Beyond Binary

So, just what the heck happened?

That's one of many questions that Sidekick owners and the broader tech community are asking after one of the largest data failures in recent memory.

Two days after warning customers that their contacts, calendar, and other information may be gone, Microsoft and T-Mobile spent most of Monday in silent mode as they continued to work to try to recover the data from thousands of Sidekick owners.

(Credit: CNET)

Microsoft has said that the hardware failure that caused the problem took out both the primary and backup copies of the database that contained Sidekick users' information. But the question remains, why wasn't there a true independent backup of the data?

T-Mobile has said that it is exploring what to do to try to compensate customers who have lost their data, but as of 4:30 p.m. PDT on Monday had not offered a promised update on where things stood.

For those who don't have their data, there was little to do but vent on various forums and hope that the data recovery efforts bear fruit. (There may be some hope on that front, as some users did report some data re-appearing on their devices on Monday).

Still, those who do have some or all of their information on their device, might want to back that up pronto. Enthusiast site Hiptop3.com and T-Mobile itself have offered up a few ways to back up contact information, in particular.

And, because it bears repeating, T-Mobile is warning those who do have information on their device not to reset their Sidekick, take out the battery, or let the device fully run out of power.

(Credit: Screenshot by Ina Fried/CNET)

Wireless carrier T-Mobile USA has, at least temporarily, stopped selling all models of the Sidekick in the wake of a massive hardware failure that resulted in many customers losing their e-mail, contacts, and other data.

As of Sunday, all models of the Sidekick were listed as "temporarily out of stock" on T-Mobile's Web site. T-Mobile retail store workers also said on Monday that they have been instructed to halt new sales of the device as the company continues to investigate the recent problems that have plagued the handheld.

To recap, Sidekick customers started experiencing problems connecting to the data network more than a week ago. Microsoft, whose Danger subsidiary powers the Sidekick service, said it was investigating the problems.

On Saturday, Microsoft and T-Mobile posted an updated notice saying all data that was not currently on customers devices was likely lost permanently.

Microsoft and T-Mobile have not said how many of the roughly 800,000 Sidekick customers have lost data. Microsoft said a server failure impacted the main and back-up databases. One theory is that the problems cropped up as Hitachi was doing work on the storage network that manages the Sidekick data.

T-Mobile has promised an update for customers sometime Monday. For now, the carrier has advised customers not to reset their devices, remove the battery, or let them run out of power, as doing so could result in losing whatever data they do have.

Microsoft acquired Danger last year, saying it hoped to use its service architecture more broadly in its mobile strategy. The software maker has been working on a project code-named Pink that was to be essentially the future of the Sidekick. The company had not planned for any more versions of the current Java OS-based Sidekick.

Update, 12:30 p.m. PT: T-Mobile confirmed that "Sidekick sales are temporarily on hold." A company representative told CNET News in an e-mail that the company doesn't have an exact number of customers who lost data but that "we believe it is a minority of customers."

Although there are reports that customers are being let out of their wireless contracts and being offered discounts on other T-Mobile phones, the company is officially offering only one month of Sidekick data service. "We are also considering additional measures for those who have lost their content to help reinforce how valuable they are as T-Mobile customers," the representative said.

As for why there weren't better backup mechanisms in place, T-Mobile referred that question to Microsoft.

Update, 2 p.m. PT: Even though T-Mobile has said it has temporarily halted sales of the Sidekick, retailers in New York were still selling the device Monday. At three different locations on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, sales representatives said the Sidekicks were still available, but they were warning any potential customers that mobile Web and e-mail services might not work until the server problem is resolved. They said the phone and the accompanying text-messaging service have not been affected, so customers buying a new Sidekick would be able to make calls, as well as send and receive SMS messages.

In an e-mail to retail sales managers dated October 10, T-Mobile instructed managers on how to deal with Sidekick customers. The message informed them that some personal information backed up by the Microsoft/Danger servers had been lost. This information included pictures, contacts, e-mails, text messages, calendar entries, and to-do lists.

"Our teams continue to work around the clock in hopes of discovering a means for a network recovery solution. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low," the e-mail stated.

Sales representatives were told to direct customers with questions to T-Mobile Forums on its Web site for details and to get updated information.

As part of its "action steps," sales reps were also directed to tell customers not to reset their devices by removing the battery or letting their battery drain completely.

Sidekick's LX, the newest model

(Credit: CBSInteractive)

After suffering through a weeklong outage, T-Mobile Sidekick users got even worse news on Saturday, when the company advised them that any data not on their phone was likely gone forever due to a hardware failure.

Since then, Sidekick owners have been sharing their stories with me via e-mail. Here are some of those tales. Feel free to add your own in the comments section or e-mail me (ina dot fried at cnet dot com)

Bram Weiser, a sign language interpreter and computer specialist in New York, wrote on Monday:

Since the outage occurred on October 1st, I've not been able to receive (or, I presume, send) email to/from my Sidekick. (All along, though, I've had phone and text message capability.)

On Monday, October 5th, roughly 100 emails seemed to suddenly appear, leading me to think that the outage was FINALLY over, days(!) after it started. However, while I got notification of those new emails (e.g., italicized, boldface sender & subject line information), the actual bodies of those emails was painfully slow in arriving, if they were ever going to do so.

I THOUGHT I saw an advisory at tmobile.com not to try a "hard" reset as an attempt to retrieve data and/or "kickstart" (my word) my Sidekick, so I steered clear of that. So, thinking I saw it written that way (note: I later realized it didn't say "hard," but puzzlingly advised against ANY reset at all), I tried powering my Sidekick on and off, albeit to no avail, and then tried a "soft" reset in good faith by clicking the pinhole on the body of the device. In more "normal" circumstances (read: just about any other time in the years that I've owned a Sidekick and paid for service through T-Mobile), this would usually bring the device back to life with its information intact, because, as we now know, it would download it from the T-Mobile (read: Microsoft/Danger) servers after connecting to the network. Not this time, though...

After doing all of that, and letting my Sidekick power up again, I, as did many thousands of other users, suddenly lost saved emails, device settings in ALL applications, bookmarks for the Web Browser, my entire Address Book (188 or so entries, although three recent entries did reappear later), and all of the nearly 1,000 entries (past, present and future) for my Calendar. To date, all of these remain lost, though I CAN surf the Internet on my own, as well as define settings, add contacts to my Address Book, send/receive instant messages and, I presume, add Calendar entries on my own as well, though I've not tried much of that yet as I await the safe return of my data.

You're absolutely right when you ask how, for instance, a company like Microsoft/Danger (Microsoft!) didn't have sufficient backups of its servers in place, be they daily, weekly or whatever. This is beyond belief in this day and age!

People need to know about this and not give Microsoft a free pass. For us to be without important data that we paid for the privilege of entrusting to Microsoft/Danger for safekeeping only to have this happen 1-1/2 weeks ago, and continuing to this day, to potentially lose it all permanently(!), and (for now at least) to get a credit of only(!) one month's data service (honestly, is that REALLY satisfactory to anyone?!) boggles the mind.

Jeff McGaha, an electrical engineer in Indianapolis wrote that his wife has a Sidekick, was without access to the data network for four to five days, and has now lost all of her contacts:

She's dropping the Sidekick now, something she was on the fence about for a long time. T-Mobile is lucky we're staying with them. They can thank Google and Motorola for that. The Cliq is going to see bigger sales because of this sidekick outage. Long live Android.

Users of T-Mobile's Sidekick have been suffering through a major outage over the past several days that left many without access to the Web or their address books.

Microsoft, whose Danger subsidiary powers the Sidekick service, said it is "working urgently" to deal with the problems, which interrupted data service for most Sidekick users starting at 1:30 a.m. PDT on Friday. The level of disruption has varied, though most users have been affected, Microsoft said.

"We are working around-the-clock to get all our services back online and will continue to post status updates to our valued customers as issues are resolved," Microsoft said. "We thank our customers for their patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this disruption has caused."

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Microsoft said that, as of 6 a.m. PDT Tuesday, it had restored service "for critical applications including address book and calendar, social media applications, IM, web browsing, media player and camera."

"Our goal is to have all services restored to 100 percent functionality by Thursday; however there may be some exceptions," Microsoft said. The software maker bought Danger last year.

T-Mobile offered an updated statement on Tuesday, apologizing for the outage and saying it would credit users for one month's service because of the interruption.

T-Mobile's Sidekick forums are filled with comments from users expressing their frustration over the issue.

Among those affected was Ariel Barco, who said he noticed his service out on Friday night and got his service restored last night. But not all of his friends have been so lucky, he said.

"Many of my friends have Sidekicks and one in particular is still waiting for her address book to be restored as we speak," Barco said.

He said the outage was frustrating since it limited the ability to access social networks and the Internet, which made it hard to plan for the weekend. Plus, Barco said, T-Mobile didn't do a good job of communicating what was going on. "The issue was not communicated to the user base," Barco said. "I found out about the outage on Saturday after checking blogs and T-Mobile forums and T-Mobile's Twitter. I also checked with acquaintances with Sidekicks."

Update 1:50 p.m. PDT: Statement from T-Mobile was added.

After months of talking about Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is announcing on Tuesday that the first crop of phones to carry the Windows Phone brand are ready to hit the market.

A host of new phones running the new operating system are expected to debut between now and the holidays, with many being announced later on Tuesday. AT&T has already announced two Windows Mobile 6.5-based phones--the Pure and the HTC Tilt 2. In all, Microsoft has said to expect more than 30 phones running the OS by year's end.

(Credit: Microsoft)

With the new operating system, Microsoft hopes to make the case that the devices are not only worthy phones, but also the best option for those who want to take their Windows world with them. The operating system itself features Adobe Flash support, an improved browser, and menus that are easier to navigate with a finger, as opposed to a stylus. Perhaps more interesting are two new services that come along with Windows.

The first, the Windows Marketplace, is Microsoft's answer to the iPhone's App Store. It's somewhat interesting that Windows Mobile has long had more programs than the iPhone--none of which involved approval from Microsoft. But Microsoft has found itself in the position of having to insert itself as middleman to match Apple's approach.

Users will still be able to buy and download applications directly from developers, but Microsoft apparently felt it had to mimic the iPhone's App Store in order to help connect less technically savvy users with the thousands of programs that already exist for its phones.

The second service, My Phone, has been in testing for a while now. Just debuting, though, is a paid "Find My Phone" feature that costs $5 per use (although you pay only when you need the service, unlike Apple's iPhone-finding service, which requires a $99-per-year MobileMe subscription). The service can be used to locate a missing phone, make it ring (even if it is set to vibrate) or even remotely lock or wipe the device.

The big question, though, is if any of these changes are enough to get Microsoft back into serious consideration in a smartphone market that not only includes the iPhone, but also devices running the Android, Palm WebOS, and BlackBerry operating systems.

That challenge--to gain both market share and developer attention--was highlighted by this past weekend's Code Camp held at Silicon Valley's Foothill College. According to one attendee, a session on Windows Mobile 6.5 attracted just six people--three of them from Microsoft--while the iPhone session filled a large lecture hall.

Even some of Microsoft's partners have moved on, with Motorola and Palm among the more high-profile companies to focus their attention on other operating systems.

That said, one recent report suggests it's too soon to count Microsoft out. Market researcher iSuppli projects that Windows Mobile will manage to triple its volume by 2013 and reclaim the No. 2 operating system spot worldwide.

"Windows Mobile is facing a host of challenges, including rising competition from free alternatives like Symbian and Android, the loss of some key licensees, and some shortcomings in its user interface," iSuppli analyst Tina Teng said in a report. "However, Windows Mobile holds some major cards that will allow it to remain a competitive player in the market."

Even after several years of progress that Microsoft executives admit has been too slow, Microsoft still has 15 percent of the market, according to iSuppli. In part, that's because the phones remain an inexpensive and easy-to-support option for many businesses that use Microsoft's e-mail server and management tools.

For its interface tweaks and new services, Windows Mobile 6.5 is an interim update to Windows Mobile, inserted into the product's road map only after a larger overhaul--Windows Mobile 7--got held up in various delays.

Microsoft is now expected to debut that product--as well as Windows Mobile-based successors to the Sidekick family known collectively by the code name Pink--sometime next year.

Teng noted that the lack of support for the kind of capacitive touch screen found on the iPhone is a key drawback for Microsoft's partners.

"This represents a major barrier for smartphone (makers) that would like to produce innovative phones," Teng said. However, she said she expects that to be remedied with Windows Mobile 7.

In the meantime, Microsoft plans to push hard on the marketing front, launching a large ad campaign for Windows Phone that will include some TV spots in addition to print and online advertisements.

The launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 comes both as CTIA wireless show kicks off in San Diego and Microsoft's Robbie Bach hosts a consumer event in New York.

Microsoft dreams of conquering the phone business, but it knows that 'pink' is just one hue in a very broad palette.

The leaked photos that emerged on Gizmodo on Wednesday, while genuine, paint just one part of the picture of how Microsoft hopes to get back into the phone game.

According to sources familiar with the company's plans, the designs shown on Gizmodo are are more the evolution of the Sidekick than they are an effort to take on the mass market or even Apple's iPhone. The devices themselves won't be built by Microsoft itself and are unlikely to arrive before next year, the sources said. A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the Gizmodo report.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

Microsoft has been working for years now on plans to revitalize its phone business after ceding ground to Apple, Research In Motion, and others. The software maker has been working on a major overhaul of its operating system--Windows Mobile 7, which was supposed to be in phone makers' hands by early this year but has suffered a number of delays.

The new devices draw heavily on the company's 2008 acquisition of Danger, the maker of the T-Mobile Sidekick. Although they use Windows Mobile at their core, they are geared at the same kind of consumer who bought a Sidekick--one who is heavily into social networks, instant messaging, and other online services.

Microsoft is counting on Danger for more than just its cachet with teens and young adults, though. Danger also specialized in delivering much of its technology via services. Indeed, the Sidekick evolved as a device where nearly all of the data lived in the cloud as opposed to being managed by the phone itself.

That will be an important component of Microsoft's phone push, even beyond the range of these devices.

In outlining the future of its phone strategy, Microsoft is trying to keep the breadth of its existing Windows Mobile ecosystem, while at the same time developing a few, closer partnerships that could yield more worthy rivals to the most popular handsets.

Microsoft has signed deals with a few phone makers, such as LG, that are expected to offer Windows Phones designed more closely with Microsoft.

However, this project appears to be in addition to that effort, expanding on the legacy of the Sidekick. Sources wouldn't provide any exact timing, but I'd think about a year or so, given what I have heard. That also appears to be the current timing for Windows Mobile 7.

For this year, Microsoft is focused on a more modest evolution of Windows Mobile--Windows Mobile 6.5--as well as efforts to re-brand products using its operating system as Windows Phones.

Microsoft also continues to shift executives and other resources to strengthen its phone efforts.

Former server executive Andy Lees now runs the phone business, while former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho heads a "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the Pink work. The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.

In a July interview with CNET News, Entertainment and Devices unit president Robbie Bach acknowledged that Microsoft also just needs to pick up the pace.

"If your point is we haven't advanced Windows Mobile as fast as we like, I think the answer is that's true," Bach said. "You are going to see that change."

HTC's Touch Pro2 is among the new phones expected to ship with Windows Mobile 6.5.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft is hoping that a new crop of phones this fall will help the company in its quest to stay relevant in the cell phone market.

The software maker said on Tuesday that the first phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 will launch worldwide on October 6 and will include phones running on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.

The new crop of phones will also be the first that Microsoft will sell under the "Windows Phone" brand, an effort to tap into the marketing power of its flagship desktop operating system.

With Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is hoping to convince users that its phones are not just good for doing work. Much of Microsoft's phone focus in recent times has been on improving the operating system's consumer features in an effort to regain ground lost to rivals.

"We know people want a phone for their whole life," said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile unit. "They just frankly want to do more. That's why we've shifted."

Although it includes features such as improved Web browsing and conversation threaded e-mail, as well as a new Windows Marketplace app store, Windows Mobile 6.5 is seen largely as an interim upgrade of the operating system.

Microsoft has come under criticism for the rather slow pace at which its software has evolved in the face of competition from the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre.

AT&T, which is one of Microsoft's oldest partners in the cell phone business, said that it is supporting Windows Mobile 6.5, although the carrier acknowledged that Apple and others in the market have grown faster.

Even in large corporations, Windows Mobile has not maintained the position it once seemed poised to inherit.

"Microsoft probably didn't get the share of the enterprise space that we all would have expected three or four years ago," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices for AT&T. "I think Research In Motion did even a better than expected job of gaining that share."

AT&T didn't say which of its phones will support Windows Mobile 6.5, but it will likely be a mix of new phones and current models that can be upgraded to the new OS. The company is looking to close one gap between Windows Mobile and its rivals. Starting next month, customers will be able to more easily use their Windows Mobile phones on AT&T's Wi-Fi network, matching a feature already available to its BlackBerry and iPhone users.

As for Android, AT&T has yet to commit publicly to shipping an Android phone, but Bradley said the company is actively studying whether to do so.

"We are going to do what's right for customers," Bradley said. "It's an important development in the industry and one that we are watching real carefully to make sure that our customers have choice and the best service."

For her part, Ferguson said she believes that Windows Mobile 6.5 is a significant step forward, although she declined to predict whether Microsoft will gain share in the wake of its release.

"These are going to be fabulous phones that meet the customers' needs for their whole life," Ferguson said. "In the end, that's how I judge us."

The October 6 launch ties in with a "consumer open house" event that Microsoft Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach is hosting that day in New York City.

One of the big pushes with the new release is the Windows Marketplace app store. Although Microsoft has long offered tens of thousands of applications, they have been hard to find and download, something Marketplace is designed to address. While the Marketplace will launch with Windows Mobile 6.5, Ferguson declined to say how many programs have been submitted or approved thus far.

Ferguson did say that among the programs will be Netflix, Facebook, and a variety of games.

"We need enough apps that customers can have some great choice," Ferguson said. As for the Netflix app, I checked and it lets users manage their queue or watch previews, but not actually watch movies form their queue. (That would have been a compelling feature, I reckon.)

Microsoft will also formally launch its free My Phone service, which has been in beta. In addition to backing up contacts, calendar, text messages, photos, and other data, the service will also have a "Find My Phone" feature, similar to a paid iPhone service that helps users locate a lost iPhone.

In a July interview, Todd Brix said that the Find My Phone can be used to remotely send a message to a phone and cause it to ring, even if it is set to vibrate. If that still doesn't locate it, users can look up on a map where the phone last synchronized to the service. Users can also remotely lock the phone and send a message to it urging whoever has it to call a specific number. If that doesn't work, users can also remotely wipe the device.

The software maker has said little of its plans for Windows Mobile beyond the current release, although the software maker has been working for more than two years now on a more substantial overhaul of the operating system as well as a collection of new consumer-oriented mobile services. The operating system upgrade, Windows Mobile 7, was originally expected early this year and has hit several delays. It's now not expected until sometime next year.

Microsoft is expected to work closely with a smaller number of hardware makers, who will be among the first to adopt the new products when they debut next year.

AT&T's Bradley declined to talk about Microsoft's roadmap for the future, but said he has seen some encouraging signs that the company will make devices with more consumer appeal.

"I have every reason to think they are going to make that happen," Bradley said. "That's frankly an imperative."

Microsoft's efforts to regain lost ground in the mobile phone business will see the company offering two different versions of its operating system next year.

The company will continue to broadly sell Windows Mobile 6.5 to a large variety of handset makers, while working more closely with several handset makers to sell phones built on a new version of Windows Mobile that has been several years in the making, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.

While Windows Mobile 6.5 is a fairly interim update to the mobile operating system that Microsoft has been selling, Microsoft has also been working on more radical efforts to overhaul the operating system. Both its plans for Windows Mobile 7 and its long-running "Pink" project aim to match the kinds of experiences seen on the iPhone and Android, using more advanced voice and touch interfaces and higher-end hardware.

Microsoft demonstrated Windows Mobile 6.5 at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. That interim update to Windows Mobile will start arriving on phones this fall, while a more radical overhaul of Redmond's cell phone OS is due next year.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News)

A Digitimes report this week called the effort a "dual-platform" strategy, although I'm not sure I'd use that term to describe two versions of Windows Mobile being sold at the same time.

What is clear is that Microsoft needs to do something serious if it hopes to live up to its mobile ambitions. For years now, the company has made rather modest updates to the Windows Mobile operating system, which dates back to the days of code powered PDAs and other organizers that were neither phones nor, in some cases, even connected to the Internet.

In that same time, Palm has gone back to the drawing board and reinvented itself with the WebOS-based Pre, while the iPhone and Android have entered the market and even Research In Motion has arguably done more to capture consumer interest than has Microsoft.

Internally, Redmond has shifted a number of its people into the mobile unit. In addition to former server executive Andy Lees, who now runs the phone business, former Mac Business unit chief Roz Ho has been leading a top secret "premium mobile experiences" team responsible for some of the "Pink" work. The company purchased Danger, known for creating the teen-centered T-Mobile Sidekick, and Ho heads that unit as well.

The software maker has also tapped folks from its Tellme unit to help bring improved voice recognition capability into Windows Mobile.

Call waiting
Microsoft has been working on Windows Mobile 7 for what now seems like an eternity, especially in the mobile world. The product was supposed to be in phone makers' hands by early this year, but has suffered a number of delays.

While the iPhone may be the apple of everyone's eye, Nokia says that its main goal in partnering with Microsoft is taking on BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

"This is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anyone else," Nokia executive vice president Kai Oistamo said in a conference call Wednesday.

Andersson

(Credit: Nokia)

As first reported Tuesday by CNET News, Microsoft and Nokia are working together to bring mobile versions of the software maker's Office programs onto Nokia phones running the Symbian operating system. The companies said Wednesday that the collaboration also extends to Microsoft's unified communications and System Center management tools.

In an interview, Nokia executive vice president Robert Andersson said that RIM has an almost dominant position in the North American market for mobile e-mail. "That's the application where they really are strong," he said.

By bringing the full Office suite to Symbian, Andersson said, Nokia hopes to do RIM one better. "What we are bring with this collaboration is a much deeper much richer experience."

But the fruits of the partnership will take some time. For next year, the companies are committing only to bringing a version of the Communicator instant messaging program to Symbian.

"The first deliverable is next year," Microsoft corporate vice presidentTakeshi Numoto said in an interview. "We're not really talking about things beyond that."

Given that, it seems reasonable to think it could well be until 2011 before the mobile versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote make their way onto the first Symbian phones, and even then the rollout will start with just the E-series of devices.

Microsoft and Nokia started discussions about six months ago, but the work has centered on finalizing the business details.

"We just basically signed the contract a few weeks ago," Andersson said. "Getting the big teams on board is only beginning now."

Numoto

(Credit: Microsoft)

Andersson said the partnership will involve hundreds of dedicated workers from the two companies.

For Microsoft, the move helps the software maker in its goal of fending off competition from Google and extending Office from the desktop into the larger world of Web, PC, and phone. "Extending that reach to 200 million Nokia smartphones was a natural for us," Numoto said.

Numoto tried to downplay the impact that the collaboration would have on Windows Mobile, which competes with Symbian-based devices. Until now, one of Windows Mobile's selling points has been that it is the only phone operating system with mobile versions of Office, though other phones have third-party tools that let users view and edit Office documents.

"We truly believe and are committed to Windows Mobile," Numoto said. "We are excited about Windows Mobile 6.5 coming this fall... As you know, in the technology industry there is always an element of collaboration and competition."

For its part, Nokia said it is committed to Symbian and has no plans to start offering Windows Mobile phones.

"There are no such plans," Oistamo said on the conference call.