The Danger Hiptop (stylized hiptop), also branded and sold as T-Mobile Sidekick, is a mobile smartphone and communicator series that was produced by Danger, Inc. from 2002 to 2010, developed in close partnership with T-Mobile US and with most models manufactured by Sharp Corporation. The Hiptops were designed to be held horizontally with both hands, allowing typing with two thumbs on a QWERTY keyboard that is revealed by a 'flip out' display rotating 180 degrees on a hinge pin (with the exception of one model, Hiptop Slide). They ran on a cloud-based, Java-made software synchronizing with back-end services provided and maintained by Danger, holding personal data and offering services such as email, instant messaging, and a catalog of downloadable apps.
Danger, Inc. was cofounded by Andy Rubin, who would become the author of Android. The original Hiptop was released on October 1, 2002, manufactured by Flextronics. Described at the time as a "PDA phone", it was notable for combining a cell phone with a full HTML-supporting web browser, integrated AOL Instant Messenger, a keyboard and a navigation scroll wheel, running on the GSM and GPRS cell network of T-Mobile. The second generation Hiptop/Sidekick debuted in 2004, manufactured by Sharp, with a slimmer design and the addition of a VGA camera. This was followed by the third generation in 2006 which replaced the scroll wheel with a trackball and added a music player, Bluetooth, and faster EDGE data. The line diversified in 2007 with the Sidekick iD, billed as a budget-friendly model with cut features, as well as the Sidekick Slide, a model manufactured by Motorola and with a slide design instead of a swiveling screen. The fourth generation top model was the Sidekick LX, increasing the display size to 3.0 inches, and this was followed by the Sidekick 2008 and the final model, Sidekick LX 2009, with numerous hardware upgrades including 3G connectivity and social networking software integration—this one was later also sold as the Mobiflip or the Sharp Jump, with modified software and not using Danger's data services.
The Hiptop/Sidekick became popular especially among young consumers, unlike similar devices during its early years, namely Palm and BlackBerry, which found more business success. Danger, Inc. was purchased by Microsoft for $500 million in 2008, who used the technology to build the ill-fated Microsoft Kin. Danger's cloud services were shut down on May 31, 2011, ending the Hiptop/Sidekick data services after almost nine years in operation. The Sidekick was revived later that year in the form of a 4G device running Android 2.2 Froyo, manufactured by Samsung, using a similar form factor to the originals. The Sidekick became incredibly popular in the U.S., at its peak receiving much attention in American pop culture and now considered to be iconic. Some models were also marketed, to lesser success, in Canada (by Fido/Rogers), Australia (by Telstra), Singapore and a number of European countries.
Typical features
The Sidekick included a backlit monochrome display; the screen could be swiveled to cover the QWERTY keyboard. It also featured a clickable scroll wheel and blinking lights.
Model releases hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick (Flextronics)
The original Hiptop was made official on September 6, 2001, and was released on October 1, 2002, sold by T-Mobile in the United States, initial price was $200 and then $40 per month.Baig, Edward C. (October 1, 2002). "Hip Sidekick poses challenge to handheld communicators". Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan, USA). p. 3D. A later revision of the Hiptop upgraded its screen from a monochrome LCD to a 65,000 color LCD. This version was released on June 6, 2003 by T-Mobile for a price of $299.99.
From the beginning, Hiptops have featured "Menu", "Back", "Jump" and other keys accessible even when the unit was closed. The Hiptop also featured a speaker which is used for device sounds but not telephone. Along the top edge of the phone bezel is an infrared transceiver. Although Danger stated that the infrared port would come to use in the future for data transmission (i.e. IrDA), this never occurred and the port remained without purpose, and was not included at all in future Sidekicks. The headset jack serves a dual purpose, as it is also used for an optional accessory camera.
SunCom and Edge Wireless used to sell the device in some parts of the United States. Fido was the exclusive Hiptop carrier in Canada and released it in August 2003. In Germany, the Hiptop service was also offered from 2003 by E-Plus which included a flat rate tariff. The Hiptop was also sold in Singapore by Starhub in 2004.
hiptop2/T-Mobile Sidekick II (Sharp)
Announced on August 9, 2004, and released on September 22, 2004 by T-Mobile US, the Hiptop 2 (stylized hiptop2) was the first to be manufactured by Sharp. Compared to the first generation, the new model moved the D-Pad (directional-pad), previously found on the inside, to the left hand side of the device, while shoulder dials, volume and power buttons were on the outside edges. The Hiptop2 also features an integrated VGA camera and a speakerphone at the rear of the unit. Also was the addition of page-up/page-down buttons on the top and bottom of its scroll wheel.
In Canada, the Danger Hiptop2 launched on March 8, 2005. The Hiptop2 launched in Germany on March 10, 2005. It was later launched in Austria in October 2005 and Great Britain in November 2005. On October 9, 2006, the Australian Hiptop2 was released through Telstra. The Australian version is practically the same as the Sidekick II in the U.S. but re-constructed for the Australian audience—it has MSN Messenger built-in as the default messenger and Yahoo! Messenger which is downloadable from the catalog (the US version has Yahoo and AOL Instant Messenger).
Limited edition There are also two limited edition variants of the T-Mobile USA Sidekick II: Juicy Couture Edition (Pink) and Mister Cartoon Edition (Black). These are different case colors with the same hardware and operating systems.
hiptop3/T-Mobile Sidekick 3 (Sharp)
Announced in June 2006 and released July 10, 2006 in the US, with a later release in Europe, the Hiptop 3 (stylized hiptop3) manufactured by Sharp was 20% physically smaller than its predecessor. The industrial design was changed as well as a new color scheme to a dark gray shell with silver trim and gloss black buttons. The scroll wheel was replaced by a multicolor LED-lit six-direction trackball replacing the D-pad as the indicator light. The keyboard was also changed to a rigid plastic keyboard differing from the rubber keyboard of previous models known to peel away from the unit.
All software features, including the line-by-line scroll feature were retained from the previous model. Software remained basically the same, but with the addition of more applications. This included MP3 playback software, allowing the playback of MP3, WAV and AAC format audio files from the built-in storage. A Bluetooth module was also added as well as an upgrade of the cellular modem to support faster EDGE data speeds.
Other new features include a removable 3.7v 1500 mAh battery, a miniSD slot capable of up to 2 GB of flash memory storage, and a 1.3-megapixel camera (an improvement from the sub-megapixel VGA 640 x 480 camera). The MiniUSB functionality was changed from allowing access to the Hiptop's internal communications to only allowing access to the MiniSD card over a USB v1.1 port.
Limited edition The T-Mobile USA Sidekick 3 was made available in three limited edition models which only differed in cosmetic color changes:
Diane von Fürstenberg — Black with pink lips; released October 30, 2006 Lifted Research Group — Green with tree logos Dwyane Wade — White and gold with a basketball texture; released February 1, 2007, to coincide with the NBA All-Star Game of February 17, 2007
T-Mobile Sidekick iD (Sharp) The Sidekick iD is a smaller version of the Sidekick 3, unveiled on April 13, 2007. The Sidekick iD was aimed at younger, less affluent customers, with a price of $99 (on a two-year contract) which was half of the Sidekick 3. To reduce the cost of the Sidekick iD, the creators, (Sharp), removed some of the features of the Sidekick 3, including the 1.3-megapixel camera, the Bluetooth capability, and its media player. However it did retain the Sidekick-patented swivel screen, the hidden keyboard, and the trackball. A unique new physical feature were removable colored "bumpers", allowing the appearance of the Sidekick to be easily changed and were available in various colors.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX (Sharp)
The T-Mobile Sidekick LX (model no. PV-250) was announced on September 26, 2007 and released on October 17, 2007. It was sold in two different colors: Midnight Blue and Espresso Brown. In addition to the two color selections, the LX includes a wider, higher-resolution screen, blue LED mood lights on all four corners which coordinate to the user's settings, downloadable music and backgrounds, a lighter weight, MMS messaging, and a Micro SD card slot with a 128 MB card included, and an updated operating system.
On July 16, 2008, T-Mobile released a limited edition Tony Hawk Edition Sidekick LX, which includes video recording.
Despite production models being made for testing, ultimately the LX was never released in Australia due to a lack of compatibility with Telstra's 3G 850Mhz network, however Telstra went ahead with selling the Slide after the Hiptop3.
hiptop slide / Sidekick Slide (Motorola) Manufactured by Motorola (model no. Q700), the Sidekick Slide was released on November 7, 2007 on T-Mobile US. Unlike the Sidekick LX, the Slide also received releases elsewhere: it was released under the name Hiptop Slide (stylized hiptop slide) through Telstra in Australia on November 5, 2007, and was later released in the UK and Germany by T-Mobile. Unlike other Hiptops/Sidekicks, this model has a non-swivel, slider form factor for revealing the keyboard. On May 16, 2008, a new version of the Sidekick Slide was released, named the Sidekick Slide Scarlet, coming in a red colored body.
It runs on the updated version 4.0 of Danger OS. Like the LX, this Sidekick for T-Mobile USA adds the MMS picture messaging capability and provides support for T-Mobile MyFaves plans. The T-Mobile Sidekick Slide, although less expensive than the LX, provides various hardware upgrades: these include 128 MB RAM and 225 MHz TI OMAP 850 processor (as opposed to the Sidekick 3 and LX's 64 MB RAM and 200 MHz OMAP 331 processor), and a second speaker which is located on the back of the device, as opposed to the Hiptop3 and LX's reliance on the D-pad speaker for both calls and music playback.
The Sidekick Slide was officially discontinued on August 8, 2008.
Failure and sales suspension T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the Sidekick Slide on November 16, 2007, after Motorola confirmed that some devices inadvertently powered off when the slide door on the front side of the phone was opened or closed. On November 21, 2007, Motorola stated the failures were triggered by poor battery contacts; sliding the screen out to type on the keyboard sometimes loosened the contact and forced the device to shut off momentarily. On December 6, 2007, the Sidekick Slide was once again available for purchase.
T-Mobile Sidekick 2008 (Sharp) Announced on July 30, 2008, the new model officially named solely as T-Mobile Sidekick (but often referred to as "Sidekick 2008" to distinguish) was the first Sidekick to be introduced following the acquisition of Danger by Microsoft. The Sidekick 2008 has improved features such as a high resolution 2-megapixel camera and video functionality for AIM. It also went back to the swivel Qwerty design, including changeable face/backplates.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 (Sharp)