One of the few regrets from my trip to Tokyo last winter was that I didn’t pick up a souvenir keitai strap of Docomodake, the freaky mushroom-like mascot of NTT DoCoMo. But thanks to an extremely kind gesture by fellow blogger Roy I now have one in my possession, pictured here dangling from my trusty hiptop2.
It’s perhaps a bit large for everyday use, but you know I’m going to have it with me on my next trip to the Far East—speaking of which…
Just after midnight last night (or this morning, for you time Nazis) a flurry of hiptop/Sidekick 3 reviews showed up on my favourite gadget sites. Here are the best pics from the bunch:
Along with some video:
The official T-Mobile SK3 site is, surprisingly, nothing special. Even worse, there’s been nary a peep from the only Canadian carrier that sells the device…
Fido users are still waiting for an ht2 software upgrade that T-mobsters got back in January!
http://www.hiptop.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44873
At this rate, we’ll be lucky if they release the ht3 in Canada by Christmas…
P.S. About getting one off eBay, I don’t think that’s possible, as the device would identify itself as a T-Mob device on the Danger network, but you’d need a Fido login to use your Canadian airtime plan.
P.S. Here’s another good reason to get a hiptop…
http://sidekick3.blogspot.com/2006/06/speaking-of-sidekicks.html
… Make that two good reasons!
Well if im not mistaken if i were to get someone in the usa (NYC) to buy me a sidekick 3.. and get it hooked up on a the tmobile unlimited data only.. wouldnt i be able to pay tmobile there $20 a month for the data and still use unlimited data on the sidekick in toronto.. since they are unlimited data north america wide…. when i went to boston on my hiptop there was no charge for data in the usa…..
LeineS
When i went to boston on my hiptop there was no charge for data in the usa…
Yes, but unfortunately it doesn’t work the other way ’round. Unlike Fido the T-Mob data plan does not include North America-wide roaming…
I just got back from a NY SK3 launch party with a crispy new Sidekick3.
I’ve heard mixed reactions on whether I can use it in Canada. As a SK2 owner/subscriber with Fido, wouldn’t I be able to just switch over my account/Fido user login info?
My sidekick 1 was a Tmobile U.S. model and I had no problem.
Any thoughts?
J.
I just got back from a NY SK3 launch party with a crispy new Sidekick3.
I’ve heard mixed reactions on whether I can use it in Canada. As a SK2 owner/subscriber with Fido, wouldn’t I be able to just switch over my account/Fido user login info?
Well, if you don’t believe me have a gander at this:
Hi everyone, I work for T-Mobile, DDC (aka Sidekick department). I got a call today from someone in Canada. They wanted to know if it’s possible to unlock the sidekick 3, unfortunatly T-Mobile won’t unlock sidekicks anymore. It caused too many problems for other carriers before. The answer to wheather you can use the sidekick in Canada at this moment is no. As for data roaming, you would get charged extra in canada. I believe it’s $5 per meg. Expensive!
hey alore do u no hwo to unlock it,,, if u do email me at blaketiernay@hotmail.com
Okay everyone, which would you rather read about today—the latest on my Linux adventures or the most popular movie in Hong Kong?
Yeah, I thought so… 
This real-life altercation on the upper deck of a Hong Kong bus has been viewed in its many incarnations almost six million times! Click on the screen grab above or right here for the version with English subtitles.
And like every other internet meme, the Bus Uncle video now has its own portal page, rife with mash-ups, remixes and ‘official’ merchandise… Enjoy!
Yes, a South African filmmaker has made the first-ever feature shot entirely on a mobile phone. Yes, the French have embraced mobilized filmmaking with an emphatic “oui”. And now Canada has its first mobile film festival…
So why am I not entering?
Because I understand that, just like computers, mobile phones are not made for the passive consumption of content—that’s what television and movie screens are for. Walk down your typical city street and I reckon you’ll see way more people doing thumb gymnastics on their handset keypads than watching the latest “mobisode” of 24 on their tiny, two-inch screens. That’s because they are interacting with their devices, and by extension, other people. And this is something that traditional video content, even on mobiles, cannot deliver.
Read between the lines of the the Mobifest website and you’ll see little more than a marketing ploy by Palm to peddle their Treos and a veritable dumping ground of repurposed content.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have a video-enabled handset; but I’ll use it for sharing my own content, thank-you very much… Not what someone else tells me to!
Yesterday’s Toronto Star also has a report on mobile video:
If you’re interested read it fast, as they tend to pull content off of their site after seven days or so. Losers.
AC:
The Raindance Festival in London, UK, has been doing Nokia-sponsored competitions for at least 2 years now. They release a DVD of the winners, and some of them are really good, but I can’t imagine watching them on a tiny, low-res screen….
the shorts were all, IIRC, shot on normal gear rather than on cell phone cameras.
Ed
They release a DVD of the winners, and some of them are really good, but I can’t imagine watching them on a tiny, low-res screen…
Exactly my point — as a means to shoot video, camera-phones are awesome, but as a platform for delivery they are, as we say on the internet “teh suck”.
BTW, what does “IIRC” mean?
AC:
If I recall correctly…. I’m trying to learn the lingo the kids are using these days.
I saw a company called WTF over the weekend. Not sure if they’re aware what those initials mean these days….
Ed
It doesn’t look like much, but this grab from Industry Canada‘s website is huge news for Fido hiptop users… What it means is that the hiptop3 has been approved for sale in Canada!
It’s a bit of a shocker, as the hiptop3’s very existence was confirmed only two days ago by documents online at the FCC. Here’s what it looks like, courtesy of Engadget Mobile:
Improvements over my current hiptop include a 1.3 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity and removable memory. If it were up to me I’d nix the Bluetooth in favour of UMA, so I could make roaming-free international calls using my hotel internet connection on the road. But I guess this’ll have to do…
MUST HAVE NOW….. mmmmmm sidekick 3….. my hiptop2 was stolen last week… with this news, i will hold off on a replacement until this comes out… any indication from fido of release date??
Hey, thanks for the comment!
As I’m sure you know, Fido traditionally lags behind U.S. uber-carrier T-Mobile in hiptop releases. My suggestion is to follow either or both of my favourite discussion forums on the subject:
http://www.hiptop.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=47
http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48
Happy hiptop3 hunting…
For any hiptop hunters surfing this post, Engadget has found another pic:
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/05/01/is-this-the-t-mobile-branded-sidekick-iii/
I like, I like!
I am moving to vancouver and i want da sidekick 3 soooo badly!! when is it coming out there??? NEED TO KNOWWWW
HEY!!!!!!!!!!I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THE HIPTOP3 IS COMING OUT IN CANADA, I HAVE WANTED ONE FOR LIKE 7 MONTHS AND NOW I CAN GET ONE SOON!!!!!!1 iT’S GONNA KICK SOME WHITE ASS!!!!LOL(im white so im not being rasist)
Not so fast there, Cody. Unfortunately there are lots of rumours out there about Fido carrying/not carrying the ht3, and nobody knows for sure…
The information in this post confirms only that Industry Canada (whoever they are) has approved it for sale in this country, and not necessarily that Fido has decided to carry it. Stay tuned!
I gave up waiting… and went and bought a ppc6700.. or the tmobile MDA… same phone..and with the combo of wifi access and skype Voip.. makes its way way way better then the sidekick 3…. look into it.. sk3s arent as nice as first thought…
LeineS
Hey Tony, how do you like Windows Mobile? Have you seen my post about the HTC TyTN?
I’m considering such a move myself, but the biggest thing I’ll miss is having my PIM data automagically backed up onto the web, without having to rely on Outlook.
Any ideas on that? The best solution I’ve found so far is from the folks at Mail2Web.com:
LeineS and 
Back again….Still waiting on this hiptop3.. Where should i be contacting fido for information or to push my need for a new sidekick 3… i might just buy one off ebay and use it on fido… any idea if that would work?