More specs, photos turn up for next Sidekick

T-Mobile tends to keep the wraps on each new iteration of the Sidekick for as long as it can, but that doesn't keep details on (and photos of) the 2009 iteration of the cult-fave smartphone from making their way to the fan sites.

First, Hiptop3 (from which the above image is borrowed with thanks) scored another scoop this week from correspondence with, as they put it, "a reader who claims to have actually held and played with the Sidekick 2009/Blade."

The device, according to the writer, is lighter and slimmer than the current models, reflecting the Sidekick's ongoing evolution away from looking like a bar of soap. The continuing in-house indecision over keypad seems to remain unresolved, with the QWERTY keypad on the new model sporting flatter keys -- an interesting choice, considering how previous moves away from from highly tactile keyboards have worked out for the product line. Headset and USB ports have shifted to the long edge of the handset below the swivel-up screen.

According to other leaks, the screen gets a major upgrade to a 3.2-inch, WVGA+ (854 by 480 pixel) display. And some deductive reasoning by commenters at tmonews.com appears to show that 3G gear with the distinctive Sidekick configuration, plus the port locations the Hiptop3 correspondent describes, was submitted for FCC scrutiny in January, and has apparently already undergone CETECOM testing in Europe. The firm submitting the material to the FCC requested confidentiality until early April.

Elsewhere, Sidekick fans got a shout-out they don't want, as police in New York say that muggers are particularly interested lately in separating subway-riding Sidekick users from their gadgets. Some kinds of popularity aren't so popular.

So, with the gossip flying, when will T-Mobile confirm? Electronista notes that the World Mobile Congress is on next week in Barcelona, and that could be the right venue. (For its part, T-Mobile confirms that there's a new Sidekick on the way this year... and that's all they're saying for now.)