[vanished]

Now that the Danger Hiptop/T-Mobile Sidekick has been discontinued I'm in the market for a new cell phone. However, since I've never owned or dealt with any phones other than Sidekicks I'm not really sure what models I should be looking at as a possible replacement so I was hoping to get some recommendations here. I've used only Sidekicks for just over 5 years (Sidekick 2 from October 2005 to July 2006, Sidekick 3 from July 2006 to June 2009, Sidekick LX 2K9 from June 2009 to present) so I'd like something as similar in design and features as possible. Here are some more specifics I'm looking for in a new phone:

1. Must have a physical QWERTY keyboard. Preferably 5-row and preferably with hard plastic raised keys like the Sidekick 3, *not* the flatter soft plastic type like the Sidekick LX 2009 had which are "stickier," slower to type with and bits of the soft plastic come off with use. Here's an image of what I mean ("Hard" Sidekick 3 keyboard on top, "Soft" Sidekick LX 2K9 on bottom): http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1214/skkeyboards.jpg

The phones I've seen with physical keyboards recently all seem to have tiny skinny keyboards with flat soft plastic keys that seem like they'd be much slower to type with than the Sidekick's keyboard, so I'm looking for something resembling the SK's keyboard if at all possible.

2. 3G mobile internet (ability to access the net from most anywhere)

3. Internet browser comparable to or better than the one on the Sidekick LX 2009

4. Email (preferably Gmail) and Instant Messaging (AIM)

6. Camera w/photo & video capability comparable to or better than the Sidekick LX 2009

7. Ability to store more than 100 texts at a time. The one thing I disliked most about the Sidekicks was that it made you delete old texts once you got up to 70 or 80 or so and made it so you couldn't get any new incoming texts once you reached 100. I don't know if this same limit exists on other phones but I'd like to be able to store significantly more.

8. Ability to back up texts/not have texts erased when the battery runs out. Another thing I really disliked about the Sidekicks was that they'd only let you back up or save a total of 30 texts and if your battery ran out, many times when you charged it and turned it on again all your texts would be gone for good. I'd like this not to be the case with whatever new phone I get.

9. Applications similar to those on the Sidekick (Weather forecast, Calendar, Calculator, Notes etc) as well as downloadable games

Since my phone plays a major role in my daily life I'm looking for something quality that I can rely on; price isn't an object. Since my contract with T-Mobile is about to expire it doesn't really matter who the carrier/provider is, as long as it's not Sprint (no coverage in my area) or AT&T (iffy coverage). So with this and the stuff above in mind, could anyone here give me some recommendations? Thanks a lot, any advice or info would be much appreciated!

---

› See More: Any advice/recommendations for a new keyboard phone similar to T-Mobile Sidekick?