Of Course: Lawsuits Filed Over Sidekick Fiasco
We all knew it was coming, which is why we're all completely unsurprised by the fact that Sidekick users are filing lawsuits left and right over Microsoft-owned Danger losing all their data.
CNet reports that a number of lawsuits have been filed, with one Californian claiming Microsoft and Danger failed to use reasonable care in handling Sidekick owners data and that the Sidekick was falsely advertised.
"T-Mobile and its service providers ought to have been more careful the use of backup technology and policies to prevent such data loss" said the individual's lawyer, according to CNet."We are hopeful that T-Mobile and the rest of the defendants will do the right thing, use this as an opportunity to redesign the system as a new standard for cloud computing storage, and provide full compensation for the data loss."
As you'd imagine there's no shortage of people rushing to the court house, papers in hand. Another suit, filed on behalf of Maureen Thompson "and all others similarly situated," is seeking damages for business contacts lost by Thompson's daughter.
Thompson says the reason her daughter, an aspiring songwriter, singer and model, has a Sidekick is because "T-Mobile promised that any data would be protected and available no matter what happened to the phone." Thompson's daughter lost business contacts, appointments, and song lyrics not stored anywhere else when her data was swallowed up by the big black hole cloud. Thompson blames the cloud-based architecture and points out the fact that the Sidekick does not have the ability to sync with the user's computer, unlike the iPhone or BlackBerry.
It's unclear how Microsoft's most recent statement will effect these lawsuits. The Redmond-based company today said that it had managed to recover "most, if not all" of the data previously thought to be lost.
For more on the lawsuits detailed above, check out the full story on CNet.

btw "Thompson's daughter lost business contacts, appointments, and song lyrics not stored anywhere else when her data was swallowed up by the big black hole cloud". Why is this idiot using her sidekick to store her song lyrics, I thought that's what a pen and paper or a laptop are for!
But what is there really to "loose" on your sidekick? A few pic,vids,ect? Any why would you keep anything whay more importent just on your phone and not your PC. Would they sue Microsoft if there phone got stolen?
Morons
can't help it.
Should Danger & T-Mobile be reprimanded? Yes. Should Sidekick user be compensated? Yes, though I'm of the opinion that the free month & $100 gift card is very fair to 95% of sidekick users. Remember, in a court of law you have to prove ACTUAL monetary damage. You CANNOT use hypothetical cases of monetary lose or apply arbitrary value to your data. You are not entitled to millions of dollars if the data you lost is for numbers of a few kids. You don't get squat if your calender lead you to missed out on your American Idol appearance--even if Simon would have told you you were the best ever. And seriously, storing your ONLY copy of song lyrics on a sidekick (or any phone for that matter), is she nuts?
Should Danger & T-Mobile be reprimanded? Yes. Should Sidekick user be compensated? Yes, though I'm of the opinion that the free month & $100 gift card is very fair to 95% of sidekick users. Remember, in a court of law you have to prove ACTUAL monetary damage. You CANNOT use hypothetical cases of monetary lose or apply arbitrary value to your data. You are not entitled to millions of dollars if the data you lost is for numbers of a few kids. You don't get squat if your calender lead you to missed out on your American Idol appearance--even if Simon would have told you you were the best ever. And seriously, storing your ONLY copy of song lyrics on a sidekick (or any phone for that matter), is she nuts?
Agreed. And I think these lawsuits are childish.
But a contract is a contract. If it states in the contract that T-Mobile is responsible for 'data' (and it doesnt matter what kind of data) then T-Mobile has to honor that contract.
At best I think these customers should be given some kind of reasonable compensation. But should't be allowed to file a silly lawsuit.
Here is an editing tip, I'll give it to you for free. Read what you wrote out loud before you submit it to the website. The editing on this site is beyond dismal to the point I'm almost positive that there is none. The comment section routinely has better grammar and less spelling mistakes than Toms articles.
Shortage people? Is that the new politically correct term? And why would I imagine they wouldn't be rushing to the court house? O_o
Well, there's your problem. The stipulation is only with regards to the state of the phone, not the state of the servers/storage. But then again, should the phone still have some data and it wasn't recharged, say due to prolonged power outage, the data is lost.
Let's see how the lawyers play this out.
The longer-lasting problem is that the image of guaranteed-safe data has been destroyed in this context. No matter how well MS makes up, it has lost its marketing focus and that is irreparable. The masses respond emotionally. Retrieving the data may have been difficult. Retrieving the marketing image will be impossible. MS knows that, and won't even try.
Bottom line its more greedy people trying to get something for nothing. If you have your life essential data and accounts on one single storage solution, you are an idiot.
Doesnt matter how much you pay, nothing is foolproof