Due to the rising tide of customer complaints, T-Mobile has halted sales of the troubled Motorola Sidekick Slide. T-Mobile issued a statement late yesterday explaining how the customer-service-friendly carrier is trying to make amends.Here is what T-Mobile said:

T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide on Friday evening, Nov. 16, after Motorola - the manufacturer of the device - confirmed that some devices may inadvertently power off when the slide door on the front side of the phone is opened or closed.

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T-Mobile has taken this action to help ensure our customers only receive devices we're confident will perform at their peak, so they can stay effortlessly connected to those who matter most.

Motorola is currently working to identify the root cause of the power cycle issue in affected Sidekick Slide devices. The T-Mobile Sidekick LX and Sidekick iD are not affected by this issue.

If a customer purchased a Sidekick Slide that is experiencing the unintended power cycle issue, they may contact T-Mobile Customer Care, or go to a T-Mobile retail store, for assistance and to discuss available options.

This is some unsavory pie in the face for Motorola. Motorola's handset business has taken a beating all year long. For such a high-profile device to have such a big problem is yet another sign that Motorola's handset division needs re-tooling.