Sidekick Disaster: How to Make Amends?
By Harry McCracken | Monday, October 12, 2009 at 11:31 am
A little more news on the Sidekick data disaster: CNET’s Ina Fried is reporting that T-Mobile has halted sales of the device. And John Herrman of Gizmodo has a post about offers apparently being made by T-Mobile reps to affected customers, none of which sound like appropriate responses to the enormity of what’s apparently happened: a month of free service, a small discount on another phone, and the ability to get out of a contract without paying a penalty.
Presumably, what Sidekick users really want is to keep on using their Sidekicks with the data they thought was safe and sound. But if their stuff really is gone, what would be an adequate action on the part of T-Mobile and/or Microsoft? Free service for a year? Two years? Three? A cash payment of $250? $500? $1000? Immediate upgrade to any device sold by the carrier at no cost?
I’m dying to know what you think–especially if you’re a Sidekick owner…
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October 12th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I am a sidekick user who lost 3 years of business contacts and connections/friends from college. I have lost unknown amounts of money in lost leads and networking potential. I don’t know how they plan on quantifying that, but a month of free-data is a slap in the face. I’m not sure what would make me feel better. The data is lost and I am going to have to start from scratch any way I go about it. The very least that would make me happy is a new phone at no cost and no contract extension (most everyone who has gotten a new phone also signed 2 years contract extension, laughable in my opinion). If this can’t be reached I want a cash settlement for my lost contacts (I’ve heard figures of $10 a contact to $50 a contact) and the ability to leave my contract without having to pay an early termination fee. With that said, I’ve been with T-mobile for over 10 years and would like to stay on. I am however done with the sidekick. The “cloud” storage has always been troublesome. If I was in a room with no service, I’d be without everything for hours afterwards. I’m ready to move on to a new phone and a new kind of data storage.
T-mobile has screwed up and it’s time for them to make up for it or face the lost revenue of a mass exodus of customers fleeing to more reliable providers.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:59 am
At this point, very little could convince me to stay with a Sidekick. When I got my first Sidekick in 2002, it was light years ahead of the competition in terms of features and pricing. But recent models of the Sidekick have made small, incremental improvements while the rest of the smartphone market has made dramatic advances. I still have the same 8 megabyte limit on my email inbox size that I had seven years ago, for example.
combine this with the fact that the previous $20/month plan for unlimited data and messaging has increased by 75%, and that T-Mobile charges long-time customers an $18 upgrade fee to get a new phone, and I was already wavering. My contract expires this week, and even before this problem arose I was contemplating switching to a Palm Pre.
The Sidekick meltdown simply reinforces my decision to look elsewhere for my phone needs.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I am a sidekick owner, and I am furious about this, especially since it has been going on for like 10 days now and all I’ve been offered is a measly one month credit for my data services.
I have lost contacts and calender dates and photos…and more. I dont feel like I should have to pay for a new phone that’s also a smartphone. I feel like I should be offered one, but alas both times ive called tombile customer service and demanded satisfaction in the form of a new phone at a VERY discounted price or free…they could be of no help. I also dont feel I should get ‘new customer pricing’ on a phone and have to extend my contract. This is completely ridiculos.
http://forums.t-mobile.com/tmbl/board/message?board.id=Sidekick2&thread.id=15470&view=by_date_ascending&page=1 that is the tmobile forum thread that many, many sidekick users are commenting on.
October 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
And just FYI, t-mobile still features a Sidekick on their homepage… it has the top spot too! (as of 4:22 Eastern 10/12)
October 12th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
How can something so important happen to so many? I’ve had a Sidekick for over 4 years and accumulated over 400 address book entries, just as an example. I love the Sidekick! WHY was there NO BACKUP? Even a novice knows to backup important files. Maybe Sidekick owners are not important. Especially since PINK needs all the help it can get at its debut. The pick of any smartphone and a year’s free service. If I was the competition, Verizon, AT&T, etc. I’d be contacting all Sidekick owners and offering just that to switch over!
October 12th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I lost over 650 contacts that I have accumulated over the years. The potential business lost is unquantifiable. I posted to the t-mobile forum the possibility of a class action suit. T-mobile responded by banning me from the forum. What a horrible company. they have certainly changed from when I signed up (back when it was voicestream.) They are trying to charge me a fee to get out of my contract.
October 13th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
T-mobil serious is the worst phone company. I’ve had my sidekick for almost 2 years. I just called today to cancel service because I’ve thought about it since January. I found out my contract isn’t done. That’s not what the rep I talked to earlier this year said. He said my contract was done and asked if I wanted to upgrade (probably so he can scam me to sign another 2 years before my contract was even up). I have 2 months left and I just want to be done with t-mobile. I lost all of my contacts…more than once. It happened before this whole sidekick incident. My phone is completely breaking down: the wires are loose so my screen is constantly blank, some of my buttons doesn’t work, my up and down button doesn’t work, my scroll doesn’t go up and down. The only thing I can do is call people. Even THEN I hardly get service where I live. It’s a piece of crap phone. If they don’t let me out of my contracts I’m deffinitely contacting the Better Buissiness Bereu to get on their asses.