Trim the Fat Off a SK3, Get a Sidekick ID

If you find that the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 is too expensive or too packed with features, you’ll be glad to hear that a slimmed down version — dubbed the Sidekick ID — is apparently in the works. It’ll take on an identical form factor, complete with trackball navigation, but the SKID (not the best acronym) is designed for communication only. This means that they’re abandoning Bluetooth, the MP3 player, the digital camera, and the microSD expansion slot.

What you get a bare bones communicator that’ll serve messaging freaks very well. There’s a built-in IM client that’ll handle AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN, as well as a web browser, e-mail client, and a new menu system (with myFaves).

Because of all the missing features, the price is a fair chunk lower than the SK3. The T-Mobile Sidekick ID, no longer known as the Sidekick 2.5, is expected to ship in Q2 with an MSRP of $150.