With a body structure in place, work went into the brains and guts. What evolved into the “Hiptop” didn’t take the shape we know until a prototype dubbed “Navi.” The biggest change from the Paperback prototype to the Navi was the size and placement of the screen and silicone keyboard, which gave it the look of a bite-sized laptop.
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It did, however, feature a full QWERTY keyboard with a small directional pad in its lower right corner. One of the first prototypes to this device was the “Paperback,” which looked more like a Texas Instruments calculator than a phone. Landing its first customer also earned it a multi-million dollar investment, and Danger started work on something different-a device that would be connected, all the time.
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After a series of events, VoiceStream turned into T-Mobile. Turns out that company, VoiceStream, was on the lookout for a device to try out on its network. According to DeSalvo, a VC partner found a solution to their data problem in a company providing general packet radio service (GPRS). The problem with Peanut, which included a processor from Tamagotchi (yes, that Tamagotchi), was that there wasn’t a good enough wireless infrastructure to transfer data to the device when it wasn’t connected to a desktop. In fact, the first iteration of what became Danger’s first device was nicknamed “Peanut.” The Sidekick didn’t always have its signature swivel screen, and it didn’t always radiate coolness, especially at its inception. The device’s decade of existence saw it make its way into music videos, commercials, awards shows, a hacking scandal, and on every athlete and A- to B-list celebrity in Tinseltown.
The Sidekick Story is a wild one, and if the answer to its success could be split in halves, it would be made up of one half guts and design, and another half expertly executed marketing. The Sidekick became the go-to choice of celebrities and the urban community-and was until physical keyboards went the way of the dinosaurs.
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It launched an era where technology converged with style, Internet meshed with portability, and carved out a place for portable devices to become a sleek status symbol for youth culture, not just for the suits on Wall Street. It wasn’t the first smartphone, but the Sidekick helped draw a distinct line between what it was (and wanted to be), and what other devices on the market were. While it wasn’t perfect-later versions of the phone came with a low-end camera, and Internet connections could be excruciatingly slow-this was power in your pocket. Today, this type of convenience is standard. Can’t wait to hit up that girl on AIM after school? Now you didn’t have to, because AIM was in your pocket equipped with a QWERTY keyboard you could “kick” out. Sidekick debuted under carrier T-Mobile and popularized the concept of mobile Internet, which became a key selling point for tech companies in the coming decade. After securing $11 million in funding near the end of 2000, it was revealed: The company created what was essentially a miniature computer that fit on your hip. The Danger founders, Andy Rubin, Matt Hershenson, and Joe Britt, wanted to create an “end-to-end wireless Internet solution focused on affordability and great user experience.” How they were going to do that was a mystery then, because they weren’t sure how they were going to do it.
Things changed when three former Apple employees formed Danger Research Inc. Palm Pilots, Nokias, Blackberrys, Motorola two-way pagers, and Razrs were the rage then-but the companies behind them weren’t concerned with marketing to young people, the ones who’d surf Yahoo! and AIM chat rooms on a dial-up connected desktop before thinking of saving up their lunch money for a device geared toward the business-centric.
The cell phone was still more corporate than it was cool. At the turn of the millennium, we communicated with friends and high school crushes after class by way of desktops and house phones.
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