“As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next generation 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.”

This doesn’t mean that the Sidekick service will be stopped on July 2nd. T-Mobile hasn’t said anything about the longevity of that. This just means you’ll have to buy a Sidekick elsewhere. But there are hints that the Sidekick line may carry on (at least in name). Everyone’s chattering about this Sidekick Twist, which may be what T-Mobile has up their sleeve.

Oh, and for those that haven’t been following the news elsewhere, the Kin is done for as well.

via cnet

There are rumors flying all around about a possible Sidekick successor. Both TmoNews and PhoneDog are reporting that there is a new HTC phone in the works codenamed Project Emerald that will be the next Sidekick. No really, like with the Sidekick name not just another phone meant to take the place of the Sidekick. There’s speculation that it will be called the Sidekick Twist, but of course that could change before launch, which people are guessing is “summer”. Of course this is all still rumors, but here’s what TmoNews is saying about the specs on this new device:

[...] we hear the device will boast Android OS 2.1, a 1 GHz Processor (Snapdragon?), with a front facing Camera and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. This new device will also be flaunting 16GB of onboard storage with T-Mobile preloaded apps for active lifestyle oriented apps

As most of you know, the name “Sidekick” is owned by T-Mobile, not Danger/Microsoft. T-Mobile can use the name to market whatever phone they want. Previous Sidekicks were manufactured by Sharp or Motorola (the Slide), and this new phone is rumored to be made by HTC. With it running Android, that means no Danger OS and no back-end over the air syncing like in the past. With all of these changes, there’s a big question to be answered: Is it still a Sidekick?

Looks like T-Mobile is no longer selling the Sidekick on their site. The Sidekick LX 2009 was the last device on there and now there’s no sign of it. If you need one, looks like there’s only one place to go.

UPDATE: As many have pointed out, the Sidekick LX 2009 Carbon is back up on T-Mobile for $99. Was the disappearance just another mistake? Stop toying with our emotions T-Mobile!

If you’ve ever tried to call T-Mobile and get your Sidekick unlocked to use on another carrier, you know they tell you that the Sidekick can’t be unlocked. Well that’s just plain false. You CAN unlock your Sidekick and call and text on other carriers. In fact I just unlocked my Sidekick LX 2009 the other day so that I could use it on whatever carrier I wanted.

UnlockYourSidekick.com is a brand new site where you can get your device unlocked. Rather than sending it off, or waiting for days to get an unlock code, all you have to do is download their software, connect your Sidekick to your computer, and unlock your device on your own.

The guys at UnlockyourSidekick hooked me up with a free unlock because I wanted to see if they were for real. They’re legit and the software (Windows only) is super easy to use. It’ll walk you through step by step. The hardest part for me was getting the battery out of my device. If for some reason you’re not satisfied, there’s a 30 day money back guarantee.

Most of the recent Sidekick models are supported:
- Sidekick 3 (including DWade and Dianne Von Furstenburg Limited Editions)
- Sidekick 2008
- Sidekick LX (including Tony Hawk Limited Edition)
- Sidekick LX 2009
Others are “Coming soon”

You can unlock your Sidekick at UnlockYourSidekick.com.

via PoweredByDanger

Looks like the FCC docs for a “Slide Dual-band CDMA Phone with Bluetooth/WLAN” made by Sharp have shown up on the FCC site. The model number, PB20ZU, is unsuprisingly close to that of the Turtle.

Of course, nothing juicy like external shots until 180 days after the filing, which would put us out at early August. I imagine the Pink devices will be out by then, or at least for Microsoft’s sake I would hope so.

For the record, the FCC ID is APYNAR0066.

FCC site

It ain’t easy… being Pink. Techeye is reporting that Microsoft’s Project Pink phones are going to be delayed until sometime in April. The reason for the delay? “issues with the European models and roll out,” but that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the phones which are already done and ready. There’s just some stuff to work out with carriers.

It’s looking like they’ll be available on Verizon here in the states and Vodafone in the UK. Originally there was talk about unveiling the Pink phones (Turtle and Pure) at CeBIT but now it’s looking like Microsoft is going to throw their own events to herald the arrival of the Pink phones and they’re willing to shell out big bucks to make sure it’s something significant..

Same old OTA procedure: it’ll download, install and reboot your device. Figured I’d let everyone know so people can stop emailing me about it!

Thanks to everyone that sent this in.

More info on T-Mobile.com

Has the day finally come? T-Mobile appears to have pulled all of the Sidekick models from their site except for the Sidekick LX 2009 Carbon. And even the Sidekick LX 2009 Carbon is listed as “Temporarily Out of Stock”. Is this just a hiccup on T-Mobile’s site or does this mean the end of the Sidekick?

If you’re still dying for a Sidekick, there are other places to get them.

UPDATE: Confirmed via our sources that at least the Sidekick 2008 is discontinued.

UPDATE #2: The Sidekick LX 2009 Carbon has returned to T-Mobile’s site. More info on T-Mo’s forums.

UPDATE #3: It’s official, the 2008 and the LX 09 Orchid are gone according to an official post on the T-Mobile Forums