How many of you have struggled to decide on a T-Mobile Sidekick or a RIM BlackBerry when it was time to buy a new wireless device? Allow me to help out with a general overview of these competitors in the deaf pager market. The funny thing is that until very recently, RIM and T-Mobile (or more accurately, Danger) themselves did not consider each other serious competitors.




Here’s a bit of historical perspective. In the early days of wireless devices among the deaf, RIM reigned supreme with Wyndtell branded 900’s and 950’s and Deafwireless branded 850’s. The closest competitor for the RIM’s were the Motorola T900’s. That all changed when T-Mobile brought out their Sidekick device. Finally, there was a true mass-market cellphone that included a full QWERTY keyboard, that could be bought at any T-Mobile dealer anywhere. No more having to seek out deaf-oriented businesses that resold what were essentially business-grade devices. These days, the Sidekick reigns supreme within the deaf market, but RIM is clawing back because their business-grade devices have morphed into mass-market cellphones as well - that have recently added consumer-level features.

The primary reason the Sidekick really took off within the deaf market, other than the easy availability mentioned above, was its official built-in AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client (later versions of the Sidekick added official clients for the Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger networks). This remains true - because the Sidekick Instant Messenger (IM) clients are very easy to use. In contrast, the BlackBerry line has official Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk IM clients, and is rumored to have official AIM and MSN clients in the works, as part of RIM’s push to gain consumer market-share.



The nice thing about the BlackBerry line is that there are many different versions that are available from various carriers, enabling you to choose the device that has the best coverage for you, and meets your needs the best. You are pretty much stuck with T-Mobile and the latest version of the Sidekick that they offer.

BlackBerries are much more sturdy and can withstand more abuse than the Sidekicks can. If you have vision issues, you pretty much have to get a BlackBerry due to your being able to choose larger fonts for the default system font.

If you lose or break your Sidekick, your data isn’t gone. Just log in to your account online with T-Mobile, and you will have access to all your info via web browser. If you haven’t synced your BlackBerry with your computer recently, you will lose everything on it if it breaks or is stolen.

You have a nice variety of programs that you can install on your BlackBerry, either over the air (OTA) or via your computer. However, even though there is a OTA download library for Sidekicks, the selection is much more limited.
The Sidekick keyboards historically have been very wide and easy to type on, but it requires the device be held with both hands for fastest typing. This isn’t good when you’re trying to multitask or talk with a friend, etc. BlackBerries can be used either one or two handed, without a minimum of hassle, so it’s a matter of personal preference, really.

One major benefit of using a BlackBerry is that you can connect the built-in email account with any of your email accounts (this is why its popular in the corporate market, it connects users with their work email accounts), and email delivery notification is near-instantaneous. The Sidekick comes with its own email account, but it’s separate from your other email accounts. You can have the Sidekick check your mailboxes, but this process isn’t as speedy as the BlackBerry’s is. I believe that emails are checked every 15 minutes.

As for relay-specific features, the Sidekick pretty much wins hands-down, because T-Mobile/Danger make at least two relay applications (GoAmerica’s i711 and Verizon Wireless’ IP-Relay) available for free download via the “Download Fun” or “Download Catalog” section of your Sidekick. i711 is also available as a BlackBerry OTA application. Sprint Relay has taken to selling Sprint-branded BlackBerries preloaded with a Sprint Relay application, and the software can be downloaded OTA as well. A dedicated relay application is really not necessary if you prefer the no-frills approach by using Hamilton Relay’s iptty.com WAP site (formerly available via Lormar Logic).

That does not make an end of deaf-specific features, however. The BlackBerries have had excellent TTY support over the years and that does not seem to be going away with the newest models of BlackBerries today. The Sidekick family does not support direct connect of TTY’s but with a paid monthy subscription to the i711 program, TTY calls can be made from or to the Sidekick. BlackBerries are getting Hearing aid ratings as well, so that suitability of use of the BlackBerry with a hearing aid can be made by looking at the box, rather than a physical test.

As you can see, there are many pros and cons to check out before you can decide on a BlackBerry or a Sidekick. Next week, I will discuss the details of a SK3 versus some of the common editions of the BlackBerry line.