“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.

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

What is iseedocs? Their webpage says: “iseedocs enables mobile users to instantly view and interact with all common email attachments – regardless of file size – as if they were sitting at their desks.” So in short, it will be a way to view all sorts of document types that aren’t natively supported by the Sidekick as long as you have network connectivity. What will it support? Their site says they can handle everything from Office dovuments to PDF, audio, and video. A lot of documents are directly supported on the Sidekick, but iseedocs will take the responsibility off the Sidekick OS and allow for future document types without having to update the Sidekick.

Here’s the full press release:

iseedocs(TM) Goes Live on Major U.S. Carrier Network with Remoba Email Service

TORONTO and SANTA CLARA, CA, Jan. 5 /CNW/ – iseemedia Inc. (TSX-V: IEE), a leading provider of technology and services that allow mobile phones to be experienced like desktop devices today announced that it has begun commercial deployment of iseedocs(TM) on the T-Mobile Network in the U.S. with Remoba. iseedocs enables instant attachment viewing and navigation without having to download content. Handsets provide access to enterprise email, calendar and contacts. The combined offering is now being rolled out to T-Mobile customers as a choice download with affordable email data plans.

“As more people travel and work from multiple locations, mobile phones must perform more complex tasks and access email with sizeable attachments,” said Anthony DeCristofaro, President and CEO, iseemedia. “iseedocs is the ideal solution to perform this task on mobile phones. We are excited to be working with Remoba to deliver a complete PC experience on T-Mobile sidekick handsets.”

Unlike most email attachment handlers, iseedocs delivers a document index which is also the document management system. All pages, images and graphs are accessible on demand. Unlike other attachment viewers, iseedocs does not download the document to the mobile device, but streams pages as they are requested. The user can also zoom and pan the document, providing a higher degree of information than is normally available on mobile devices.

Using a Smart Adaptation Engine, iseedocs maintains virtually all document formatting and content. So if a chart embedded in the Word document is too small to see, the user can zoom in to view more detail. If a 30-page document is being viewed, and the reader needs to view page 21, they can access the page directly through a table of contents or page thumbnail navigation.

“We provide the Smartphone alternative for consumers and business users without the costly data plans, proprietary devices and IT infrastructure modifications,” said Guru Thalapaneni, President and CEO of Remoba. “iseemedia serves as the perfect complement so users can readily manage their everyday activities directly from their mobile phones. More importantly, we help network operators to control their bandwidth costs while allowing them to offer new services on mass market devices. We look forward to expanding our efforts with T-Mobile as we make steady progress with this launch.”

The mobile phone application allows users to access business on their mobile phones. It can securely access email stored on servers and perform almost all the functions through the mobile phone just the way one would do from a home or office computer. The application can be downloaded to the phone like any ring tone or game, and setup by entering username and password.

About Remoba

Remoba is a leading developer of high-value, and affordable mobile phone software that makes “Every Phone a Smart Phone”. Remoba provides Wireless Access to Email, Contacts, and Calendar from the Desktop, Corporate Server, or Hosted Server on most Cell Phones. Remoba is based in Hayward, CA with a development center in Bangalore, India. For more information please visit www.remoba.com.

About iseemedia

iseemedia Inc. is a software development company focused on the commercialization of a Service Delivery Platform (iseemail(TM)) for delivering Blackberry-like email services to the mass market and an advanced Content Delivery Platform (iseedocs(TM)) for rich media adaptation and extremely cost-efficient delivery to mobile devices. The Company maintains a broad portfolio of issued and pending patents that support authoring, streaming and interactive viewing. iseemedia is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (Symbol: IEE).

Via press release
Thanks Mike!

Remember how back in October you had a little bit of trouble with your Sidekick? Well T-Mobile continues to do their best to make it up to the people that stuck with the Sidekick through those troubling times. You probably got a free month of data service for October, several of you got $100 $50 cards that you can use to pay your bill or upgrade your phone, and now T-Mobile has put some free stuff in the Catalog to show their appreciation of you as a customer.

If you jump into the Download Catalog (which has thankfully returned), there’s a section at the bottom called “Customer Appreciation”. We haven’t checked the other devices, but on the Sidekick LX 2009 it contains Twitter, 2010 NFL, Animated Screensavers, Crossword HQ packs, Prank Box packs, Sudoku HQ packs, a couple of Backgrounds and Themes, and a handful of Sound FXs. If you pick up Twitter, be sure to follow us: @hiptop3 and @skringers