T-Mobile resurrects Sidekick with 4G, Android

By Molly McHugh January 20, 2011

At a press event this morning, T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm announced that a 4G Sidekick is on its way. After confirming the Samsung Galaxy S 4G will also hit shelves in the near future, Humm confirmed that “…coming soon, will also be the Sidekick 4G. Everybody knows the Sidekick, and we’re going to relaunch the Sidekick and bring it as a 4G device, Android based, into the market.”

The Sidekick line originally launched to instant popularity back in 2002, but T-Mobile’s data debacle in 2009 dealt it a significant setback. Personal information stored on the devices was lost forever, and the carrier blamed Microsoft, responsible for the back-end platform of the phone, for the mishap. Naturally, said popularity waned a bit and Sidekick prices dropped, and last summer T-Mobile did the unthinkable and discontinued the phone.

But it’s back, and it’s unknown who will manufacture the new Sidekick. The phone was created by Danger Inc., a Microsoft subsidiary, and we all know Microsoft will work with an Android OS when hell freezes over. There were some rumors earlier this year about HTC involvement in the project, but there’s no confirmation yet. The original Sidekicks were manufactured by Sharp in Japan.

According to Electronista, the phone will feature a full, slider QWERTY keyboard, as well as a swivel screen and a touchscreen (it’s unclear whether the device will sport dual screens or touch integrated into its swivel screen). The phone will also run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is slowly making its way into the hands of more and more users. It’s projected to release this spring, along with the Galaxy S 4G and the Dell Streak 7. Incidentally, Android 2.4, Ice Cream Sandwich, will launch in May, so hopeful Sidekick fanboys out there should start crossing their fingers now for a speedy OS upgrade. At least you’ll probably beat Samsung users to it.

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