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[Previous entry: "Catholic pedophile payout in a nutshell."] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Amazing space based photo of hurricane Isabel."] 09/13/2003 Entry: "T-Mobile's sidekick is getting a major upgrade this month. OS 1.1" T-Mobile's sidekick is getting a major upgrade this month. First, they're launching a download manager so we can finally download applications onto our devices. The device is sorely lacking in basics like a calculator, games, etc. T-Mobile is really targetting the geek set with its telnet/ssh client, which now puts the Sidekick (technically only the color model) head to head with the corporate entrenched blackberry. The best part is that third-party applications will be sold through this service. I'm not sure if there will be any free third-party apps, I believe t-mobile is going to use the tightly controled download manager to charge people per download. This seems pretty unfair compared to Palm and PocketPC devices which can freely download apps. Also more ringtones, but I really couldn't care any less about ringtones. It seems like something more geared towards top-40 listening teenagers than anyone else. The update is coming out later this month and is really going to change the sidekick from the geeky-fun connectivity device to something resembling a micro-micro-laptop. Still no email synchronization through its USB port, but considering its always live and setting up an email forward is pretty simple nowadays it doesn't seem to be the big issue it was a couple years ago. Of course, corporate customers are going to see this as the kiss of death, but the sidekick is still a tradeoff between residential/non-techie connectivity and a semi-serious business device. I'm still somewhat annoyed the camera is not integrated with the device. Its just silly pulling it out, waiting a few seconds for it to initialize, trying to get a shot, NOT moving it at all after you click capture, then emailing the photo to yourself to see it in full size. Its like the closest thing to old-time pinhole cameras. You need to get the setup going, sit still for at least a full second while the thing captures the photo, and the email lag between sending the photo and receiving it feels like waiting for a polaroid to develop. Sidekick photography is something in an art itself and I've been experimenting with different techniques to get better or more creative photos. Meanwhile, the cheapest phone cam has a much higher resolution, is built in, and can be pulled out like a normal camera, while a sidekick user is still plugging his camera into his phone. I'm half tempted to mount the camera on the back and use a custom extension cord to make it work. Its probably only an hour job, if I do it I'll make sure to document it and post it here for other sidekick users. Honestly, I would have paid 50-100 dollars extra for a decent integrated camera that would replace my digicam for low-res photos. Regardless, this is really going to change the device from a tightly controlled thin client to something a bit more open and versatile. Can't wait.