HEY Paris! Instead of getting played by your Sidekick, now your Sidekick can play you – or, at least, your new single.
T-Mobile’s Sidekick 3 – an updated, higher-tech version of the smartphone – officially launched in Los Angeles last night. B-listees like Kristin Cavallari, Travis Barker, Nick Cannon and Haylie Duff were expected to turn out, perhaps hoping the new PDA offering may catapult them to the same levels of notoriety and fame as Paris Hilton, whose Sidekick 2 data was famously burgled and posted online in 2005.
The smartphone, which will officially hit the civilian market July 10 (but will be available to current T-Mobile customers June 28) will retail for approximately $300 with a two-year contract. It features a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 player, EDGE wireless Internet technology, the possibility of expandable storage via mini-SD and a removable battery.
Geared toward the teen and young adult market, the various Sidekick incarnations have never made significant dents in the cell and smart- phone market, says Neil Strother, an analyst for NPD, a national sales and marketing information service. While the Hilton incident was followed by a 100 percent increase in sales survey data (as compiled by NPD) Strother insists that the numbers – in the low thousands – is considered “low incidence, since we usually deal in millions of units of phones.”
“It terms of a popular device, it’s background noise,” Strother says. “Do you actually know any normal people who have a Sidekick?”
(Uh, yes – like, Kristin and Alex from “Laguna Beach,” hello?)
Still, even with grown-ups steering clear, the S3 is sure to be a hit with the trendy set.
“It’s a device that’s actually targeted for the needs of teens and 20-somethings,” says Bonnie Cha, the senior associate editor of mobile technology at CNET.com. “The Paris Hilton incident definitely helped push it into the public spotlight, but when you actually sit down with the device and play with it, you’ll find that it’s great for someone with a social lifestyle, particularly with instant messaging and e-mail features.”