When Gadgets Suck

sidekick II
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

I've been a Sidekick and now a Sidekick II user since 2003. Currently, I've been without service in New York since Sunday. I am not alone. All across the country the SKII's have stopped receiving emails and have lost internet access. Why? Well, that's a great question. Neither T-Mobile (the carrier) or Danger (the device designer) seem to know for sure. Or, if they do know for sure, like all things associated with the device they prefer to keep it a secret. When will the device be up and running correctly? That's also a well-kept secret.

I have my device set up to receive my law firm's work emails from our exchange server via POP3. Last night I missed an important email from one of the attorneys I work for and then missed a related email from an important client. Had I got the emails last night I could have worked on a problem. I did not. T-Mobile has offered a $5.00 credit on my next bill. Thanks. A lot.

As soon as my contract is up (if not sooner), I will switch to the Treo or a Blackberry or whatever else. In the meantime, I will not be recommending this device to anyone I know. This means you. If you feel like wading through 25 pages of SKII user's frustrations, click on the headline to read posts from the SK forums.