As Microsoft shifts resources to bolster its wobbly stake in the smartphone market, T-Mobile announced on Friday that it’s taking a break from the youth-oriented Sidekick phones. The Sidekick, with its groundbreaking slide-out keyboard for texting, became a Microsoft stepchild in 2008 when the software giant bought Danger, which makes the phones with Sharp.
The carrier announced in an online forum for the eight-year-old Sidekick that the LX and 2008 models will no longer be available through its channels. But support will still be available, and the name Sidekick won’t fade away.
“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,” the announcement said. “Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience.”
The announcement came two days after Microsoft announced that the Kin phones it debuted in April through Verizon Wireless would be discontinued after just seven weeks on the market. The Kin phones, with their social media and simple media-sharing features, were largely patterned after the Sidekicks, which suffered some bad publicity last fall when a server crash caused many users to lose data.
Microsoft said it is focusing its efforts on the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, a brand-new operating system unveiled by CEO Steve Ballmer at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona in February.
The Kins and Sidekicks are “victims of a crowded marketplace,” said analyst Gerry Purdy of MobilTrax. “I think it was just a matter of looking at internal resources and mobility and seeing the best chance to succeed is the Windows Phone 7 Series. It has more development, a wider audience, more partners signed into it. They made a judgment there were not enough sales to keep…