Sidekick LX 2009 Cell Phone Review
Written by Viki on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 17:24
Sidekick LX 2009 Review
This is my 3rd Sidekick cell phone, having previously owned a Sidekick 2 and, most recently, a Sidekick 3. My Sidekick 3 was a little over 3 years old and starting to get a bit beat up (I dropped it hard a couple times, and also got lax in keeping it in its case), so I decided it was time to upgrade to the newest and latest: the Sidekick LX 2009.
Pros
It seems like once you join the 40-something age group, gadgets such as new cell phones are a little harder to adjust to then when you were a 30-something. Thankfully, I found the switch to be an easy one. The basic interface hasn’t changed a bit. The Sidekick LX 2009 is as easy to navigate and is as user-friendly as its predecessors. I guess you could say “it’s so easy, even a 40-something can use it.” 
From the main screen, you simply use the trackball or the arrow pad to navigate through the different menus, which are marked by large, colorful icons. They include: phone, phone messaging, address book, web browser, organizer, camera, media player, applications, games, communities, help, email, instant messaging, and download catalog.
Clicking on any of these options will give you subcategories to choose from. For example, clicking on the communities menu will then give you the option of choosing Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Clicking on the organizer menu brings up the calendar, notes and to do list.
The thing that differentiates the Sidekick LX 2009 from other cell phones is the screen that swivels up when you want to access the keypad. Most phones that have keypads have screens that slide up with the keypad underneath, which usually requires the use of both hands. With the Sidekick, all it takes is the flick of a thumb, and the screen swivels into place.
The high resolution screen itself is oh-so-nice. Sharp, crisp and colorful, it is simply beautiful to look at. The keypad feels natural to use. The keys are well-spaced and it is rare that I hit a key by mistake. The slim design makes it comfortable to hold in my hand (I carry it with me along with my CD player when I’m out walking the dog) and it easily slips into my pants pocket when I’m out running errands.
Sidekick LX 2009 Screen
One thing I really love about my Sidekick – it’s such a little thing, but so convenient – is that the trackball slowly blinks green when there are no new text/voice messages or missed phone calls and rapidly blinks purple when there is. It’s so nice to be able to see with just a glance if any new messages have come in without having to pick up the phone and unlock the screen.
You can customize just about anything you want to – the speed of the trackball, the font size, ring tones, screen brightness, themes, and so on. If you want something different than what’s been preloaded into the phone, you can purchase additional ring tones, themes, backgrounds, sounds and other applications (such as an alarm clock or games) for a couple bucks through the download menu on the phone. There are also some freebies that can be downloaded, such as a calculator.
The Sidekick LX 2009 has all the goodies that people have come to expect in a cell phone – a built in GPS, 3G, Bluetooth compatibility as well as many extras, such as built-in social networking and instant messaging (AOL, Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger). It’s a cell phone, PDA and MP3 player all wrapped up in one.
Cons
The Sidekick LX 2009 only holds 100 text messages at a time, and that count includes what you have in ALL your folders – inbox, sent, drafts and trash. Once they reach 100, you need to delete messages before you can receive anymore, or you can set it so that it will automatically delete old messages once the quota is reached. While that can be a pain, it also keeps them from piling up.
The web browser can be slow at times. It doesn’t support javascript, which means some web site features won’t work properly.
You do have to be a T-Mobile customer in order to use all of the Sidekick’s features and on top of that, it does require a Sidekick service plan, which costs extra on top of your minutes plan.
Recommended: Yes
If you have any questions about the Sidekick LX 2009, leave me a message in the comments section and I will be happy to answer them!
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Eileen says:
September 18th, 2009 at 2:49 am
I’ve always wanted a sidekick ever since the first model came out but over the years it seemed as if an updated version was being released. But I decided that this year I’m getting one. So now that I have my mind made up, I’ve been browsing the web looking for the best price and plan and the most important thing of all: the reviews/feed backs.
The pros outweighs the cons so now I’m more comfortable when researching about the product. I came across your review and I really like how you are specific about the good and bad about the sidekick and how you know this product because of your past and present experience with it. So I have a questions and I hopefully you can answer some, if not all.
1. Should I buy a sidekick lx 2009 from the t-mobile store, t-mobile site or on the web (specifically amazon.com)?
2. Do the plans include unlimited texting or is it an extra cost?
3. You mentioned downloading an alarm clock/calculator so I was wondering if you downloaded them because you liked a certain type or if you downloaded them because those two were not featured when the sidekick was purchase
4. Is it any extra fees when you add or download songs to the built in mp3 player?
5. Does more songs on the mp3 player mean less memory?
I have more questions but I didn’t want to bore you but hopefully you can answer most of my questions asap. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my question(s).
I look forward to your response.
-Eileen
Karon says:
September 19th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Hi Eileen,
I’m SO sorry! Your questions got lost in our spam filter. I’ll get Viki to stop by and answer your questions. She’s the one that uses the Sidekick. Karon
Viki says:
September 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Hi Eileen,
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Should I buy a sidekick lx 2009 from the t-mobile store, t-mobile site or on the web (specifically amazon.com)?
If you are already a T-Mobile customer, you will probably get the best price by purchasing directly from them. If you aren’t currently a T-Mobile customer, you will get a great price on the phone by purchasing through Amazon.com with a service plan. When I bought my first Sidekick many years ago, I bought it through Amazon.com with a service plan. Their price simply couldn’t be beat. Whenever I’ve upgraded to the newest and latest Sidekick, I’ve bought it directly from T-Mobile.
2. Do the plans include unlimited texting or is it an extra cost?
The Sidekick plan that is needed to make all the bells and whistles work comes with unlimited text messaging, unlimited web browsing, unlimited instant messaging, unlimited use of the GPS and unlimited access to your social networking accounts (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter).
3. You mentioned downloading an alarm clock/calculator so I was wondering if you downloaded them because you liked a certain type or if you downloaded them because those two were not featured when the sidekick was purchase
The alarm clock and calculator didn’t come with the phone, so that’s why I downloaded them. The calculator was free to download and the alarm clock was $2.99. The alarm clock also comes with a timer and a stopwatch. I use the timer quite often, especially if I pop something in the oven and then go off to a different area of the house where I know I won’t be able to hear the timer on the stove. It’s saved me from many burnt meals.
4. Is it any extra fees when you add or download songs to the built in mp3 player?
No, you can transfer MP3 files from your computer to your phone without any extra fees.
5. Does more songs on the mp3 player mean less memory?
Yes, the more songs you add, the less memory there is, but I haven’t found that it affects the quality or usability of the phone in any manner.
I have more questions but I didn’t want to bore you but hopefully you can answer most of my questions asap. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my question(s).
You’re welcome! Please feel free to post more questions if you have them and if you decide to try the Sidekick LX 2009, be sure to come back and tell us about your experience with it.
Viki
Eileen says:
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 am
Thanks for the heads up Karon and no problem about the spam filter thingy….
And a big THANK YOU to Viki for answering all my questions. Now I’m more comfortable about purchasing the sidekick off of Amazon.com knowing that you bought your first sidekick from there. I’ll be posting a feedback about the sidekick once I’ve purchased it:) Thank you once again.
Viki says:
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:28 am
Eileen,
You are very welcome and in answer to your question about how it works when you order from Amazon: What you do is order the Sidekick from Amazon and select the service plan you want (they will ask you during the ordering process). Amazon will ship you the phone and set you up with T-Mobile, so your monthly bill will come directly from T-Mobile. Amazon also has instructions on how to transfer your phone number to T-Mobile (if you already have a phone number with a different service provider). It was a seamless, no hassle process for me when I ordered from Amazon several years ago. Good luck!
Tim says:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:56 am
I have a question…I just recently purchased the new sidekick about a week ago but noticed that I didn’t have a communities tab or the gps tracking tab in the main screen. How do I go about retrieving those tabs back? I’ve been fustrated for a week now, please help.
Viki says:
October 15th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Hi Tim,
Your GPS menu might be under your Applications tab, it’s called Microsoft Live Search. I’m not sure how to go about getting the Communities tab to show up, though. I couldn’t find any info on it in my help manual. Your best bet would be to take it into a T-Mobile store or call T-Mobile. Come back and let us know how it goes.
karly says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:20 am
Hey,
I’ve had the sidekick lx 09 for about a week now .I like everything about it except that there’s no caculator or alarm clack,I was wondering do u know y they arnt on the phone?
Viki says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Hi Karly,
You have to download both the alarm clock and the calculator. You can do this by scrolling to your Download Catalog. The calculator is free, but the alarm clock is $2.99 to download.
karly says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Ok thanks for the help