Oz and Ends is a blog about fantasy literature for kids. My favourite part of the site is the "Weekly Robin" feature, which muses on the well-known kid sidekick(s), from storytelling props and costume design to origins and possible futures.
posted by sevenyearlurk on Sep 21, 2011 - 3 comments

In February of 2008, Microsoft acquired the maker of the Sidekick, Danger Inc., for $500 million dollars and rolled the company into its Premium Mobile Experiences division, led by Roz Ho. The Sidekick retained a dedicated following after the merger despite some hiccups along the way. Twenty-six months after the acquisition, Microsoft unveiled the KIN One and KIN Two devices which would launch in May. The devices were backed by a huge and mildly controversial marketing push aimed at the young, hip social-networking addict niche. Reviews were generally negative and often cited needless complexity, software that was lacking basic functions and no support for third party applications. The devices ran a fork of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's rewrite of their aging mobile operating system that had been rapidly losing ground to RIM, Apple and Google. Just seven weeks after launch, the KIN is dead. Engadget has some insight into the failure and the subsequent shake-up at Microsoft.
posted by cgomez on Jul 1, 2010 - 98 comments

In the light of the Microsoft/Sidekick data disaster, it might be a good time to take a look at just what's happening with Microsoft's half billion dollar investment in Danger. Despite already having a mobile phone operating system (Windows Mobile) and an entire division (Zune) just itching to go head to head with Apple's iPhone. Microsoft decided to turn Danger into a skunkworks for "Project Pink," named, apparently, after the pop star. Now, According to MobileCrunch, the project is two years late, most of the team has left or been fired, Microsoft hasn't managed to create an app store, and the demoralized team is more enamored of their iPhones than their own product. [more inside]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll on Oct 11, 2009 - 42 comments

T-Mobile and Microsoft/Danger probably lost all Sidekick users' data. They continue to advise customers to NOT reset their device by removing the battery or letting their battery drain completely, as any personal content that currently resides on your device will be lost.
posted by finite on Oct 10, 2009 - 125 comments

Tappity is a free guide to mobile-friendly sites. From your browser, you can search for or add sites, and rate sites in the database. You can also set up a homepage of favorite links. This is displayed when you navigate to Tappity from your mobile. It's a seemingly simple idea that's been making my train commute fly by.
posted by ba on Apr 19, 2007 - 2 comments

Paris Hilton's sidekick hacked - (NSFW) photos that were on it and her entire address book. complete with topless photos and email address!
posted by mgkaelen on Feb 20, 2005 - 206 comments

Ron's first Goatse (SFW, honest). Porn star Ron Jeremy is handed a Sidekick presumably displaying a certain infamous image during a meet-n-greet by persons unknown with the foresight to bring a camera. MeFi Jr. Detective League bonus! Who is responsible for this belly-laugh inducing document? [via and linked to themaxx.com, which may indeed contain NSFW material].
posted by mwhybark on Oct 10, 2004 - 84 comments