Is Microsoft Shirking Its Sidekick Duties?

Microsoft says the outage was caused by a server failure within its Danger subsidiary, which runs the Sidekick service. According to Channelweb.com's source, the Sidekick servers crashed during a routine upgrade, and users lost data because Danger didn't have an adequate data backup system in place.

Although such outages aren't unusual, the lack of a proper backup system is symptomatic of the indifference Microsoft's Premium Mobile Experiences (PMX) group has shown toward the Sidekick since the Danger acquisition, said the source. PMX also is developing Pink, which is believed to be Microsoft's effort to build a consumer-oriented software and services stack to rival that of the iPhone.

"Ultimately, the outage happened because PMX pulled Danger people off Sidekick and put them on Pink," said the source, who requested anonymity. When asked to confirm this, a Microsoft spokesperson told Channelweb.com the company doesn't comment on projects that aren't public.

Microsoft paid $500 million for Danger last year in a bid to infuse Pink with mobile industry talent and experience. With that deal came the responsibility for running the service component for the Sidekick's approximately 1 million subscribers. According to the source, Microsoft does not plan to continue to develop the Sidekick and instead will focus on incorporating certain Sidekick elements into a higher-end device and user experience with Pink.

Pink's struggles, and Microsoft/Danger's apparent inability to effectively run the Sidekick service, have cast a cloud of doubt over the future of both devices. When asked if Microsoft plans to continue using Danger to develop the Sidekick, a Microsoft spokesperson referred the question to T-Mobile, which doesn't actually develop the device but only sells it. T-Mobile couldn't be reached for comment.

Since the acquisition, PMX has forged its own path with Pink, laying off a significant portion of the Danger team in May. When Pink ran into development delays earlier this year, Microsoft moved Danger staffers from the Sidekick and into Pink to speed things up, said the source.

PMX has been courting disaster because the complexity of the Sidekick service and its many different service components make it a challenge to keep up and running, said the source. "The Sidekick has many different service components, including an instant messaging proxy, browser and address book, and everything gets backed up. It's very complicated," the source said.

The Sidekick outage was exacerbated by T-Mobile customer service telling customers to restart their devices or remove the battery. While this is a standard fix for malfunctioning mobile devices, in this case, it led to some users losing their personal data for good.

Microsoft and T-Mobile are now trying to control the damage by claiming that some customer data may be salvageable. On Tuesday, Microsoft said all Sidekick services have been restored except access to the Sidekick Catalog, Intellisync and the Danger Web portal. A T-Mobile spokesperson told Channelweb.com Tuesday that only a minority of Sidekick users suffered permanent data loss.

T-Mobile is offering affected customers a $100 gift card and one free month of data service, but that isn't likely to appease Sidekick customers who now can see the writing on the wall with regard to the Sidekick's future.