Are you an early adopter of the new pair of Sidekicks from T-Mobile - the LX and the Slide? Are you finding yourself wanting to go to i711 Wireless when you need to make a relay or TTY call but can’t because it’s not available from the Download Catalog? Well, you just have to hold your horses a little longer. GoAmerica has been fixing up its i711 Wireless application to bring it up to par with the high resolution displays of the LX and Slide, and has submitted the application to Danger for approval. I was able to play with the same pre-release build of i711 Wireless (on a SK LX) that GoAmerica submitted to Danger for approval, and got permission to share a little about it with readers of this blog.

GoAmerica really has stepped up and made i711 Wireless a great looking application on the LX’s gorgeous high resolution display. You can clearly see the difference in the screenshots below:

(with SK LX Large font size enabled)

All the i711 Wireless functionality you are used to - such as dialing from your Address Book, looking up recent calls, making new contacts directly from the i711 Wireless main screen, changing font sizes (i711 Wireless apparently still uses its own font and sizes) and colors, and so forth - are still present in this new version.

You can still subscribe to the Wireless Toolkit and gain access to TTY calling, TTY messaging, direct pager-to-pager messaging, direct access to AAA emergency services, and InSight Cinema information on captioned movies. Pricing remains the same at $9.99 per month with a six-month minimum.

With the upgrades to the Danger OS running the Sidekick, some nice benefits come to i711 Wireless users. The high resolution screen looks like it makes it possible to squeeze more characters in on a relay call - you won’t have to scroll up as often to read what was said earlier. Also, it’s even easier to switch to i711 Wireless with the new QuickJump feature which is accessed by hitting Jump/End at the same time.

I used this new version of i711 Wireless with pretty much no problems at all. It was nice to have direct access to relay functionality, and not fumble around while I was inside AIM trying to recall the number I needed to dial, or even try to copy and paste the phone number. It feels like you’re using a Sorenson VP - with direct access to VRS right there on the main screen. I like being able to switch to i711 Wireless from wherever I am in the SK, and dial a number just by typing the name of the person I want to call, and i711 just looks it up directly from my Address Book! It is nice to be notified with a strong vibration when i711 connects to an operator or the TTY on the other end picks up the call. I do wish that i711 Wireless would vibrate the SK when the call was ringing, just like a regular phone, so I wouldn’t have to keep looking at the screen, making it easier for me to multitask. Speaking of multitasking - I was able to switch out of i711 while on a relay or TTY call, look up some information in my calendar, and then switch back, and continue the call without any problems.

If you have a Sidekick LX or Slide, you will find i711 Wireless indispensable for your communication needs, and a pleasure to use. You will need to be patient and wait for Danger and GoAmerica to make the new version of i711 Wireless available through your LX or Slide’s Download Catalog. i711 Wireless is also available for previous models of the Sidekick via your device’s Download Catalog.

Many thanks to GoAmerica for providing the loaner SK LX and a preview copy of i711 Wireless for this review.