T-Mobile Sidekick 2008

That's the mind set of someone who would pay up to $200 extra to buy a phone emblazoned with the logos of pop-culture figures you may not have heard of, like tattoo artist Mr. Cartoon or basketball star Dwayne Wade. The Sidekick 2008 is a fashion item and an expression of identity, not a geeky toy. And its best feature is its case, or rather, cases. This is the first hand held to offer completely customizable, interchangeable shells.

With the Sidekick 2008, T-Mobile has partnered with Skinit (a company that makes customized stick-on labels for electronic gadgets) but has raised the bar a bit. Fortunately, not all the designs are expensive.

T-Mobile's $14.99 shells (in various preprogrammed designs or built from your own words and pictures) are actually painted directly onto the Sidekick's body, an effect that looks classier, feels smoother, and is much more durable than a sticker.

This is a big step forward in phone personalization. So what's inside the fancy case? A Sidekick.

At 4.7 by 2.3 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and 5.3 ounces), the Sidekick 2008 is a slimmer version of the Sidekick LX. Wisely, T-Mobile kept Sharp as the manufacturer and retained the signature Sidekick swiveling screen, now a bright and tight 240 by 400 pixel color panel.

The trackball, on the right, pulses in multiple colors, and the backlit keyboard is an absolute joy, with small, hard, nicely spaced keys. All Sidekicks have the same easy to use operating system that works via a rotating series of menus, and this model doesn't change much. Since all the devices mirror their data online, you can import and export contacts, photos, and such through my.t-mobile.com.

You can import contacts or calendar files from Microsoft Outlook, or contacts files from Palm Desktop. For $9.99, you can buy Intellisync, an add-on that perpetually syncs your Sidekick's address book, calendar, and to-do list with Outlook on a PC.