Sidekicked: T-Mobile Discontinues the Sidekick Line

Ah, the Sidekick. Grandaddy of messaging phones, a predecessor to the smartphone. It's the neanderthal to the smartphone's homo sapiens of the phone world--bigger and tougher than the newer smartphones, but dumber, and eventually doomed.

The Sidekick line has been immensely popular for T-Mobile, with its big, roomy keyboard, comparatively big screen, and abilities like email and Web browsing that were way ahead of its time. But to keep the price down, the Sidekick never evolved into much...