find out about the 3rd

Ultraorange

Maybe Danger thinks it's competing with Apple, but (if they've got half a brain) they'll realize differently when Apple is done eating Danger's lunch.

Apple is smart enough to know what it's in the business of selling - things with Apple logos on them. Computers, cell phones, music players - those things, by themselves, do not excite people. It's how you sell it.

Sometimes a company that isn't Apple stumbles on just the right formula. Palm did it once. Treo (formerly of Palm) did it once. RIM did it once. Sony used to know how to do it. And they all fell apart by either giving people the same thing again and again or trying to copy Apple without actually learning what made Apple work.

Palm kept pumping out PDAs with the same ugly UI for a decade until they became irrelevant. Treo failed to keep an eye on what RIM was up to. Sony ignored digital music completely - wasting one of the greatest brand names of all time. And RIM is wasting money copying the iPhone to try to horn in on the consumer market when its strengths lay in the business market.

I've tended to see the Sidekick only in the hands of African-Americans and Latinos. While I'm all for aiming at undertargeted demographics, I think that the Sidekick's time is done. YouTube on the go is more associated with Apple - thanks to the iPhone/YouTube commercial. This is also why the Centro was a flop. It tried entering a niche that had been filled by the Sidekick and was being replaced by the iPhone.

If "customization" is all that Danger can come up with, then its time for its engineers to start looking in the want-ads. Customization is a perk, not a feature. "Lack of colors" is not the reason that Sidekicks aren't on the minds of today's youth.

As far as pricing - $200 is cheaper than the first iPhone, but it's more expensive than the Curve, the Pearl or the Blackjack. The message that sends is that the others are "bargain" or off-brand phones. Why settle for the rest when you can have the best?

Like I said, keep it a little more expensive than the competition to give it the air of luxury.

OMG! Ponies!

CGrant

firesign

macserv

And if you haven't been paying attention, rumor has it that the iPhone rev 2 will be available for $200, thanks to AT&T subsidies.

macserv

jaydot

Well...oh wait. never mind... (sigh)

kevman90

Cut to two years later, I couldn't care less what Danger is doing because they seem to be FAR behind the bigger players in the smartphone world. (RIM, HTC, Nokia, Apple, etc.) I now use a Blackberry 8830 for enterprise and hope to replace my iPod touch with iPhone 2.0.

bourgeoisie

jigsawfallingintoplace

It's not like Apple's playbook is that difficult. Saturate airwaves and add slight price markup to make device an "aspirational good".

OMG! Ponies!

Theophilus P. Wildebeeste

This Gekko also contradicts the interview with Danger CEO, that the prototype if was carrying was thinner, less wide, and had a bigger Keyboard.

Also with the traditional design of the Sidekicks, the ONLY way you cna pull off making a bigger KB with the swivel, would be to change WHERE the swivel take place.

I believe the new Sidekick (top replacement) will be two halves, with a common bolt-type mechanisn, with will split the device in two flat same sized planes. The only thing about that is, they may need to double up on the access button on either side of the screen. Which would mean a new KB layout and design.

Stacky Botrus