All you mobile nerds are getting excited about that new Sidekick, right? Yeah, right. I’m actually shocked that T-Mobile even has plans to make a Sidekick 3 now that smartphones have become the wave of the future. If I can get an Android handset or an iPhone for the same price (or cheaper), why bother with an expensive data plan for what is essentially a hardware gimmick at this point?

It seems 471,000 consumers agree with me. That’s the number of subscribers T-Mobile has lost in the first quarter of 2011. That’s not the full story – the company did sign 372,000 to new contracts, but that’s still some 99,000 short of growth. In any case, it’s not good news. Maybe AT&T is right about the buyout. Does T-Mobile need Big Blue to keep itself afloat?

What’s this? Oh hello iPhone cable with T-Mobile branding. A tipster sent this to Engadget, but, as Engadget points out, T-Mobile did just make an ad that digs at FaceTime and AT&T’s network, all in the same breath. It’s a weird set of circumstances, but you’d have to think T-Mobile would be happy if it got to sell the iPhone.

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple may have already locked in dates for WWDC 2010. A calendar listing at the Moscone Center in San Francisco shows a “Corporate Event” from June 28th to July 2nd, a name that has designated Apple events in the past.

The date also coincides with the launch of the original iPhone. Since that launch, Apple has made major iPhone announcements at each consecutive WWDC. The rumor this year is that we’ll finally see the phone make the jump to multiple carriers in the US, though it’s not clear who that could be. Most people think Verizon, but the CDMA standard is not exactly iPhone friendly. T-Mobile would be a much easier choice, but it’s also much smaller.

You can’t make mention of WWDC without bringing up the iPhone SDK conference that happens some time in March. Think we’ll see OS 4.0?

T-Mobile’s Sidekick got the smartphone treatment today with the addition of Facebook and Twitter applications to the Sidekick Download Catalog. As one of the most prominent phones to implement a full keyboard and some proprietary messaging features, it’s really been a long time coming. The applications work with the Sidekick 2008, the Sidekick LX, and the Sidekick Slide.

The Facebook application is free but the Twitter app will run you $2 a month. I gotta say, $24 a year for Twitter use seems a little out of hand. It’s also strange considering the Sidekick 2009 comes pre-packaged with free apps for both Facebook and Twitter. Was Twitter really that much harder to integrate into the old phones than Facebook? Did they just not have as much developer support? Is the app just that cool?

If you have an older Sidekick and the time to drop a comment, let us know. This is a strange one.

Just a few days ago T-Mobile unveiled the Dash 3G and gave a hint they’d be making a much more interesting announcement, one concerning Android, within a week. Why wait a week when you could announce your new Android phone on…Sunday night?

The oft-rumored HTC myTouch 3G is now official, and coming to T-Mobile on July 29th. Customers can start ordering the new phone as early as July 8th. The phone will start at $199, the same price as the 16GB iPhone 3GS.

The new HTC phone is essentially an upgrade of the G1, though it doesn’t sport the physical keyboard of the G1, relying instead on the Android 1.5 virtual keypad. The phone also has a 3.2 megapixel camera and offers support for 3G networks as well as Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile is pitching the myTouch 3G against the iPhone by selling customization. According to Andrew Sherrard, VP of Product Innovation at T-Mobile, the iPhone has a “beautiful aesthetic, but you can’t change it.” With widgets, custom backgrounds, and the ability to learn user preferences, Sherrard believes the myTouch 3G is more than just a phone. “This is more than a product launch for us,” he said. “We want consumers to view this as an experience that we are creating for them.”

The smartphone market is all about creating a total user experience. iPhone users love the App Store. Palm Pre adopters are in love with the new operating system. Will customization be enough to take people over to T-Mobile?

Maybe not by itself, but it’s difficult to ignore Android, the operating system that sold 1 million HTC G1’s, the first Android phone from T-Mobile. The open source development base continues to grow, which means more features and more apps for an exploding customer base. Android is best positioned as an iPhone contender, and as more apps get developed, and more carriers consider Android devices, I think we’ll see Android continue to grow as the tech-savvy alternative to an iPhone.

If there’s one thing I think T-Mobile could have planned better, it’s timing. They’ve known about this release for a while, so why not tell people, particularly with the iPhone 3GS launch. Plenty of folks have been waiting for that next best thing, and June marks the end of the first iPhone contracts. Why not pick up the folks who were ready to drop AT&T? Why not fight the Palm Pre/3GS in the open field. As I see it, T-Mobile could have snagged more than a few techsumers who weren’t thrilled with the G1 but might give the myTouch 3G a shot. Both the Palm Pre and the 3GS may have had enough features to lure those people into new contracts, contracts they’re unlikely to break so soon.