![]() A later revision of the Hiptop upgraded its screen from a monochrome LCD to a color LCD viewable with or without the backlight on (unique to Hiptop models until the LX). The headset jack serves a dual purpose, as it is also used for the accessory camera. Along the top edge of the phone bezel is an infrared transceiver. The Hiptop also featured a speaker which is used for device sounds but not telephone. All the units, from the beginning, have featured "Menu", "Back", "Jump" and other keys accessible even when the unit was closed. Released on October 1, 2002, the original Hiptop was unique compared to all other hardware versions. Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick (Danger/Flextronics) The Hiptop line is designed to be held horizontally with both hands, allowing typing with two thumbs, similar to a Game Boy Advance or a console video game controller. The bottom has volume controls and a power button. The top of the unit has two application-specific shoulder buttons. The right side also has two phone buttons: send call (also page-down) and end call (also page-up). On all Hiptops except the original, the left side houses a directional pad and on the right, a track ball (excluding the original Hiptop) The Hiptop 2 and Slide's directional pad contains internal multicolored LEDs used in ringers and notifications, while the 3, 2008, LX, and 2009 track ball contains internal multicolored LEDs that provide the same function. There are two buttons on the left side of the device ("menu" and "jump") and also two on the right ("back" and "cancel"). Screens on all Sidekick devices (excluding the Slide and 4G models) slide vertically to and has been considered to be iconic in the mobile devices market. The Hiptop/Sidekick became incredibly popular in the U.S. All versions of the Hiptop were developed in close partnership with T-Mobile, although carrier-specific features were either removed or added for each carrier, such as the addition of MMS for SunCom and Telstra Hiptop 2 users, where the feature was not available on T-Mobile USA devices until the Sidekick LX in 2007. The Hiptop II, 3, Sidekick iD, Sidekick 2008 and Sidekick LX (2009) are all manufactured by Sharp Corporation in Japan and designed, respectively, by Danger and then Danger in partnership with Sharp. The original Hiptop hardware was designed by Danger and manufactured by Flextronics. This included a catalog of downloadable software applications, email hosting, instant messaging, web proxies and a cloud service for the entire personal data on the device. Danger provided the Hiptop OS software and back-end services for the device. The Hiptop software was designed by Danger, Inc., which was located in Palo Alto, California and purchased by Microsoft for $500 million in 2008. The Danger Hiptop, also re-branded as the T-Mobile Sidekick, Mobiflip and Sharp Jump is a GPRS/ EDGE/ UMTS smartphone that was produced by Danger, Inc. You can download themes, ring tones, games, and a few productivity, social, and entertainment apps.The original Hiptop with revised color screenĭanger Incorporated / Flextronics / Sharp Corporation / Motorola / SamsungĢ002–2010 (Sidekick Web Services to 2011)Ĭolor (Monochrome for the 1st gen Sidekick/Hiptop)Īttachable 0.3 Megapixel (Built in for later models) You can, obviously, update your status, reply to your friends’ tweets, find and follow new users, and view a friend’s timeline.Īnother new feature, the on-device Download Catalog, is regrettably a bit sparse at this time, but it has potential. The Twitter app isn’t as full-featured as other mobile Twitter apps, but it gets the job done. The Facebook app is very good: You can view your News feed (which shows all of your friends’ activity), update your status, search for new friends and send messages–almost everything you can do on your PC. ![]() The Sidekick LX comes preloaded with Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter apps. It just doesn’t have a whole lot of aesthetic appeal, which is unfortunate on such a lovely display. Though it is easy enough to navigate, it feels a bit out-of-date. The Sidekick LX’s OS, the Danger OS, could use a refresh. A few noticed a hiss but said it wasn’t distracting. Parties on the other end of the line said that my voice sounded clear with ample volume. In some instances, however, the UI a bit slow to respond despite repeated finger flicks over the trackball.Ĭall quality over T-Mobile’s 3G network was good, but I heard a faint hiss on my end–something we’ve experienced with T-Mobile phones in the past, such as the Shadow. For the most part, it works pretty well with the UI, easily gliding over the various menu choices. The majority of navigation on the device is done with the BlackBerry-esque trackball.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |