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T-Mobile's just added a new member to its family of popular Sidekick messengers. It is, perhaps, one of the most physically customizable smartphones ever.

With this Sidekick, called simply Sidekick (no second name like with the Sidekick Slide, II, 3 LX and iD), users can personalized their device by designing their own shell, choosing color schemes, patterns or even a photograph to adorn their smartphone's casing.

So while the new Sidekick ships with two shells - black and metallic green - a variety of additional pre-designed shell patterns and colors are available for purchase at T-Mobile stores and online. In addition, users can even design a completely unique shell unlike any other using a dedicated online Sidekick site via SkinIt.

According to T-Mobile, Sidekick customization is as easy as uploading a personal photo or graphic design, or selecting your own text, shapes, icons or logos. The final design is custom-printed onto the shell, then shipped. Once the design is complete, customers can share their work of art in a public gallery.

In addition to enhanced personalization, the new Sidekick sports a slightly smaller, thinner and lighter design than previous Sidekicks. It measures only 4.7 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches and weighs 5.3 ounces.

Being a Sidekick and all, the new model puts instant, picture (MMS) and text messaging as well as e-mail and Web access front and center, of course.

The quad-band GSM world phone (no 3G) is the first Sidekick model to support the Spanish language.

T-Mobile latest Sidekick retails for $299.99, but drops to $149.99 after a discount and mail-in rebate.

Additonal features Include:

microSD card support; bundles a 512MB card

The Sidekick's signature Horizontal swivel screen and full QWERTY keyboard

WQVGA (400 x 240) pixel 2.6-inch screen

Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support for stereo Bluetooth headsets and file transfer to other Bluetooth devices, including Bluetooth photo printers

Stores up to 25 ringtones, add up to five slides to multimedia messages, and up to 60-second voice messages

Quick Find to search across all applications

T-Mobile myFaves enabled

2 megapixel camera for still images and video

Support for video and audio playback

1030mAh Lion battery

A few months ago, Microsoft completed its purchase of Sidekick smartphone-maker Danger, an acquisition announced by the companies in February. Rather than Windows Mobile, which Redmond's been pushing in one form or another for the past eight years, the Sidekick runs on Danger's own hiptop platform.

And whereas Microsoft found most of the success for its smartphone platform with mobile professionals and the enterprise, the Sidekick's been popular with consumers, especially with younger demographics and the less technically savvy. That's a market Microsoft is keen to exploit, in part through the expertise obtained with Danger.

Danger's been absorbed into Microsoft's Premium Mobile Experiences team, a group within Mobile Communications Business of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.