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The next version (2.3) of Danger's hiptop software, used mostly in handsets by the same name, has passed compatibility tests with Sun Microsystems Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME Platform).

Better known as the T-Mobile Sidekick in the United States, hiptop 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.

Danger and T-Mobile introduced the newest model, the Sidekick II (hiptop2), last summer.

J2ME is Sun's answer to a consumer wireless device platform. In J2ME, the Java runtime environment is adapted for constrained devices, such as a PDA, cellphone, smartphone or set-top box, that have limitations on what they can do when compared to standard desktop or server computers.

For low-end devices, the constraints are fairly obvious: extremely limited memory, small screen sizes, alternative input methods, and slow processors. High-end devices have few, if any, of these constraints, but they can still benefit from the optimized environments and programming interfaces that J2ME defines.

Sun Microsystems Mobile and Embedded Group senior director Eric Chu welcomes Danger to the J2ME community.

He said, "Danger's hiptop platform combined with Java technology is a great match that will generate compelling new applications and services for hiptop devices."

Sidekick II
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/hiptops are decidedly sleeker and more colorful—clearly designed to appeal to the young and hip.

Though it is called Sidekick II, the newest version is really the third generation of the platform. The first edition used a monochrome display, while the second model added a color screen. Sidekick II delivers 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.

For more on the smartphone, see Review: Sidekick II - T-Mobile's Cool New Smartphone.