According to some sleuthing and inside information provided to the folks at Hiptop3.com, the upcoming rumored Sidekick LX 2009/Blade may run the open source NetBSD OS and not some funky Windows CE version with the Danger UI tacked on top. Rumors of the Sidekick getting some Windows CE love began circulating after Microsoft acquired Danger in early 2008. It is hard to perpetuate those rumors in the face of a late October 2008 job posting at Microsoft “seeking a talented NetBSD software developer interested in helping Danger (a subsidiary of Microsoft) ship the next generation of Danger’s Sidekick platform.” Mailing list posts from Danger employees dating as far back as September 2007 suggest that NetBSD may have been the chosen OS long before the Microsoft acquisition. Rather than scrap the pre-acquisition progress made by the Danger team, Microsoft apparently has decided to push forward with this open source OS. Does the leaked spec sheet from a few days ago and this new NetBSD information make you a little bit more excited for this much anticipated refresh of the Sidekick line?

Thanks, Ed!

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We can’t 100% verify the legitimacy of this bit of intel, but everything looks believable enough to warrant just a wee bit of excitement. The folks over at HipTop3 have uncovered what looks to be a spec sheet for an upcoming Sidekick model. The Sidekick LX 2009 sports a number of features that the Danger faithful have been clamouring after for years, including GPS for turn-by-turn directions and…wait for it…a 3G-capable radio. While the inclusion of a 3G radio isn’t exactly revolutionary in this day and age, it’s certainly a first for the Sidekick family, and it’s something that many have seen as a deal breaker as folks have been fleeing the Sidekick ship for more data-friendly waters over the past couple years. Other improvements include the conspicuous presence of Microsoft Outlook/Exchange support, which could signal the Sidekick’s first foray into the corporate workplace. Then again, imagining a legion of suits carrying Sidekicks is a bit hard to stomach, though we suppose anything is possible. If this document is correct, other features for the Sidekick LX 2009 will include:

Social Networking Suite of Apps
– Facebook
– MySpace w/ video upload
– Twitter
– YouTube Mobile Access via browser
Content Creation
– Blog publishing, editing, and management client
– Photobucket Upload and Management
– Video recorder and upload to MySpace/Photobucket
Hardware
– Large (3.2 inch WVGA) screen with sharp 854×480 resolution
– Thin design
– 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video recording
– Large QWERTY keyboard
– Expandable memory up to 8GB via MicroSD

Let’s hope T-Mobile and Danger manage to rush this thing out relatively quickly, as the aforementioned specs are enough to plant a small seed of hope in our Sidekick-deprived hearts.

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