The Sidekick 2 has a better form factor than the competitors such as Treo 600/610 and Blackberry offerings. It has a better more comfortable keyboard. It's more like a mini computer than a phone, which I like. It can fully multitask, unlike Palm. You can download a webpage, check email and chat on AIM all at the same time, unlike  on the Palm, which will interrupt the process if you leave the application. Further, the Sidekick II has both AIM and Yahoo! Messenger.