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T-Mobile has always had an interesting approach to releasing new models of the Sidekick. They announce the device and then initially offer it for a limited time only to current customers who are looking to upgrade.

It looks like this pattern was not any different with their latest release of the Tony Hawk branded Sidekick LX. The device was originally available to those lucky customers a few weeks back, and has since just been made available for everyone.

Anyone looking to score the limited edition model will have to be willing to part with $299.99 along with a two-year agreement or $449.99 contract free.

Sure it looks really cool, and I am sure there is a good market for it, but do we really need a Sidekick that looks like a skateboard. The look is complete with the grip tape like texture and eight screws on the bottom.

Read [T-Mobile]

So sad for those hoping that the BlackBerry Bold would be landing shortly at T-Mobile here in the US, but instead pricing information has been announced for T-Mobile Germany.

The price is set at €219.95 (about $350 US), which is a bit higher than the $299 that has already been announced for Rogers, which will begin offering their version next Friday on July 25.

T-Mobile Germany currently has the available date simply listed as July, with the option to reserve now, but it is rumored to be coming on July 21, which is this Monday.

Coming back to the US release, at this time we have only seen a confirmation come from AT&T, but they are still having trouble setting an official availability date.

Product [T-Mobile] Read [Mobile Bulgaria] Via [Engadget Mobile]

Anyone looking to become a new T-Mobile customer may just be in luck. Wal-Mart of all places currently has a sweet deal in place on a variety of models. Some of the items include the Wing, which comes with a free Kingston 1GB memory card and USB card reader and will (after rebate) give you $50.

The titanium BlackBerry Curve, Pearl and Dash are all in the same category, giving you $50 cash back, however these last three do not offer the free memory card and USB card reader. Still a nice deal though.

The Samsung Blast, Katalyst and the SGH-T639 will all get you $75 back after rebates. They also have some good deals on the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone, MOTORIZR as well as some MOTORAZR models.

Of course most of these deals require a mail-in-rebate so be sure to fill out all your paperwork. Click the product link below to check out the full list of deals.

Product [Wal-Mart] Via [Gizmodo]

Some more information has been leaking about in regards to the upcoming BlackBerry Kickstart and thankfully this time it was not another set of blurry images. Instead its some speculation based on just how much RIM is planning to charge for this little clamshell BlackBerry.

We have already heard that it was headed to T-Mobile and it looks like it will land there in September, but the latest information is calling for this to be a very affordable handset. Coming in at just $49.99 with a two-year agreement. Which assuming this is accurate would have it even less expensive than the popular and low-cost Palm Centro. At that price I think that RIM could have a winner on their hands.

Via [CrackBerry] Image [http://blog.berryshack.com/blog/content/new-leaked-blackberry-kickstart-pictures]

T-Mobile has just announced that as of August 29 the rates for text and picture messages will be going up. With a nice increase, the per message rate will now be the same as most other major carriers as it is going from 15 cents up to 20 cents.

These new message rate will apply only to those customers without a messaging plan, however it may also be a reason for those to escape any contract without paying an early termination fee. Of course that may require a little negotiating on your part and we expect the success level on that to vary depending on how convincing you are and also how nice or friendly feeling the service rep is.

With the way messaging rates seem to be increasing, it seems like it would be smart, even for the casual user, to subscribe to a messaging plan and ditch those per message rates.

Via [jkOnTheRun]

During the “Give 1 Get 1” sale for the OLPC XO laptop, T-Mobile had been offering a free year of T-Mobile Hotspot access with any G1G1 purchase. Well, it seems that there was a time limit on just when you could activate your account and begin your free year of service and today, June 30 is the last day to take advantage of that offer. So if you were amongst that group and for some reason have not activated your T-Mobile service or were just holding off for some reason, you better act quick or risk loosing that perk.

In addition, it looks like the “Give 1 Get 1” program will be making a come back as expected later in this year. A recent update to the laptop.org wiki states to check the “website for more information after September 1.” Hopefully the sales will begin on, if not shortly after September 1, that way we can see some holiday time deliveries without much worry of a late delivery. The G1G1 is being worked on for “the US, Canada, and several other countries.”

Via [OLPC News]

As expected T-Mobile has officially unveiled the Motorola ROKR E8, which will be available beginning July 7. The ROKR E8 will feature a touchscreen keyboard with a vibration feedback that will change and offer different keys depending on the feature you are currently using. Otherwise the E8 will be a candybar style handset with a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, 2GB of internal memory with a microSD card slot that will allow for 8GB more and is myFaves compatible.

The ROKR E8 will set you back $199, which comes along with a two-year agreement. Overall a decent little handset, but for $199 one has to wonder why, compared to some other more full featured models that are currently available it sounds a little pricey.

Read [T-Mobile] Via [Engadget]

T-Mobile has just announced the availability of their unlimited home VOIP calling service. Previously known and first introduced back in February as the HotSpot @Home Talk Forever plan is now more simply know as the T-Mobile @Home plan.

The new plan offers users unlimited VOIP calling for just $10 per month and will be available beginning July 2 for current T-Mobile wireless customers. Non T-Mobile wireless customers can also sign up, however the service will be $49.99 per month on a 2-year agreement.

Customers will be required to use a special T-Mobile branded Linksys router that will require at least one SIM card, but has two SIM slots available, it does require a one-time $50 fee. As for the phone, you will be able to use just about any that you choose. Whether a new or existing customer, you will be assigned a new ‘home’ phone number and you also have the option to port an existing number, which would come in handy for those using this to ditch their current, more expensive home service.

Overall, this seems like a good option for those looking to ditch their traditional land line. At least for current T-Mobile customers it seems that it cannot be any more affordable, of course if you already have an unlimited mobile calling plan or simply have more minutes than you currently use you may be better off going with your cell only as the VOIP calling may not really be needed.

Read [T-Mobile @Home]

T-Mobile has just added two new offerings, the Nokia 6301 and the Samsung SGH-t339, both of which fully support T-Mobile’s HotSpot @Home service.

Aside from supporting T-Mobile HotSpot @Home and myFaves, the Nokia 6301 also features a music player, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, a 2.0-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture, microSD slot, IM support for AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live, a speakerphone and FM radio. This tri-band (850/1800/1900) phone supports GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMA network. In addition, the Nokia 6301 sports a 240 x 320 pixels resolution TFT screen.

The Samsung SGH-t339 has almost all of the Nokia 6301 features except for its 1.3-megapixel camera and a smaller TFT screen at 176 x 220 pixels.

Both the Nokia 6301 and Samsung SGH-t339 will be available beginning today online and at all T-Mobile retail locations.

Read [Business Wire]

Even after all the Sony Ericsson handsets that were recently launched, they still have some in the works. Thanks to a recent FCC listing, we now have at least some of the details on a new clamshell style 3G-capable handset that will be heading to T-Mobile, the TM506.

Typical with the FCC leaks, all of the details have not been given, in this case it was notably the camera specs that were left to remain a mystery, but aside from that we are quite pleased with what was revealed.

The TM506 offers tri-band GSM (850/1800/1900MHz) support as well as being capable of taking advantage of T-Mobile’s AWS (1700MHz) 3G network. Other features include a built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth, a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card slot and an (albeit small) external display.

While the pricing and availability have not been released it is expected to be available shortly. Lets just hope they release it in a few more color varieties aside from the pictured green, because that is sure to be a color that is either loved or hated. Keep reading for a few more images of the TM506…

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