What you’re looking at is a utility from Fido that syncs data from my trusty hiptop to my new PC notebook. For the first time since switching to the walled garden of the hiptop OS I now have a current and complete local copy of my address book on a computer, and it’s all thanks to Microsoft Outlook, the killer app for Windows.

In and of itself Outlook packs a powerful punch, similar to Entourage for Mac but much more secure. Instead of lumping all your critical info into a monolithic database it allows you to split it up into smaller, more manageable archives.

But here’s the knockout blow: Because Outlook is the gold standard PIM for Windows, every conceivable smart phone on the market will sync to it—BlackBerries, hiptops, Treos, this thing… With Outlook, the universe of wireless devices is your to command.

And to a mobile junkie like yours truly, that’s great news!

While T-Mobsters are happily thumbing away on their new Sidekick 3s south of the border, we poor Fido users up here in the Great White North have to settle for an over-the-air software update that’s about six months overdue.

If you’re not up to scanning the ten pages of posts on the subject over at the hiptop.com forums, here’s what I think about the OTA update:

The Good

• Add-on apps can now be temporarily deactivated to make room on the device for new purchases from the built-in software catalog. This is great news for me as I’ve been dying to try out the hiptop drum machine!
• Fido has thoughtfully included a free multimedia messaging app, bringing my hiptop up to spec with the Sony Ericsson handset I was using two years ago.
• The web browser now supports javascript, so I can click through to the comments on Ray Deonandan‘s blog—w00t!
• The same browser no longer mangles multi-column websites, like this one!

The Bad

• There were all kinds of rumours about MSN and Yahoo! chat clients coming with this OTA; sadly it didn’t happen. A bit weird considering Fido’s heavy marketing campaign for the IM services on their new phones…
• Though the browser now sports javascript, I still can’t use mobile.aircanada.com!
• The browser will now select and copy text, but it’s all or nothing. And phone numbers on sites and search results can’t be clicked on and dialed—a bit retarded for a smartphone!
• Again with the browser… It still can’t display WAP sites.

Despite the gripes, this latest OTA update is a welcome addition to what I maintain is the best handset and service available in this part of the world—w00t!

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:

• Engadget: T-Mobile Sidekick 3 hands-on!
• Gizmodo: T-Mobile Sidekick 3 Hands-on

Along with some video:

• CNET: T-Mobile Sidekick 3
• MobileBurn: T-Mobile’s Sidekick 3 Launched, Reviewed, and Videoed
• PC Magazine: T-Mobile Sidekick 3 Video Review

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…

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…

I should have known that my trusty hiptop, which requires a persistent connection to the internet, wouldn’t make the best companion for my trip to Bermuda.

Here at home—in fact, anywhere on the continent, plus Hawaii—I can check email, surf the web and sync my personal info to my heart’s content, all for the same flat monthly data charge. But not so anywhere else, Bermuda included. Even with all my graphics and attachments disabled and one or two short online sessions a day I still managed to rack up a hundred-dollar data roaming bill from Fido.

And no, I wasn’t downloading porn!