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.

This one is for all the Sidekick LX 2009 users out there. There’s an OTA update that will be rolling out shortly to help improve 3G connectivity. Personally I haven’t really noticed any bad 3G connectivity, but maybe some of you guys have.

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

Wow, Sidekick prices keep dropping. T-Mobile is now offering the following prices on new Sidekicks:
- Sidekick 2008: $49.99
- Sidekick LX 2009: $99.99 (both Orchid and Carbon)

If you don’t want to sign a contract with T-Mobile, then check out Sidekick Shopper, where you can land a Sidekick LX 2009 for around $200, or a Sidekick 2008 for easily under $100

Don’t forget your InvisibleShield from ZAGG! 15% coupon code off for the Sidekick community

I woke up this morning to several reports from people saying they had gotten an OTA for their Sidekick LX 2009. It’s looking like this update is a combination of the bug fix OTA I mentioned awhile back and the new Mobile Backup support. You should hopefully see less crashes in your Sidekick LX 2009 once this update is applied. The OTA may cause your device to hard reset. Don’t freak out though, all your data should be backed up to Danger’s servers, so it’ll come back. And once you have Mobile Backup, your address book will be backed up to T-Mobile’s servers as well! Hooray for backup!

For those hardcore geeks, the new OS version is 5.0/270115. A couple more screenshots:

T-Mobile has dropped the price of Sidekick Sync down to $2.99 a month. If you already bought Sidekick Sync you should go into the Catalog and upgrade in order to get the lower monthly price.

What is Sidekick Sync?

Sidekick Sync provides secure access to your Exchange Active Sync (Outlook) e-mail. calendar events, corporate directory and contacts on your Sidekick LX 2009. Read, reply and forward your e-mail, and accept calendar invitations just as you would on your PC.

It took a large scale data disaster, but looks like Microsoft/Danger/T-Mobile will finally be giving Sidekick users a way to backup their data to something other than Danger’s servers. An OTA is rolling out to users that will allow you to backup your Address Book to T-Mobile’s Mobile Backup service. The announcement on the T-Mobile forums makes it look like this might only be for Sidekick LX 2009 users, which is a little worrisome for people with other devices.

Here’s what T-Mobile is saying:

T-Mobile will begin rolling out Mobile Backup for Sidekick LX 2009 customers via an Over The Air (OTA) process. All Sidekick LX 2009 customers should receive the OTA in the next few weeks.

What is Mobile Back up?
Mobile Backup is a free service via My T-Mobile that allows you to avoid manually re-entering contacts into a device in the event you need to replace it or in the event it’s lost or stolen.

How will I know I have it?
T-Mobile will send an Over The Air (OTA) update in phases over the next several weeks. You will receive a message that says “System Update Notice”. Once you receive the message, please accept it. Upon successful receipt of your OTA, you will receive a T-Mail confirming that you have Mobile Backup.
Another way to verify receipt of the OTA is to navigate to your device’s Address Book and select Menu. Under the drop down you will see Mobile Backup.

What if I don’t have it right now?
Don’t worry. T-Mobile is rolling this update to our customers in phases. All LX 09 customers should have it by Dec 10, 2009.

So am I at risk of losing my data again until I have the update?
Microsoft/Danger has taken steps to help ensure all data is readily available. This is an additional enhancement to backup your contact data should you change your device in the future.

For more info on Mobile backup check out http://support.t-mobile.com/doc/tm23951.xml

Good news! As we posted on our Twitter account (@hiptop3), the Download Catalog came back online this weekend. There was much rejoicing.

Also, we heard from T-Mobile directly and they were very happy I’m sure to be announcing that Sidekicks were no longer “Temporarily Out Of Stock” and were up for sale on T-Mobile.com again! You can snag a Sidekick LX 2009 for $149.99 or a Sidekick 2008 for $49.99. And if that’s not cheap enough, you can even get an open box Sidekick 2008 for $34.99. (All with 2 year contracts of course)

Life as a Sidekick user is starting to return to normal as T-Mobile/Microsoft/Danger slowly announce each piece of data that is restorable as they make progress. We’ve gotten back Address Books, Calendars, To Do Lists, Notes, and most recently Photos. I know a lot of people are still waiting on Bookmarks and I imagine that will be next in line. However one of the hallmarks of the Sidekick is still missing and we haven’t heard any word on when it will return.

I’m of course talking about the Download Catalog, aka the first App Store. The Catalog has been down for over a month and this sucks both for Sidekick users as well as Sidekick Developers. I’m sure T-Mobile is feeling the hurt too as a large source of their income from Sidekick users comes from selling applications, ringtones and themes.

While there are no other ways to get applications (save having a developer key), it is possible to get ringtones and themes while the catalog is down from unofficial sites. Themes for most Sidekicks can be found at Sidekick Themes and if you have a Sidekick LX 2009 you can get free ringtones at Skringers.com.

UPDATE (2009-11-11): We’re hearing through the grapevine that the Download Catalog may be up by Saturday if things go well! Keep your fingers crossed.