Built For The Job

As I migrate my mobile life to my new T-Mobile G1, I often feel a little bit of sadness for the Sidekick II I just retired.

Anyone who’s been around be for the past four years has seen me typing away on this little grey brick, with its odd flip-out screen and large keyboard. Those same people say my wife roll her eyes and wonder when I would stop Twittering and texting on that darn gadget.

It’s not as dead sexy as the iPhone … but it came out years earlier. The camera was crap even when the phone was new … but that didn’t stop me from using it as an actual communications device. It was big enough to require a carrying case from the camera aisle at WalMar… t but it did exactly what it was designed to do.

Think about this: I’ve used exactly the same phone for over three years. My original Sidekick II was replaced under warranty, so my total time as a Sidekick II user has been four years (I got it a few days after it came out). How many people do you know who had the exact same cell phone for four years. Heck, how many people do you know who’ve had a girlfriend for that long.

It’s a great phone, good e-mail device and fantastic text messaging platform. The Sidekick II felt natural for those tasks, like it was designed specifically for the task. It was built to do what it does, and it does it well. Some industrial designer deserves kudos for this under-appreciated piece of technology.

If the iPhone & G1 seem to complicated for you, but you love the idea of unlimited text messaging on a real keyboard then the Sidekick is the perfect phone. There’s a simplicity to it I will miss as I move to touch-screens and Android apps.