New T-Mobile Sidekick LX should please virtual socialites

— -- In its heyday just a few years ago, the T-Mobile Sidekick was the hip and quirky handset. It mainly appealed to young people for whom texting and instant messaging were more their speed than e-mail. But now that we're in the smartphone era of slicker BlackBerrys, the iPhone and T-Mobile's own G1, the Sidekick no longer feels fresh.

And still, I kind of like the new, improved T-Mobile Sidekick LX I've been testing — just not enough to make it my regular handset once it makes its debut May 13. Granted, I'm not the target-age customer.

For starters, there's no touch-screen. Instead, you rely on a trackball and PlayStation-like controls to move around.

It's also pricey. At $199 if pre-ordered online, the Sidekick LX is comparable in price with some iPhones and BlackBerrys. But if buying in-store, new customers must pay $250. (All prices are after a mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract.) Some current T-Mobile customers will be able to upgrade at the lower price after the launch.

T-Mobile says the sweet-spot Sidekick customer is a college student, budding professional or anyone who considers themselves a "virtual socialite." This latest Sidekick (which replaces a previous LX model) adds integrated social-networking applications for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

While LX remains first and foremost a consumer device, T-Mobile plans to make it work for business, if only to keep existing customers from bailing. In the coming months, Sidekick is adding support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, letting you use the handset to stay on top of work stuff. (The capability was not available for testing.)

T-Mobile has made other improvements. Sidekick can access the faster 3G network and has GPS. It offers a dandy high-resolution display: The hardware is manufactured by Sharp, the folks behind Aquos TVs. Battery life is a bit better: three hours of talk time and six days of standby when using 3G.

Phone-call quality is good, too, but the unconventional design and various controls flanking the screen take some getting used to. I prefer a regular keypad for dialing unfamiliar numbers, even a virtual one such as on the iPhone. You have to flip open the screen on the LX to make such calls.

Web pages were sometimes slow to load, even when in a 3G coverage area, and browsing is where a touch-screen would help. T-Mobile's 3G network isn't as vast as rival U.S. carriers', though the company plans to double its coverage area by year's end.

Sidekick LX generally excels at keeping you connected to your social circle. A closer look:

•Design. Press the power button, and Sidekick flashes colored lights and emits a cacophony of sounds, a reminder it isn't some staid BlackBerry. Thinner than its immediate predecessor, the 5.7-ounce device is still a relative behemoth nowadays. It's 5.1 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.6 inches and is shaped a wee bit like a hockey rink. In marketing-speak, it comes in carbon or orchard finishes.

The new device shares a basic design trait with other Sidekicks. When you press your thumb against the lower left edge of the 3.2-inch display, the entire screen springs back clockwise, revealing the hidden keyboard you use for e-mail, messages, Web addresses and other stunts. Pushing back the screen is a little clumsy, and hidden keyboards are no longer novel. The Sidekick keyboard is comfortable for thumb-typing, however.

•How it all worked. Sidekick runs software from Danger, now a Microsoft subsidiary. By rotating the trackball, icons for the phone, MyFaves (the five people you call most), address book, organizer, media player and other applications rotate in a half-circle until you highlight the one you want.

The 3.2-megapixel camera has autofocus and an LED flash. It lets you shoot video, too, a feature iPhone lacks. You can watch YouTube or MySpace videos. There's also Download Catalog for buying ring tones, games, utilities and such, but it lacks the depth and breadth of the App Store for the iPhone.

I ran into a snag with the MySpace application. I couldn't access my friends or other screens until I updated my MySpace status on a PC. T-Mobile said this is a known bug that affects inactive MySpace members and that it will be fixed by launch time.

The phone comes with a 1-gigabyte MicroSD card for content. But the 6-megabyte e-mail limit that I quickly bumped up against meant I couldn't receive Gmail messages until I deleted some.

I suspect Sidekick LX will appeal to T-Mobile's target buyer. A lower price and touch-screen might help the company broaden that market.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com