T-Mobile is to bring the Sidekick 3 consumer-oriented mobile email gadget to the UK next month, the carrier confirmed today. The device will ship here just over a year after T-Mobile UK released the Sidekick II and six months after the third-generation Sidekick's US debut.

The Sidekick 3 sports the same spin-open screen as its predecessor. The spring-loaded 240 x 160 65,536-colour display opens up to reveal an email, texting and IM friendly QWERTY keyboard. Navigation is enhanced with the inclusion of a new trackball control in place of the previous model's dial. It's a a tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE device, and it's got Bluetooth 1.2 on board too.

The new model incorporates 64MB of Flash ROM and 64MB of RAM, and T-Mobile's bundling the handset with a 64MB MiniSD card for extra storage - handy for the Sidekick 3's 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, and its new MP3 player app.

The device is backed by a web-based service that not only provides access to your email and other data but also ensures the hardware is fully backed up in case its gets damaged, lost or the battery simply runs dry.

T-Mobile will offer the Sidekick 3 with a range of its Web'n'Walk mobile data tariffs. Pricing will depend on the airtime package selected. ®