T-Mobile USA teases more Sidekick details, launches high-end data plan

T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) continues to play with the hearts of loyal Sidekick users, announcing more details on the latest device to sport the hallowed name, but remaining coy on launch plans.
The carrier said the now Android-powered device will launch “this spring” at a still undisclosed price. The device, which is now made by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., will sport a similar design to past Sidekick models and include access to the carrier’s HSPA+ network. The device will include a 3.5-inch “pop-tilt” touch screen, a five-row QWERTY keyboard and is powered by a 1 GHz processor and Google Inc.’s Android 2.2 operating system.
The device will also sport T-Mobile USA’s innovative DriveSmart service that provides automatic incoming call and message management. The basic offering of the service will send a customized note to callers and texters telling them that the recipient is busy driving a two-ton vehicle and will respond at a later time. A “Plus” version of the offering adds the ability to automatically activate the service when the handset is in a moving vehicle.
Beyond what it will look like and what it will do, T-Mobile USA is still keeping quite on the exact launch date as well as price. Expect those details to be judiciously released over the next couple of months for maximum dramatic effect.
While visually similar to past Sidekicks, the new device is ditching its previous Danger/Microsoft Corp. OS as well as device makers Sharp Corp. and Motorola Mobility Inc. The device will also hopefully leave behind past issues with both the OS and some of the hardware that plagued some of the previous models.
T-Mobile USA stopped selling the previous incarnation of the Sidekick last July, a move that followed a service melt down that stranded consumer data that was normally stored on servers whenever a consumer turned their device off. T-Mobile USA and Microsoft were eventually able to restore user data.
Data plans
Beyond the new device, T-Mobile USA also said that previously announced changes to its data plans have begun to take effect with the launch of a high-end price plan for wireless modems, tablets and netbooks. The rate plans top out at $85 per month for 10 gigabytes of data transmission, with unlimited “throttled” usage that tones down throughput speeds once a user goes over the 10 GB limit. Other carriers typically charge a per-megabyte or gigabyte fee for overage – usually around $10 per GB – but allow users continued access at peak speeds. The T-Mobile USA plan also includes unlimited access to its HotSpot service.
Customers with a T-Mobile USA voice plan receive a 20% discount on the rate plan’s price, knocking it down to $68 per month.