set.

Like Research In Motion's BlackBerry handhelds, Sidekick's main role is to support mobile messaging and communications, with a QWERTY thumb-keyboard to boot. Unlike BlackBerries with their businesslike, utilitarian design, Sidekicks are decidedly sleeker and more colorful—clearly designed to appeal to the young and hip.

Though it is called Sidekick II, the new version is really the third generation of the platform. The first edition used a monochrome display, while the second model added a color screen (read our review). Sidekick II promises to deliver much the same features as the first two, but in a more compact and powerful package.

Sidekick II is 25-percent smaller than the previous model. It also integrates its camera as well as a flash to make picture taking more user-friendly. (Snapping images with earlier Sidekicks required an awkward camera attachment.)


Rear Veiw: Sidekick II as Camera

Sidekick II maintains the hiptop platform's distinctive swivel design, whereby its display slides open to uncover its QWERTY keyboard. T-Mobile bundles a number of messaging applications to keep Sidekick-users' thumbs busy.

Software includes a free e-mail account and the ability set up three external e-mail accounts for delivery on the Sidekick II. There is 6MB of memory for storing e-mail and other documents. Users can view attachments too, including Word, image, and PDF files. Lastly, Yahoo! Messenger is now available for download in addition to the previously supported AOL Instant Messenger service.

Phone-wise, T-Mobile and Danger added a speakerphone to Sidekick II. In addition, several buttons on the outside of the device make it easier to use as a mobile handset, while a separate keypad has been inserted within the QWERTY keyboard for dialing numbers. The companies promise 4.5 hours of talk time from a single charge of the battery.

At the time of the Sidekick II announcement, T-Mobile said it will offer customers a myriad of ways to personalize their new Sidekicks, such as downloadable ringtones based on chart-topping songs, voice messages from music celebrities announcing incoming calls, and games over-the-air. Taking its cue from other mobile device vendors, T-Mobile will sell seven color bumpers to customize the Sidekick's appearance.

T-Mobile is selling Sidekick II for $250 after a $50 rebate. It offers unlimited data service—Web surfing, e-mailing, and instant messaging—for $20 a month on top of a qualified voice plan.