I've been reading T-Mobile Sidekick reviews today. After seeing Mike's a few times and starting test GPRS web and email on my Treo, I'm thinking of replacing the Treo. After reading a few reviews and actually getting to hold a Sidekick, however, I've decided to wait this time to upgrade my device. I'm usually an early adopter, but the Sidekick lacks some features that I want in a PDA and phone. Here's my thoughts.

My issues with the Treo, or why I'm thinking of finally defecting from the HandSpring side:

1. Price of using GPRS data services on T-Mobile. $10 2MB transfer, $20 for 10MB transfer. I am trying the 10MB deal. On top of my $39.99 monthly for voice, the price is a little steep for me. After a month I will probably cancel
2. The clicky thumbpad is starting to hurt my fingers I think. Is there a form of RSI for thumbpad keying? Between always using laptops and now using a thumbpad, I think I'm starting to develop some RSI type pain. But then, that might be because I started to keep a journal in my Treo. Since I stopped doing that, the numbness has worn off.
3. The poor screen display on the Treo is starting to bug me. When I upgraded the firmware on the device (GPRS upgrade) and installed the TreoMail demo, a line of pixels inexplicably died across the center of my screen. Needless to say that is beginning to irritate me.
4. TreoMail sucks. I only need POP3 access to my mail, but since TreoMail grabs a copy of your POP3 mail, any mail that you've downloaded and deleted from your account, will still be available when you check mail from your desktop account. This is totally wierd to me, and irritating since most of what I read in email is discussion list stuff.

The Sidekick reviews I've read:

• geek.com review -- This is a thorough review with lots of pictures and very honest reporting.
• CNet review -- The review is good. I'm linking to the extensive user comments because that is where some of the more honest observations come out.
• Dangerous minds review -- Review after one day of usage.

After demoing the Sidekick and reading reviews, there are a few appealing features that make me want to switch. The price is right for unlimited data. The web, email and AIM experience look excellent compared to what I've experienced on my Treo.

A few things that are keeping me from making the switch, however. I only want to switch when I can abandon my Palm device. The reason for having an all in one phone/PDA in my opinion is so that you only have one device you need to carry with you all the time. While the Sidekick does web and IM right, I don't get the feeling that contacts and calendaring are perfect yet. What I need is the ability to export/synch my contacts and calendar with Outlook. There's just no way around that yet, but I'm sure it's coming. I also want to be assured that if I'm not in a GPRS zone that I'll be able to retrieve my calendar and contacts. I'm not sure you can do that since all of your data is stored on a server. These are the only issues that are keeping me from making the leap.

Conclusion: I'm sticking with the Treo for now. The current Sidekick offering is truly a version 1 device. It might be appealing for casual users, but for business users, it seems more like a novelty. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that Danger has gotten the industrial design and the software interaction and interface design right. Their device soars above the Treo in this respect. The service price offering for data is excellent as well. If the additional software features that I mention come up to par with what you get on a Palm device, I may make the leap. I'm hopeful.