Microsoft's debut of the KIN yesterday has tech pundits talking about Microsoft's mobile strategy, about the future of Windows Phone, and about the state of the "dumbphone" in general. It's a compelling product. And because KIN comes from Sharp and Danger's parent company Microsoft, the KIN drew a lot of comparisons to the Sidekick straight away. Yesterday, I called KIN the "Sidekick of the 2010s," Ars Technica called it "Sidekick's next of KIN," and Wired said Microsoft wants to "update the Sidekick's M.O. for a new decade."
But does this mean the T-Mobile Sidekick is finished?
Since KIN is coming to Verizon, T-Mobile today said it is looking toward future devices that will keep the loyal Sidekick user base happy.
"Since its launch in 2002, the T-Mobile Sidekick has been one of our most popular and successful family of devices in T-Mobile history. This success is largely due to its loyal base of Sidekick fans for which we will continue to innovate and deliver an exceptional experience," reads a statement from T-Mobile today. "As Sidekick evolves, we are planning for moves toward new hardware and software platforms, which we expect will provide customers with a fresh, exciting user experience while maintaining the important features that contribute to a great messaging device."
T-Mobile says it will continue to support all the legacy Sidekicks, but it is working toward the next iteration of the experience. That could mean the KIN is coming to T-Mobile, or it could mean something completely different could replace the carrier's popular messaging phone.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
