Review: Sidekick 3

In my opinion, they changed what was absolutely necessary but intentionally kept it from competing with higher-priced phones that have everything. The have a good niche in the market with young people who probably aren't going to spend more than $300 for this device, and who are happy to have something new even if they aren't sure it's better. Not that I don't think it is better than before - I do -- but I think TMo knew what they were doing. I don't think they failed to listen to their customers, I think they had a plan, which was to extend the limits of their customer base a bit -- to grab a few more people who want just a LITTLE more from their phone -- without compromising what they already know they have. They gave us some of what we asked for but kept it at its comfortable, safe place in the market. If they had dramatically improved it and priced it accordingly, they would definitely not get most of their SK1 & 2 users to upgrade, as they probably will this way, and they also might have risked not appealing to people who want something more "grown-up", just because the name Sidekick is associated with spolied rich teen stars and high-school kids. The remake would be a failure, because it was improved TOO much. This way, they can upgrade again with just as much hype and give us more of what we ask, and still be popular with the kids. It's based on sound psychology: rats in a maze will press a button repeatedly, and never give up, if they are rewarded sporadically. If you give them exactly what they want when they want it, or if they know what to expect and when, they stop pressing the button just to check. If you give them just enough to get them hooked and don't let them know when it's coming, they'll keep pushing the button forever hoping for the big payoff. Even when they find a big payoff elsewhere, they come back to the other button to see if they'll get the big reward. We're just overgrown rats, behaviorally speaking. Just watch people play slots in Vegas. I think TMo played it safe, those crafty devils.