Danger Hiptop
Encyclopedia
The Danger Hiptop, also re-branded as the T-Mobile Sidekick, Mobiflip and Sharp Jump is a GPRS/EDGE
/UMTS smartphone
produced by Danger Incorporated
(since 2008, a subsidiary of Microsoft
) from 2002 to 2010.
On October 2, 2009, Microsoft suffered an outage which resulted in prolonged unavailability of data for US T-Mobile Sidekick users, along with shorter periods of no data access for Telstra and T-Mobile UK users. This resulted in T-Mobile USA suspending the sale of Sidekicks until November 16, 2009. The majority of existing users had recovered all contact, notes, calendar and photo data by the end of November.
On July 2, 2010, the T-Mobile Sidekick was discontinued and no longer available for sale through T-Mobile. However, T-Mobile did support Sidekick Web Services until May 31, 2011.
In late 2010, Mobilicity began selling the Sidekick LX 2009 as the Mobiflip. In early 2011, US regional carrier Cincinnati Bell
began selling the Sidekick LX 2009 as the Sharp Jump.
T-Mobile revived the Sidekick brand with the Sidekick 4G
in April 2011, which is based on a Samsung
smartphone running Google
's Android OS.
, now owned by Microsoft
, located in Palo Alto, California
. The original Hiptop hardware was designed by Danger and manufactured by Flextronics
. The Hiptop 2, 3, Sidekick iD, Sidekick 2008 and Sidekick LX (2009) are all manufactured by Sharp Corporation
in Japan and designed, respectively, by Danger and then Danger in partnership with Sharp. All versions of the Hiptop were developed in close partnership with T-Mobile, although carrier-specific features were either removed or added for each carrier, such as the addition of MMS
for SunCom and Telstra hiptop 2 users, where the feature was not available on T-Mobile USA devices until the Sidekick LX in 2007. Danger provides the Hiptop OS software and back-end services for the device. These include a catalog of downloadable software applications, email hosting, instant messaging and web proxies.
The Hiptop was sold by T-Mobile
in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. SunCom
used to sell the device in some parts of the United States
, and Fido was the exclusive Hiptop carrier in Canada
until sales were discontinued after Fido was bought by Rogers Communications
, at the end of the Hiptop 2's life. The discontinuation was mainly because the Hiptop is a competitor to Rogers' BlackBerry
business. In Germany
, the Hiptop service was also offered by E-Plus which included a flat rate tariff. In Australia, the Hiptop device and service were sold by Telstra
, until October 1, 2009. The Hiptop was also sold in Singapore
by Starhub
in 2004, but is no longer available.
keyboard. The screen in the Hiptop Slide simply slides up to reveal the keyboard. There are two buttons on the left side of the device ("menu" and "jump") and also two on the right ("back" and "cancel"). On all Hiptops except the original, the left side houses a directional pad and on the right, a scroll wheel (Hiptop 2) or track ball (Hiptop 3, LX, 2008, 2009 and Slide.) The Hiptop 2 and Slide's directional pad contains internal multicolored LEDs used in ringers and notifications, while the 3, 2008, LX, and 2009 track ball contains internal multicolored LEDs that provide the same function. The right side also has two phone buttons: send call (also page-down) and end call (also page-up). The top of the unit has two shoulder buttons (application-specific). The bottom has volume controls and a power button. The Hiptop line is designed to be held horizontally with both hands, allowing typing with two thumbs, similar to a Game Boy Advance
or a console video game controller. This design contrasts with the majority of other cell phones which have a vertical design.
Released on October 1, 2002, the original Hiptop was unique compared to all other hardware versions. All the units, from the beginning, have featured "Menu", "Back", "Jump" and other keys accessible even when the unit was closed. The Hiptop also featured a speaker which is used for device sounds but not telephone. Along the top edge of the phone bezel is an infrared transceiver. The headset jack serves a dual purpose, as it is also used for the accessory camera. A later revision of the Hiptop upgraded its screen from a monochrome LCD to a color LCD viewable with or without the backlight on (unique to Hiptop models until the LX). It is slightly bigger than any later Hiptop.
Released in 2004, the Hiptop2 was introduced with Danger moving the D-Pad (directional-pad) to the left side of the Hiptop (from the inside where it was previously found), along with top-left and top-right shoulder dials, volume up/down and power on bottom of phone. The Hiptop2 also features a VGA camera, and the addition of page-up/page-down buttons on the top and bottom of its scroll wheel. The line-by-line scrolling feature is notable to the Hiptop brand of products and is not a feature of most other multi-function cell phones. The line-by-line (ability to scroll one line at a time rather than just page by page) scrolling feature is consistent in all applications, as are the "Jump" and all other hardware buttons.
The Hiptop2 has two speakers; the phone speaker built into the D-pad, and a speaker on the back of the unit (near the VGA camera) for sounds, alerts and speaker phone calls. The microphone is located near the end-call button; on right side of the phone there is a power jack, a mini-USB port (usable only by developers, not for the general public) and hands-free headset jack.
Another important feature of the Hiptop2 is the ability to easily view the screen even without a backlight. All units until the LX model had this feature. Most other manufacturers utilized an LCD screen that was not visible without backlight. Hiptop and Palm Treo units (Treo 600
and later) utilized a transflective liquid crystal display that worked with and without the backlight, making the IM, mail, and all other messages readable even in bright sunlight, and without picking the unit up.
The dimensions of the Hiptop2 are 133 mm x 64 mm x 21 mm.
On October 9, 2006, the Australian Hiptop2 was released through Telstra
. The Australian version is practically the same as the Sidekick 2 in the USA but re-constructed for the Australian audience — it has MSN Messenger built-in as the default messenger and Yahoo! Messenger
which is downloadable from the catalog (the US version has Yahoo and AOL Instant Messenger
).
There are also two limited edition variants of the T-Mobile USA Sidekick 2: Juicy Couture Edition (Pink) and Mister Cartoon Edition (Black). These are different case colors with the same hardware and operating systems.
Released July 10, 2006, the Hiptop3 manufactured by Sharp was smaller than previous versions, measuring 130 mm wide x 59 mm high x 22 mm thick. All features, including the line-by-line scroll feature remained the same. Software remained basically the same, but with the addition of more applications. Detailed reviews are available from PC Magazine and cnet.
The industrial design
was changed as well as a new color scheme to a dark gray shell with silver trim and gloss black buttons. The scroll wheel was replaced by a multicolor led lit six-direction trackball
replacing the D-pad as the indicator light. The keyboard was also changed to a rigid plastic keyboard differing from the rubber keyboard of previous models known to peel away from the unit (although easily replaceable).
New features were introduced including a removable 3.7v 1500 mAh battery, a miniSD slot capable of up to 2GB of flash memory storage, a 1.3-megapixel camera capable of 1280 x 1024 an improvement from the sub-megapixel VGA 640 x 480 camera, and a built-in 1/16" audio jack for the newly included MP3
playback software. The MiniUSB functionality was changed from allowing access to the Hiptop's internal communications to only allowing access to the MiniSD card over a USB v1.1 port. The built-in storage allows for end-users to store files for .mp3, .wav, and .aac playback, camera, user customizable themes and other catalog application's uses.
The T-Mobile USA Sidekick 3 was made available in three limited edition models which only differed in cosmetic color changes:
Although many of the "fun" features were taken out, Danger and Sharp did keep some of the features previously seen on the Sidekick 1, 2 and 3. This included the Sidekick-patented swivel screen, the hidden keyboard, and the trackball. However, a new Sidekick iD feature were removable colored "bumpers", allowing the appearance of the Sidekick to be easily changed.
The Sidekick LX (PV-250) was released on October 17, 2007 for existing T-Mobile customers via the Internet and five special locations. A week later, on October 24, 2007, the LX was released to new T-Mobile subscribers. The Sidekick LX is available in two different colors, Midnight Blue and Espresso Brown. In addition to the two color selections, the LX includes a wider, higher-resolution screen, you can flip the screen with a button on the top of the phone also with your hand, an upgraded keyboard (much like that of the Sidekick 2), blue LED mood lights on all four corners which coordinate to the user's settings, downloadable music and backgrounds, a lighter weight, MMS messaging, a Micro SD card slot with a 128 MB card included (over the Sidekick 3's 64 MB MiniSD card), and an updated operating system. On July 16, 2008, T-Mobile released a limited edition Tony Hawk
Edition Sidekick LX, which includes video recording. Despite production models being made for testing, ultimately the LX was never released in Australia due to a lack of compatibility with Telstra's 3G 850Mhz network, however Telstra went ahead with selling the Slide after the Hiptop3; the Hiptop3 is now phased out.
in Australia. T-Mobile USA release followed two days later, on November 7, 2007. It was later released in the UK and Germany by T-Mobile (as opposed to the Sidekick LX only being released by T-Mobile USA). The Sidekick/Hiptop Slide offers the same features and services as every other Danger device and an update to Danger's latest OS version (4.0). Like the LX, this Sidekick for T-Mobile USA adds the Multimedia Messaging application and provides support for T-Mobile MyFaves plans.
The T-Mobile Sidekick Slide, although less expensive than the LX, provides various hardware upgrades. These upgrades include 128MB RAM and 225 MHz TI OMAP 850 processor, as opposed to the Sidekick 3 and LX's 64MB RAM and 200 MHz OMAP 331 processor, and a second speaker which is located on the back of the device, as opposed to the Hiptop 3 and LX's reliance on the D-pad speaker for both calls and music playback.
T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the Sidekick Slide on Friday evening, November 16, 2007, after Motorola confirmed that some devices inadvertently powered off when the slide door on the front side of the phone was opened or closed. Sidekick Slide owners that reported the power issue received a free exchange to a blue Sidekick LX with free express shipping.
On November 21, 2007, Motorola stated the failures were triggered by poor battery contacts; sliding the screen out to type on the keyboard sometimes loosened the contact and forced the device to shut off momentarily.
On December 6, 2007, the Sidekick Slide was once again available for purchase.
On May 16, 2008, a new version of the Sidekick Slide was released, named the Sidekick Slide Scarlet.
The Sidekick Slide was officially discontinued on August 8, 2008. It was available for sale again on December 12, 2008, however, T-Mobile has once again discontinued the Sidekick Slide.
On October 1, 2009, Telstra
officially discontinued the hiptop service plans and phones. All remaining customers who contracts are still under contract are not affected, however the service and phone is no longer available for sale, and will not be offered for sale again.
released the Sidekick 2008 right before the Slide was discontinued. This has improved features such as a high resolution 2-megapixel camera and video functionality high quality AIM. It also went back to the swivel Qwerty design, including changeable face/backplates. The Sidekick 2008 is available only in certain T-mobile stores. The Sidekick 2008 features were reviewed by gizmodo, PC Magazine and in a cnet video review.
The new handset supports 3G
and HSDPA, and makes various changes to the hardware, including a 3.2 inch F-WVGA display with 854×480 resolution and a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. However, most of the known changes involve software and improved functionality for social networking applications. Support for Facebook
, Twitter
and MySpace
is now native to the system, allowing the handset to pass along notifications in the status bar as it does with instant messaging, e-mail and so forth. YouTube
streaming playback is also supported on the system.
The Sidekick LX 2009 offers synchronization with Microsoft Outlook
and Microsoft Exchange
, through a download via the applications catalog. The highest-profile Microsoft addition to the handset, Bing
, will be integrated with the new GPS functionality; the mapping software previously relied on cell-tower triangulation (a far less accurate process).
Danger notified its development community via their Danger Developer Zone forums that it would no longer accept submissions for its application store, called the Download Catalog, on September 21, 2010. The development of applications for the Sidekick platform was also halted on September 21, 2010.
This was followed by the closure of the Danger Developer Zone forums and related archives September 30, 2010. However the Canadian company Mobilicity later began selling the Sidekick LX (2009) under the name Mobiflip.
, carrier Mobilicity
began selling the device under the name "Mobiflip" and the model number PV300G in late December 2010. In the United States
, regional carrier Cincinnati Bell
began selling the "Sharp Jump", model number PV300GC, in early 2011. Both devices have a modified version of the Danger OS installed, although any mention of Danger has been removed. This modified OS is independent of any backend service, and the original Danger Web browser
, Instant Messaging
and Email
applications have been removed. The Web browser was replaced with Opera Mini
whereas the Instant Messaging clients were replaced with one universal client which also allows the user to connect to an IM service through an XMPP server. There is no email client installed, and there is no Catalog
service available.
The Mobiflip can be unlocked for voice service worldwide, but will not work for data due to the lack of an option to change the network APN. The Sharp Jump is different as it is possible to change the network APN, and will work with voice and data anywhere in the world provided the phone is unlocked and a compatible GSM or UMTS network is available.
Sidekick user data is stored at Danger facilities, now under the ownership of Microsoft. Unsubstantiated reports suggest Microsoft vendor Hitachi
, Danger's storage area network
(SAN) provider may have had a part in the temporary data loss. Lawsuits against Microsoft claim that Microsoft had inadequate backups or an insufficient disaster recovery plan. Litigation against Microsoft and others is pending as of this writing.
As a result of the outage, T-Mobile suspended sales of all Sidekicks and Sidekick Data Plans until the outage was resolved. Sales and new activations resumed on November 16, 2009.
reported Microsoft
will discontinue Danger's cloud service on May 31, 2011. After that date, Sidekicks will no longer have access to any data services, though voice service will still function.
In Australia, the Telstra hiptop service was continued to be offered for existing customers after May 31, 2011 when the T-Mobile USA Sidekick service was shut down. However, it was announced that the hiptop service for Telstra customers would be discontinued on October 4, 2011. Selected affected customers will receive a free Samsung
Galaxy 551 to replace their hiptop devices.
Once the Telstra hiptop service is discontinued, there will no longer be any carriers worldwide offering any form of Danger service.
. This text-based communications medium, along with on-device email and a full QWERTY
keyboard, made it popular with the deaf community, providing a telecommunications tool for use both inside and outside the home. Almost immediately it began replacing the dominant wireless devices used by the deaf at that time, namely the Motorola
T-900, PageWriter, and TimePort, as well as the early RIM and BlackBerry
e-mail pagers manufactured by Research In Motion
.
The Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick's importance to the deaf was further solidified in March 2003 when it became the first cellular phone capable of placing unassisted TTY and Relay Operator calls (see Telecommunications Relay Service
) through the phone's web browser using a system developed by Jon B. Sharpe at Lormar Logic Company. Lormar Logic enhanced the TTY/Relay Operator system in August 2003 by developing a means for the deaf to place calls through AOL Instant Messenger.
MCI Relay
followed two months later with a Relay Operator system accessible through telnet
. MCI Relay and Hamilton Relay both released AOL Instant Messenger relay systems in July of the following year. By 2005, at least four Relay Operator providers (Hamilton, MCI, Sprint, Sorenson, and i711) were providing direct Relay Operator access from the Sidekick using either one of the instant messenger clients or through a free download from the Catalog, and two companies (Lormar Logic and i711) were providing direct TTY access. The software for these is provided at no additional charge in addition to the normal data plan. The free Lormar Logic service also provides the deaf with direct encrypted calling to the United States Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. The i711 client provides extra services to the deaf at an additional fee (such as AAA
roadside services, and finding Open Captioned
movies, etc).
Access to direct TTY and Relay Operator communications has allowed the Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick and similar devices to, in many cases, replace the use of standard TTY/TDD
machines, and its dominance is clearly illustrated by the evolution of its own sign in American Sign Language
, made using both hands to mimic the opening of the rotating screen.
T-Mobile's decision to offer a "data only" wireless plan, thereby eliminating charges for unusable voice minutes, also played a role in the device's dominance in the deaf community. Additionally, some local deaf non-profit groups in the US will either pay all or part of the cost of the device/monthly service fees for the user to keep them "connected". Other groups have set up discount programs, where deaf users receive a discount on the cost of the device and monthly service fee based on the number of members in the group.
, referred to as DangerOS, is largely based on Java
. For Hiptop development, Danger has its own proprietary API
s, which are a subset of J2SE with their own extensions. Danger introduced support for Java ME, the Java language optimized for mobile devices, to its OS with the release of OS 2.3.
To aid third-party software design, Danger has released a comprehensive software development kit
(SDK) that contains a Hiptop simulator, development installation utilities, and Danger API information. The SDK is available without charge from Danger's development website.
There is no way to add applications to a standard Hiptop software
on the device without the use of the Download Catalog (also called the Download Fun catalog on Sidekick II devices). This is ostensibly done to ensure only tested and compatible software is capable of being installed on a production device.
Application developers can bypass this functionality by using the included programs in the Danger Hiptop SDK to install user-written applications to the Hiptop device directly. To do this, you must apply for a special software key known as a Danger Developer Key. The Danger Development Key is a special security certificate that is provided by Danger that enables the device to be used as a Development Device. This will allow the installation of user-written applications to the device, but will void any software warranty provided by Danger and/or your wireless carrier. Any applicable hardware warranties should still apply.
While DangerOS uses .jar files for applications, they are uploaded to the device in special files called "bundles". Bundle files have the extension '.bndl'. Each bundle file is linked to a specific operating system version and build number. For example, a bundle file for v3.4/155053 (T-Mobile Sidekick 3) would be denied installation on a v3.3/149695 device (T-Mobile Sidekick iD). Installation of bundles require a developer key to be installed on your device if you are using a Production OS. Internal OS builds do not require developer keys.
The Sidekick LX 2009 model runs DangerOS 5.0, which is reported to be based on NetBSD
.
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM...
/UMTS smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
produced by Danger Incorporated
Danger (company)
Danger, Inc. was a company specializing in platforms, software, design, and services for mobile computing devices. Its most notable product was the T-Mobile Sidekick ....
(since 2008, a subsidiary of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
) from 2002 to 2010.
On October 2, 2009, Microsoft suffered an outage which resulted in prolonged unavailability of data for US T-Mobile Sidekick users, along with shorter periods of no data access for Telstra and T-Mobile UK users. This resulted in T-Mobile USA suspending the sale of Sidekicks until November 16, 2009. The majority of existing users had recovered all contact, notes, calendar and photo data by the end of November.
On July 2, 2010, the T-Mobile Sidekick was discontinued and no longer available for sale through T-Mobile. However, T-Mobile did support Sidekick Web Services until May 31, 2011.
In late 2010, Mobilicity began selling the Sidekick LX 2009 as the Mobiflip. In early 2011, US regional carrier Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell is the dominant telephone company for Cincinnati, Ohio, and its nearby suburbs in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The parent company is named Cincinnati Bell Inc. Its incumbent local exchange carrier subsidiary uses the name Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company LLC,...
began selling the Sidekick LX 2009 as the Sharp Jump.
T-Mobile revived the Sidekick brand with the Sidekick 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
in April 2011, which is based on a Samsung
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
smartphone running Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's Android OS.
Overview
The Hiptop software is designed by the company Danger, Inc.Danger (company)
Danger, Inc. was a company specializing in platforms, software, design, and services for mobile computing devices. Its most notable product was the T-Mobile Sidekick ....
, now owned by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, located in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. The original Hiptop hardware was designed by Danger and manufactured by Flextronics
Flextronics
Flextronics International Ltd. is an electronics manufacturing services provider that offers services to original equipment manufacturers . It also provides supporting supply chain services, including packaging and transportation throughout the world, as well as design and after-sales...
. The Hiptop 2, 3, Sidekick iD, Sidekick 2008 and Sidekick LX (2009) are all manufactured by Sharp Corporation
Sharp Corporation
is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products. Headquartered in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, Sharp employs more than 55,580 people worldwide as of June 2011. The company was founded in September 1912 and takes its name from one of its founder's first...
in Japan and designed, respectively, by Danger and then Danger in partnership with Sharp. All versions of the Hiptop were developed in close partnership with T-Mobile, although carrier-specific features were either removed or added for each carrier, such as the addition of MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
for SunCom and Telstra hiptop 2 users, where the feature was not available on T-Mobile USA devices until the Sidekick LX in 2007. Danger provides the Hiptop OS software and back-end services for the device. These include a catalog of downloadable software applications, email hosting, instant messaging and web proxies.
The Hiptop was sold by T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. SunCom
SunCom
SunCom Wireless Holdings, Inc. was a wireless carrier that operated in the Southeastern United States since 1999 and in parts of the Caribbean since 2004. From the "About Us" section of the company's website:...
used to sell the device in some parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Fido was the exclusive Hiptop carrier in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
until sales were discontinued after Fido was bought by Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
, at the end of the Hiptop 2's life. The discontinuation was mainly because the Hiptop is a competitor to Rogers' BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
business. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Hiptop service was also offered by E-Plus which included a flat rate tariff. In Australia, the Hiptop device and service were sold by Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, until October 1, 2009. The Hiptop was also sold in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
by Starhub
StarHub
StarHub Limited is a full-fledged telecommunications company providing a full range of services over mobile, internet and fixed platforms in Singapore...
in 2004, but is no longer available.
Hardware
The screen on the Hiptop 1, 2, 3, Sidekick iD, Sidekick 2008, Sidekick LX, and Sidekick LX 2009 flips 180 degrees to reveal the qwertyQWERTY
QWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
keyboard. The screen in the Hiptop Slide simply slides up to reveal the keyboard. There are two buttons on the left side of the device ("menu" and "jump") and also two on the right ("back" and "cancel"). On all Hiptops except the original, the left side houses a directional pad and on the right, a scroll wheel (Hiptop 2) or track ball (Hiptop 3, LX, 2008, 2009 and Slide.) The Hiptop 2 and Slide's directional pad contains internal multicolored LEDs used in ringers and notifications, while the 3, 2008, LX, and 2009 track ball contains internal multicolored LEDs that provide the same function. The right side also has two phone buttons: send call (also page-down) and end call (also page-up). The top of the unit has two shoulder buttons (application-specific). The bottom has volume controls and a power button. The Hiptop line is designed to be held horizontally with both hands, allowing typing with two thumbs, similar to a Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
or a console video game controller. This design contrasts with the majority of other cell phones which have a vertical design.
Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick (Danger/Flextronics)
Hiptop2/T-Mobile Sidekick 2 (Danger/Sharp)
The Hiptop2 has two speakers; the phone speaker built into the D-pad, and a speaker on the back of the unit (near the VGA camera) for sounds, alerts and speaker phone calls. The microphone is located near the end-call button; on right side of the phone there is a power jack, a mini-USB port (usable only by developers, not for the general public) and hands-free headset jack.
Another important feature of the Hiptop2 is the ability to easily view the screen even without a backlight. All units until the LX model had this feature. Most other manufacturers utilized an LCD screen that was not visible without backlight. Hiptop and Palm Treo units (Treo 600
Treo 600
Treo 600 was a smartphone developed by Handspring, and offered under the palmOne brand after the merger of the two companies. It has a number of integrated features and it is possible to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from contacts list, take pictures or send emails...
and later) utilized a transflective liquid crystal display that worked with and without the backlight, making the IM, mail, and all other messages readable even in bright sunlight, and without picking the unit up.
The dimensions of the Hiptop2 are 133 mm x 64 mm x 21 mm.
On October 9, 2006, the Australian Hiptop2 was released through Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
. The Australian version is practically the same as the Sidekick 2 in the USA but re-constructed for the Australian audience — it has MSN Messenger built-in as the default messenger and Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
which is downloadable from the catalog (the US version has Yahoo and AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
).
There are also two limited edition variants of the T-Mobile USA Sidekick 2: Juicy Couture Edition (Pink) and Mister Cartoon Edition (Black). These are different case colors with the same hardware and operating systems.
Hiptop3/T-Mobile Sidekick 3 (Danger/Sharp)
The industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
was changed as well as a new color scheme to a dark gray shell with silver trim and gloss black buttons. The scroll wheel was replaced by a multicolor led lit six-direction trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
replacing the D-pad as the indicator light. The keyboard was also changed to a rigid plastic keyboard differing from the rubber keyboard of previous models known to peel away from the unit (although easily replaceable).
New features were introduced including a removable 3.7v 1500 mAh battery, a miniSD slot capable of up to 2GB of flash memory storage, a 1.3-megapixel camera capable of 1280 x 1024 an improvement from the sub-megapixel VGA 640 x 480 camera, and a built-in 1/16" audio jack for the newly included MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
playback software. The MiniUSB functionality was changed from allowing access to the Hiptop's internal communications to only allowing access to the MiniSD card over a USB v1.1 port. The built-in storage allows for end-users to store files for .mp3, .wav, and .aac playback, camera, user customizable themes and other catalog application's uses.
The T-Mobile USA Sidekick 3 was made available in three limited edition models which only differed in cosmetic color changes:
- Diane von FurstenbergDiane von FürstenbergDiane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
— Black with pink lips; released October 30, 2006 - Lifted Research GroupLRG clothingLifted Research Group, most commonly known as LRG, is an Orange County, California based clothing brand headed by Jonas Bevacqua and Robert Wright. LRG produces clothing and accessories, and also has been known to develop a broad range of products including electronic accessories, extreme vehicles,...
— Green with tree logos - Dwyane WadeDwyane WadeDwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. nicknamed Flash or D-Wade, is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat. Awarded 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, Wade has established himself as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league...
— White and gold with a basketball texture; released February 1, 2007 to coincide with the NBA All-Star Game of February 17, 2007
T-Mobile Sidekick iD (Danger/Sharp)
The Sidekick iD is a smaller version of the Sidekick 3. It was released April 13, 2007. The Sidekick iD was aimed at younger, less affluent customers. To reduce the cost of the Sidekick iD, the creators, (Sharp), removed some of the features of the Sidekick 3, including the 1.3 megapixel camera, the Bluetooth capability, and its media player.Although many of the "fun" features were taken out, Danger and Sharp did keep some of the features previously seen on the Sidekick 1, 2 and 3. This included the Sidekick-patented swivel screen, the hidden keyboard, and the trackball. However, a new Sidekick iD feature were removable colored "bumpers", allowing the appearance of the Sidekick to be easily changed.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX (Danger/Sharp)
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
Edition Sidekick LX, which includes video recording. Despite production models being made for testing, ultimately the LX was never released in Australia due to a lack of compatibility with Telstra's 3G 850Mhz network, however Telstra went ahead with selling the Slide after the Hiptop3; the Hiptop3 is now phased out.
Motorola Q700 (Sidekick Slide) (Danger/Motorola)
In Australia it is marketed as the Hiptop Slide and in the U.S. as the Sidekick Slide. It was first released on November 5, 2007, through TelstraTelstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
in Australia. T-Mobile USA release followed two days later, on November 7, 2007. It was later released in the UK and Germany by T-Mobile (as opposed to the Sidekick LX only being released by T-Mobile USA). The Sidekick/Hiptop Slide offers the same features and services as every other Danger device and an update to Danger's latest OS version (4.0). Like the LX, this Sidekick for T-Mobile USA adds the Multimedia Messaging application and provides support for T-Mobile MyFaves plans.
The T-Mobile Sidekick Slide, although less expensive than the LX, provides various hardware upgrades. These upgrades include 128MB RAM and 225 MHz TI OMAP 850 processor, as opposed to the Sidekick 3 and LX's 64MB RAM and 200 MHz OMAP 331 processor, and a second speaker which is located on the back of the device, as opposed to the Hiptop 3 and LX's reliance on the D-pad speaker for both calls and music playback.
T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the Sidekick Slide on Friday evening, November 16, 2007, after Motorola confirmed that some devices inadvertently powered off when the slide door on the front side of the phone was opened or closed. Sidekick Slide owners that reported the power issue received a free exchange to a blue Sidekick LX with free express shipping.
On November 21, 2007, Motorola stated the failures were triggered by poor battery contacts; sliding the screen out to type on the keyboard sometimes loosened the contact and forced the device to shut off momentarily.
On December 6, 2007, the Sidekick Slide was once again available for purchase.
On May 16, 2008, a new version of the Sidekick Slide was released, named the Sidekick Slide Scarlet.
The Sidekick Slide was officially discontinued on August 8, 2008. It was available for sale again on December 12, 2008, however, T-Mobile has once again discontinued the Sidekick Slide.
On October 1, 2009, Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
officially discontinued the hiptop service plans and phones. All remaining customers who contracts are still under contract are not affected, however the service and phone is no longer available for sale, and will not be offered for sale again.
T-Mobile Sidekick 2008 (Danger/Sharp)
On August 1, 2008, T-MobileT-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
released the Sidekick 2008 right before the Slide was discontinued. This has improved features such as a high resolution 2-megapixel camera and video functionality high quality AIM. It also went back to the swivel Qwerty design, including changeable face/backplates. The Sidekick 2008 is available only in certain T-mobile stores. The Sidekick 2008 features were reviewed by gizmodo, PC Magazine and in a cnet video review.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 (Danger/Sharp)
The 2009 edition of the Sidekick LX (PV-300), which was known during the development phase as the "Sidekick Blade" or the "Sidekick 2009", was released on May 13, 2009, after a pre-order period beginning on April 17.The new handset supports 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
and HSDPA, and makes various changes to the hardware, including a 3.2 inch F-WVGA display with 854×480 resolution and a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. However, most of the known changes involve software and improved functionality for social networking applications. Support for Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
is now native to the system, allowing the handset to pass along notifications in the status bar as it does with instant messaging, e-mail and so forth. YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
streaming playback is also supported on the system.
The Sidekick LX 2009 offers synchronization with Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
and Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
, through a download via the applications catalog. The highest-profile Microsoft addition to the handset, Bing
Bing
Bing is a web search engine from Microsoft.Bing may also refer to:* An onomatopœia of a bell sound* Bing cherry, a variety of cherry* Bing , Chinese flatbread* Bing , a German company that manufactured toys and kitchen utensils...
, will be integrated with the new GPS functionality; the mapping software previously relied on cell-tower triangulation (a far less accurate process).
Danger platform discontinuation
T-Mobile announced on July 2, 2010, that the Sidekick LX 09 and Sidekick 2008 would no longer be available through T-Mobile.Danger notified its development community via their Danger Developer Zone forums that it would no longer accept submissions for its application store, called the Download Catalog, on September 21, 2010. The development of applications for the Sidekick platform was also halted on September 21, 2010.
This was followed by the closure of the Danger Developer Zone forums and related archives September 30, 2010. However the Canadian company Mobilicity later began selling the Sidekick LX (2009) under the name Mobiflip.
Mobilicity Mobiflip/Sharp Jump (Sharp)
While the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 was no longer sold from July 2, 2010 onwards, modified versions of the device have been available for sale since. In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, carrier Mobilicity
Mobilicity
Mobilicity is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity".-History:...
began selling the device under the name "Mobiflip" and the model number PV300G in late December 2010. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, regional carrier Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell is the dominant telephone company for Cincinnati, Ohio, and its nearby suburbs in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The parent company is named Cincinnati Bell Inc. Its incumbent local exchange carrier subsidiary uses the name Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company LLC,...
began selling the "Sharp Jump", model number PV300GC, in early 2011. Both devices have a modified version of the Danger OS installed, although any mention of Danger has been removed. This modified OS is independent of any backend service, and the original Danger Web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, Instant Messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
and Email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
applications have been removed. The Web browser was replaced with Opera Mini
Opera Mini
Opera Mini is a web browser designed primarily for mobile phones, smartphones and personal digital assistants. Until version 4 it used the Java ME platform, requiring the mobile device to run Java ME applications. From version 5 it is also available as a native application for Android, iOS, Symbian...
whereas the Instant Messaging clients were replaced with one universal client which also allows the user to connect to an IM service through an XMPP server. There is no email client installed, and there is no Catalog
Catalog
Catalog or catalogue may refer to:In science and technology:*Astronomical catalog, a catalog of astronomical objects**Star catalog, a catalog of stars*Pharmacopoeia, a book containing directions for the preparation of compound medicines...
service available.
The Mobiflip can be unlocked for voice service worldwide, but will not work for data due to the lack of an option to change the network APN. The Sharp Jump is different as it is possible to change the network APN, and will work with voice and data anywhere in the world provided the phone is unlocked and a compatible GSM or UMTS network is available.
T-Mobile Sidekick 4G (Android/Samsung)
In January 2011, it was announced by T-Mobile that they would be relaunching the Sidekick brand with a 4G HSPA+-capable Android-based device. This was released on April 20th, 2011. The Sidekick 4G was not designed by Danger or Microsoft, but was based on the Samsung Galaxy S. It pays homage to previous Sidekick models, with its signature keyboard and a redesigned Android user interface incorporating elements of the Sidekick user interface. However, the Sidekick 4G should not be confused with a Danger Hiptop.Data service outage 2009
On October 2, 2009, Microsoft lost the ability to access user data for T-Mobile US Sidekick subscribers temporarily. Subscriber data loss included contacts, notes, calendars and photos. Some data was restored within 14 days of the outage, however most of the data was restored between October 8 and the end of November. Early reports stating T-Mobile and Microsoft had "almost certainly [lost all customer data] as a result of a server failure at Microsoft" proved to be untrue and premature.Sidekick user data is stored at Danger facilities, now under the ownership of Microsoft. Unsubstantiated reports suggest Microsoft vendor Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, Danger's storage area network
Storage area network
A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices...
(SAN) provider may have had a part in the temporary data loss. Lawsuits against Microsoft claim that Microsoft had inadequate backups or an insufficient disaster recovery plan. Litigation against Microsoft and others is pending as of this writing.
As a result of the outage, T-Mobile suspended sales of all Sidekicks and Sidekick Data Plans until the outage was resolved. Sales and new activations resumed on November 16, 2009.
Danger cloud service discontinuation
On February 28, 2011 tech blog EngadgetEngadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
reported Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
will discontinue Danger's cloud service on May 31, 2011. After that date, Sidekicks will no longer have access to any data services, though voice service will still function.
In Australia, the Telstra hiptop service was continued to be offered for existing customers after May 31, 2011 when the T-Mobile USA Sidekick service was shut down. However, it was announced that the hiptop service for Telstra customers would be discontinued on October 4, 2011. Selected affected customers will receive a free Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
Galaxy 551 to replace their hiptop devices.
Once the Telstra hiptop service is discontinued, there will no longer be any carriers worldwide offering any form of Danger service.
Usage by the deaf and hard of hearing
When the Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick was initially released in the Fall of 2002, it was the only cellular phone to factory integrate an instant messaging client, specifically AIMAOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
. This text-based communications medium, along with on-device email and a full QWERTY
QWERTY
QWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
keyboard, made it popular with the deaf community, providing a telecommunications tool for use both inside and outside the home. Almost immediately it began replacing the dominant wireless devices used by the deaf at that time, namely the Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
T-900, PageWriter, and TimePort, as well as the early RIM and BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
e-mail pagers manufactured by Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
.
The Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick's importance to the deaf was further solidified in March 2003 when it became the first cellular phone capable of placing unassisted TTY and Relay Operator calls (see Telecommunications Relay Service
Telecommunications Relay Service
Telecommunications Relay Service, also known as TRS, Relay Service, or IP-Relay, or Web-based relay services, is an operator service that allows people who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Speech-Disabled, or DeafBlind to place calls to standard telephone users via a keyboard or assistive device...
) through the phone's web browser using a system developed by Jon B. Sharpe at Lormar Logic Company. Lormar Logic enhanced the TTY/Relay Operator system in August 2003 by developing a means for the deaf to place calls through AOL Instant Messenger.
MCI Relay
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
followed two months later with a Relay Operator system accessible through telnet
TELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
. MCI Relay and Hamilton Relay both released AOL Instant Messenger relay systems in July of the following year. By 2005, at least four Relay Operator providers (Hamilton, MCI, Sprint, Sorenson, and i711) were providing direct Relay Operator access from the Sidekick using either one of the instant messenger clients or through a free download from the Catalog, and two companies (Lormar Logic and i711) were providing direct TTY access. The software for these is provided at no additional charge in addition to the normal data plan. The free Lormar Logic service also provides the deaf with direct encrypted calling to the United States Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. The i711 client provides extra services to the deaf at an additional fee (such as AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
roadside services, and finding Open Captioned
Closed captioning
Closed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
movies, etc).
Access to direct TTY and Relay Operator communications has allowed the Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick and similar devices to, in many cases, replace the use of standard TTY/TDD
Telecommunications device for the deaf
A telecommunications device for the deaf is a teleprinter, an electronic device for text communication over a telephone line, that is designed for use by persons with hearing or speech difficulties...
machines, and its dominance is clearly illustrated by the evolution of its own sign in American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, made using both hands to mimic the opening of the rotating screen.
T-Mobile's decision to offer a "data only" wireless plan, thereby eliminating charges for unusable voice minutes, also played a role in the device's dominance in the deaf community. Additionally, some local deaf non-profit groups in the US will either pay all or part of the cost of the device/monthly service fees for the user to keep them "connected". Other groups have set up discount programs, where deaf users receive a discount on the cost of the device and monthly service fee based on the number of members in the group.
Software
The Hiptop operating systemOperating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, referred to as DangerOS, is largely based on Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
. For Hiptop development, Danger has its own proprietary API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
s, which are a subset of J2SE with their own extensions. Danger introduced support for Java ME, the Java language optimized for mobile devices, to its OS with the release of OS 2.3.
To aid third-party software design, Danger has released a comprehensive software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) that contains a Hiptop simulator, development installation utilities, and Danger API information. The SDK is available without charge from Danger's development website.
There is no way to add applications to a standard Hiptop software
Hiptop Included Software
The Danger Hiptop and Danger Hiptop2 devices come with a variety of included software titles.- Web Browser :The Hiptop Web browser requests pages through a proxy running on Danger's servers...
on the device without the use of the Download Catalog (also called the Download Fun catalog on Sidekick II devices). This is ostensibly done to ensure only tested and compatible software is capable of being installed on a production device.
Application developers can bypass this functionality by using the included programs in the Danger Hiptop SDK to install user-written applications to the Hiptop device directly. To do this, you must apply for a special software key known as a Danger Developer Key. The Danger Development Key is a special security certificate that is provided by Danger that enables the device to be used as a Development Device. This will allow the installation of user-written applications to the device, but will void any software warranty provided by Danger and/or your wireless carrier. Any applicable hardware warranties should still apply.
While DangerOS uses .jar files for applications, they are uploaded to the device in special files called "bundles". Bundle files have the extension '.bndl'. Each bundle file is linked to a specific operating system version and build number. For example, a bundle file for v3.4/155053 (T-Mobile Sidekick 3) would be denied installation on a v3.3/149695 device (T-Mobile Sidekick iD). Installation of bundles require a developer key to be installed on your device if you are using a Production OS. Internal OS builds do not require developer keys.
The Sidekick LX 2009 model runs DangerOS 5.0, which is reported to be based on NetBSD
NetBSD
NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
.
See also
- EnVEnvenv is a shell command for Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It is used to either print a list of environment variables or run another utility in an altered environment without having to modify the currently existing environment. Using env, variables may be added or removed, and the values of...
- HTC Touch Pro2HTC Touch Pro2The HTC Touch Pro2 is a slate smartphone, part of the Touch series of Internet-enabled, Windows Mobile, Pocket PC smartphones designed and marketed by HTC Corporation of Taiwan...
- Helio OceanHelio OceanThe Helio Ocean is a dual slider Internet-enabled multimedia wireless mobile device sold by mobile virtual network operator wireless carrier Helio, and manufactured by Pantech Curitel. A distinctive design feature of the Ocean is its dual sliding mechanism — when slid down in the vertical...
- HTC DreamHTC DreamThe HTC Dream is an Internet-enabled smartphone with an operating system designed by Google and hardware designed by HTC...
- HTC WizardHTC WizardThe HTC Wizard is an Internet-enabled Windows Mobile Pocket PC smartphone designed by High Tech Computer Corporation of Taiwan. It has a touchscreen with a left-side slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The Wizard's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player in addition to text...
- iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
- MyloMylo (Sony)My Life Online is a device created and marketed by Sony for portable instant messaging and other Internet-based communications, browsing Internet web sites and playback and sharing of media files. The pocket-sized, tablet-shaped handheld device has a screen which slides up to reveal a QWERTY...
- N-GageN-GageThe N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 60 platform, released in October 2003. It began sales on October 7, 2003. The N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004....
- Ogo
- Palm PixiPalm PixiThe Palm Pixi and Pixi Plus are multimedia smartphones, developed by Palm, which was purchased in 2010 by HP. The device is viewed as a successor to the Palm Centro smartphone and was Palm's second webOS device, after the Palm Pre....
- Microsoft KIN