14 DAY TRIAL // Another day, another sad story for enthusiasts. Following the announcement regarding the death of Microsoft's KIN project, which would be integrated into the upcoming Windows Phone 7, wireless carrier T-Mobile has decided to end the life of two popular devices currently offered to its users. Effective today, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 are removed from shelves, though the company plans on continuing to offer support for its existing Sidekick customers. Moreover, it seems that the move is driven by the need to innovate, and that the next generation Sidekick should be made official within a matter of months.
“As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next iteration of the T-Mobile Sidekick, as of July 2, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 will no longer be available through T-Mobile, including retail stores, care, telesales and online. While we work on the next chapter of our storied Sidekick franchise, T-Mobile will continue to provide our loyal Sidekick customers with product service and support. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience,” the company stated in an email, Phone Scoop reports.
Sidekick devices have been available for T-Mobile's customers for the past six years, the latest device in the offering being brought to the market in 2009. Boasting swivel-open displays and QWERTY keyboards. These handsets became quite popular among T-Mobile's users, especially since they were accompanied (and still are) by a dedicated cloud service. These devices were developed by Danger and manufactured by Sharp.
The phase out of existing Sidekick devices seems to be tightly connected with Microsoft's announcement that the KIN team would be integrated into its Windows Phone 7 team, and that no further innovation would be brought to the line. KIN devices came from Danger too, as Microsoft purchased the company back in 2008, and it is clear that Microsoft is determined to make some changes inside its mobile business, since these two related products were killed off.