73 Responses to “Goodnight Hiptop: A Wake for Danger”

1. RIP America Says:
   September 10th, 2011 at 9:45 am

   R.I.P.

2. i luv sidekick Says:
   September 11th, 2011 at 6:00 am

   does the paint cum off the new sidekicks easily like it came off the old sidekicks

3. i luv sidekick Says:
   September 11th, 2011 at 6:00 am

   come*

4. ncmacasl Says:
   September 11th, 2011 at 6:26 am

   There seems to be no paint at all. Solid plastic all over. After a few months there are only a few minor scratches on the plastic. Seems to be wearing very well.

5. Meme Says:
   November 5th, 2011 at 3:33 pm

   I would love to snatch up one of these brand new sidekick LX 09!
   Does anyone know if it would work still?

6. ncmacasl Says:
   November 5th, 2011 at 9:44 pm

   a Sidekick LX 09 or any pre-Android (Danger OS) sidekick will only work with voice and Texting (and media player) but no web access.

   There are hybrid post-Danger rebranded sidekick devices sold under several names from Sharp to local companies with a tweaked OS and including Opera Mini Browser

7. jc Says:
   November 7th, 2011 at 10:11 pm

   Well iam still using the sidekick lx09 in the uk, works fine for calls and text, but iam working on tricks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, i have delvelopers kit and a dev key( but the key not for my phone) we shall see!!!!, by the way there is also another sidekick being sold, if you were to type in at google 180 degree rotating screen and also look at youtube herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cVWGXvajo0, same old lx 09 with touchscreen!!!!!!

8. see more new sidekicks Says:
   November 21st, 2011 at 9:47 pm

   https://www.youtube.com/user/Kindofone1?feature=mhee

9. ncmacasl Says:
   December 2nd, 2011 at 5:14 pm

   SIX MONTHS LATER: I still miss the Danger Sidekicks. I have a Sidekick 4G that I am finally getting used to after 6 months: Even though I have not Rooted or Rom’d the device, I finally figured out work-arounds for most of the buggy-ness; and I have found better replacement free apps to replace the crap-fest of the built-in apps. After 2 OTA updates from Tmo/Samsung the device is slightly better and slightly faster even though it is still using Froyo (an older version of Android).

   Despite its age (I was still using the 2007 Sidekick LX model) the phone was VERY responsive to multi-tasking and I could easily jump from mutilple programs and easily jump to make and answer phone calls. The newest Sidekick 4G is much slower at multitasking (but it is a bit better after my tweaking). IM was always on and extremely responsive. Sadly, since IM clients are now out of fashion (partly because the new OS’s are poor at implementing them??) it is no longer important and Texting and Facebook Messaging seems to have taken their place.

   I hope T-Mobile continues with future Sidekick (Android) models (maybe a beefed up LX model with an even larger screen and more memory, storage & responsiveness)

10. kay Says:
    January 5th, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    hi im from barbados and i tryin 2 get internet on my sidekick phone i try every thing what should i do

11. ncmacasl Says:
    January 5th, 2012 at 3:43 pm

    Kay,

    Well, if it is a version released before 2011, it will NOT have internet because Microsoft (who purchased the Sidekick’s Danger OS a few years ago) closed out all Sidekick data on May 31, 2011. All Danger-based Sidekicks used after that date will only function with Voice & Texting and will continue to work on any previously downloaded (before May 31) apps that do not require internet access (games, etc.), but no new apps can be downloaded.

    There are some Re-tooled “Sidekicks” out there that Sharp has re-marketed that do have a new web browser and these are being marketed as Feature Phones with internet access through regional US carriers – Mobilicity is one of these companies as is Cincinatti Bell, however they no longer use the “Sidekick” name as it is trademarked for use only by T-Mobile.

    If it is a Sidekick 4G (Android Based – released April 2011), you will need to get it unlocked to work with a local carrier.

12. imlisang jamir Says:
    March 18th, 2012 at 2:55 am

    hi, m frm india boght sidekick lx 2009 bt m hvng a problem wit APN…cn any help me to 4 ths…cos badly ned to used internet…thnk u

13. ncmacasl Says:
    June 4th, 2012 at 8:03 am

    TWELVE MONTHS LATER: I still miss the Danger Sidekicks. I have a Sidekick 4G that I am finally getting used to after 12 months: I finally Rooted the device (but won’t ROM it), I finally figured out additional work-arounds for most of the buggy-ness; and I have found better replacement free apps to replace the ****-fest of the built-in apps. After 2 OTA updates from Tmo/Samsung the device is slightly better and slightly faster even though it is still using Froyo (an older version of Android).

    Despite its age (I was still using the 2007 Sidekick LX model) the phone was VERY responsive to multi-tasking and I could easily jump from mutilple programs and easily jump to make and answer phone calls. The newest Sidekick 4G is much slower at multitasking (but it is a bit better after my tweaking). IM was always on and extremely responsive. Sadly, since IM clients are now out of fashion (partly because the new OS’s are poor at implementing them??) it is no longer important and Texting and Facebook Messaging seems to have taken their place.

    I hope T-Mobile continues with future Sidekick (Android) models (maybe a beefed up LX model with an even larger screen and more memory, storage & responsiveness)

    Any Wish Lists for what the Sidekick 4G LX (I am guesstimating the new name) should have??

    My list:

    * A bigger screen (closer to 4 inches).
    * Full Unicode Support, including manual entry of symbols (like Alt+#### on PCs and similar to older Sidekicks). Support for a wider array of symbols via the Symbols key (customizable??).
    * More built-in memory.
    * LED lights that are accessible to a wider array of apps (not just the built-in ones).
    * Smiley Button that works in ALL apps, not just the built-in Texting app
    * If you have to add bloatware (like DriveSmart) allow it to be easily uninstalled.
    *Allow customizable color themes.
    *provide a better font where it is clear the difference between l (lower L) I and 1 (like the older sidekicks did)

    Any others you want to add to the list??

14. Setnakt Says:
    June 10th, 2012 at 6:43 pm

    Wish-list? Yea I can think of a few. If some I mention are redundant to what you mentioned, it’s because it NEEDS to said twice (at least).
    1) Memory and more MEMORY! If I had known how pathetic the internal memory of the Nightwing* was I would have never got one (I’m on my 4th btw, long story, but in short it’s a CRAPPY CHEAP product, & thank god for warranties). iPhone & Android uses are sporting up to 32GB internal memory and this piece of CRAP doesn’t even have a lousy ONE GB! OMG WTF?! I mean SERIOUSLY??? And the RAM is so pathetic that I can’t run any serious program and not even basic games without both a Task Killer AND a RAM booster that kills tasks at least every second. Anything less and the device crashes in minutes. Pathetic! (*= I refuse to call this thing a “Sidekick” Sidekick is dead, this 4G android is NOT a Sidekick! Not because the screen doesn’t swivel, because the Sidekick-all models-multi tasked, this does not, the Sidekick was STABLE this is NOT, the Nightwing is a massive downgrade from any actual Sidekick, it is an insult to Sidekicks to call the Nightwing a Sidekick.)
    2) A manufacturer OTHER than Samsung. Why? Because Samsung is geared to total morons. Not an opinion, a fact. Prove it? Sure. I kept having the problem of emails being cut off in forwards so I wrote the designer of Maildroid (the email app I use) he informed me it wasn’t the app, but rather a issue with ALL Samsung devices that makes them limit all emails to apx 30K! I tried the std email app & gmail app & he was right! I am an Egyptologist and have essays that are over ½MB so now I have an android that I can’t use with them! Again PATHETIC! I will NEVER buy another Samsung product ever again, EVER, PERIOD.
    3) Trackball. Scrap the optical mouse, it’s crap (notice a theme here?). Takes like 4xs the effort to get an equal response to the trackball.
    4) Bring back direction pad and Answer/HangUp keys. This is ANDROID not iPhone why are we afraid of buttons? If I was an iDiot afraid of buttons I would have gotten an i(Diot)Phone (what do you think the “i” in iPhone stands for anyway?).
    5) Improved Keyboard. The ONLY redeeming feature of the Nightwing is the keyboard, but it’s still crap. If I hold a key an extra 1/20th of a second by mistake everything freezes and a stupid sub-menu for a few special characters comes up. DUMB! There should be a special key for that (you know like actual SIDEKICK’s had!).
    6) Better touchscreen. Not sure if this is device-specific or just a shortcoming of touchscreens in general but the thing is crap. Half the time I try to just scroll the screen I barely touch a link and now it thinks I wanted to click it, OR the stupid thing starts scrolling at like 100MPH –WHO WOULD EVER WANT SOME CRAP LIKE THAT?????? DUMB! This was my 1st touchscreen experience and I must say I am NOT impressed! I now believe more than ever only idiots want touchscreens (& especially touch-only-screens as per the i(Diot)Phone). After all it’s people like that who want touchscreens in the FRONT SEAT OF CARS! DUMB! So it’s bad to look away from the road to text, but somehow “OK” to look away from the road to a moronic car touchscreen to adjust the temp or music? How are you any less distracted? And when you crash into a guard rail how are you any less dead? I guess that’s meant as some sort of idiot-population-control device, but whatever it’s stupid and so is how touchscreens function in general (at least with the Nightwing for sure). FIX IT!!!!
    7) Built-in Spellcheck? Probably not possible since that was an OS-specific feature with Sidekicks. But speaking of which (OSs that is), you mention that the Nightwing uses an “older android OS” to which I say SO? Is there REALLY any notable improvement in say android 4.0? Every Sidekick OS was a MAJOR improvement over past OS, but with android, I just don’t see it. Spellcheck should be in android 4.0, if not how about a sane cut/paste system? No? Then WHAT? What’s the point? Can we even at least remove apps from the app screen (like with Sidekicks since OS2) or do I need a special app to do what should be basic & built-in? I had to get the Internet Commander app to do things that should be built in, is it built in 4.0 yet? From what I hear 4.0 works inferior to 2.2 with regards to not allowing you to even stop app processes (let alone kill the apps). DUMB!
    8) ACTUAL Cache. The “cache” the device has now DOES NOTHING! Well nothing except eat internal memory (YAY! -NOT). DUMB! Sidekick could (REAL) cache up to 100 web-pages so I could load numerous news stories online then backspace and read them offline. This POS wont cache even ONE web-page, not even ONE! Pathetic! Web searching with this is PAINFUL. Every time I check a topic then hit back the stupid piece of crap has to reload the entire previous web page. DUMB! I can only guess this “feature” is meant to force you to waste bandwidth & thus use up your data faster (how wrong & crooked is that?) But why have a fake cache then? DUMB!
    9) Better Camera. Enough said there, come on!
    10) Let the keyboard back light stay on for however long you have the screen set to stay lit. 1st thing I do when I get a device like this is change the screen timeout from like 5 seconds(!) the way the idiots who pre-program it for to 10 minutes so I don’t have to race to read/type anything. Would be nice not to have to speed-type to not be left in the dark via the keyboard back light.
    11) Better phone antenna. The cheap antenna on this cheap phone is a piece of crap. I mean why did I have perfect reception with every Sidekick I owned yet the supposedly 4G on this is about half as fast as dial-up? Every Sidekick I’ve ever owned was faster, BY FAR. And also about every 10 min I get “web page is unavailable” (stuff like Yahoo & Google!). Translation: try to LOG IN AGAIN! DUMB! I’m sick of it! Couple the bad antenna with the fake cache and web browsing is a nightmare. Takes half an hour to check new Twitter followers profiles the antenna is so pathetic.
    12) Option for long life battery. Come on android manufactures, ALL so-called smart phone had that option when it was just Blackberrys & Pocket PC’s & the like, then smartphones get popular and boom, it’s gone. Why???? Option for a longlife battery is the number ONE request from smartphone users yet only Droid Max offers such. And with 3G & 4G phones we need this option more than ever. I smashed my 3rd Nightwing and luckily got the entire package (not just the “handset” EVERYTHING) replaced via insurance. So that means i got an extra charger and 2nd battery which comes in VERY handy. But it shouldn’t be needed.

    In closing, Samsung (or SonOfSamsung as I call them) makes overpriced cheep CRAP, I will NOT be buying from them again (ANYTHING EVER). And Android OS is extremely archaic and overrated, we can do better (& I DON’T mean i(Diot)Phone ether). I am NOT impressed with Nightwing and hope T-Mobile does better. A keyboard is a MUST, but so is enough memory to run more than the bloatware the thing comes with, at least give us Google apps bloatware next time (Google Earth, Google Sky, etc) instead of dumb stuff like Amazon MP3 (like I would ever pay for a MP3s, I’ll pay for CD’s, for QUALITY, MP3 are equal to cassette tapes in quality, this isn’t 1975 i’m not paying for that crap). If I wanted moronic shallow garbage I would go for stuff like Siri & i(Diot)Phone, but since I’m on android I expect more quality & depth. And how about QUALITY manufactures next time like HTC, or LG. Or even Sharp again. Better not be more Samsung or (worse) Motorola (remember their Sidekick disaster which I PREDICTED btw), we don’t need more cheep crap products. Otherwise I hear Verizon has some QUALITY droids, I’m about sick of T-Mo anyhow after trying to sell us all out to the fascists at AT&T (worst service, worst phones, worst plans, worst coverage, worst network). I will give them ONE more chance, but if the Nightwing or another device like it is the “best” they have to offer,, I’m OUT.  

15. Jay Says:
    August 3rd, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    Just wanted to say R.I.P. Sidekick!! Even though I can’t use any of you, Sidekick 3, ID, Slide, LX or LX 09…I still have you in my nightstand. I play with you sometimes, just for kicks…haha, get it? Ah well…maybe one day you’ll come back to revisit us 🙂

16. Anonymous Says:
    September 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 am

    Wow! A lot has changed since these days. I remember actively patrolling this website for some good information on future sidekick releases. I miss these days.

17. LULU Says:
    October 6th, 2012 at 12:37 am

    I ride with Cricket now due to their unlimited plans bein’ cheap, but I had a Sidekick $1 a day plan so it wuz easy to give up. I literally had a SK3, SK-iD, Sk LX 07, SK 08, nd LX 09 before i just sadly but strongly gave up. They have keyboards like none other, and multitasking wuz the best! I know no phone since the Sidekick has been good at multitasking but I’m willing to give the Sidekick 4G a try. Touchscreen, AND I’m already used to Android? (iPhoneOS is the ONLY touch-only phone i’ll use, ALL new HTC phones look the exact same so I’m glad Samsung made the new SK, although I wuz a bit surprised when they said Samsung instead of HTC).

    https://www.ewholesalecaps.com/

18. COCO Says:
    October 6th, 2012 at 12:38 am

    I had to get the Internet Commander app to do things that should be built in, is it built in 4.0 yet? From what I hear 4.0 works inferior to 2.2 with regards to not allowing you to even stop app processes (let alone kill the apps). DUMB!
    8) ACTUAL Cache. The “cache” the device has now DOES NOTHING! Well nothing except eat internal memory (YAY! -NOT). DUMB! Sidekick could (REAL) cache up to 100 web-pages so I could load numerous news stories online then backspace and read them offline.

    https://www.casquette-newera-pas-cher.com/

19. JOJO Says:
    October 6th, 2012 at 12:39 am

    Despite its age (I was still using the 2007 Sidekick LX model) the phone was VERY responsive to multi-tasking and I could easily jump from mutilple programs and easily jump to make and answer phone calls. The newest Sidekick 4G is much slower at multitasking (but it is a bit better after my tweaking). IM was always on and extremely responsive. Sadly, since IM clients are now out of fashion (partly because the new OS’s are poor at implementing them??) it is no longer important and Texting and Facebook Messaging seems to have taken their place.

    https://www.chaussuresnikes-pascher.com/

20. SHERLY Says:
    October 6th, 2012 at 12:39 am

    hey will NOT come back as per the old sidekicks. If you don’t have a manual written-out record of what apps you had I hope you got a good memory, because Android Market does NOT show what you had except purchased apps, the rest you are on your own to keep records of. I recommend that btw even if your smart enought to know better than to ever do a factory resit except as an absloute last resort (I learned the hard way) in case you have to get a warrenty replacement of one of these crappy cheap “Sidekicks” I’m on my THIRD device btw! The 1st the power button failed, and as dumbshit Android de

    https://www.chinawholesalezonebiz.com/

21. Jay Says:
    November 19th, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    Just resigned a new contract with T-Mobile and pulled out my old SK3 for my dad to use. He loves it!

22. sidekick 2009 Says:
    February 6th, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    Honestly the sidekick community is what I liked. We had thefirst app store, AIM which was incredible, powered by danger, hiptop 3, sidekick profiles.. the list goes on

23. Adrian Gomez Says:
    July 20th, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    It’s been 3 years an I still miss the Sidekick