The Modern Smartphone Started as a Sidekick
Mobile phones in the early 2000s took few forms. Most casual users had flip phones, and businesspeople often had PDAs like Blackberrys. Then, iPhone came into existence and accelerated the world toward smartphones.
The Motorola Razr was cool and the Blackberry was practical, but there was one phone that tried to break the mold and become both: The T-Mobile Sidekick. And for a moment in time, it did just that. All of the it-celebrities had one, and the phone did much more than talk and text.
This pre-smartphone device had its moment in the limelight and became a fun gadget and a fashion statement. But it wasn’t able to compete with other smartphones, and by the time Paris Hilton left the headlines, the Sidekick was old news too.
But the Sidekick was more than just a status symbol — it was actually a trailblazing piece of technology. It proved phones could do more than just make calls while being sexy and fun. Despite this, it’s become a relic of the past and failed to have the longevity of its rivals.
What was the Sidekick?
To understand the intentions of this device, it may be easier to look at its original name: the Hiptop. Danger, the device’s designer, wanted to offer the experience of a laptop, but make it portable enough that it could be carried on…
