Some of you who follow me on Twitter will know I’ve been running a series of retro phone reviews over on PhoneDog’s YouTube channel. Today was one of particular interest to TmoNews readers and T-Mo fans alike. So I though I’d share it with you.

Having originally launched in 2002, the T-Mobile Sidekick became of the most instantly-recognizable phones on the market. Its iconic 180-degree rotating display and awesome physical keyboard made it stand out in a market full of candybar style and flip phones. There really was nothing else like it. It went through many changes throughout its life as a range, eventually ending up as a Samsung-made Android device which was a pale imitation.

The original model featured monochromatic display, a scroll-wheel which lit up in all the colors of the rainbow and even shipped with a plug-in camera. It was geared to be a fun, communication-centered product.

Things were already going downhill before Danger’s infamous server crash of 2009. And two years later, in 2011, the company pulled the plug on the very thing keeping old Sidekicks running. Now, any old Danger Sidekick is nothing but an expensive and rare paperweight. I couldn’t use any of the web-based services on this old device, and that made me sad.

I’ve written before how much I’d love T-Mo to bring back the Sidekick range, and I know many out there will agree with me. It was never market-leading, and never sold in astronomical numbers. But it was awesome, iconic and quirky. If any manufacturer did decide to give it another go, I’d buy one in a heartbeat. As long as it had the 180-degree mechanism and the physical keyboard. Anything without those two key ingredients isn’t a true Sidekick.

What do you guys think? If you could pick a manufacturer – in a completely make-believe, never-gonna-happen dream world, who would it be? For me, I’d love to see a BlackBerry-made device. After all, they’ve got nothing to lose anymore. And they have – for sure – released some unusual devices. Storm anyone?

Let me know your thoughts below, or grab me on Twitter: @PhoneDog_Cam