Microsoft's flagship phone vendor Sendo is poised to ship the much-delayed smartphone to its developers, but there's a catch.

The software will expire on September 30, giving ISVs two weeks to compile and test their applications, giving a new dimension to the term Rapid Application Development (RAD).

"The developer units were first supposed to be shipped in March, then May, then June, then the end of the summer. It has cost me more than $900, and Microsoft has already released the final version of the SmartPhone SDK. But we get a phone that will be good for only 3 weeks."

At which point presumably, the SDK - much like the agent instructions from Mission Impossible - self-destructs in a cloud of smoke.

Interestingly, the SDK terms specifically exempt the company from liability in case the phone does indeed self-destruct. In an email date 9 September, Sendo requests:-

THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING UPGRADES) MAY CONTAIN TECHNOLOGY THAT IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED FOR USE IN ENVIRONMENTS OR APPLICATIONS IN WHICH FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING UPGRADES) COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE OR FINANCIAL LOSS.

So there.

Bootnote: Well, at least it's free. SonyEricsson charged $995 for the developer kit for its P800 smartphone, before promising to waive the fee. Have any SonyEricsson developers seen their free SDKs yet? ®

Related Stories

Details of Samsung's US Stinger debut leak
Microsoft's Canary phone - the first pics
Sendo to Undercut XDA
MS: our phone software might not be good enough
Bugs delay flagship MS phone
MS Stinger smartphones finally poised to ship
The MS plan for smartphones: Get Nokia!
Ballmer takes charge of MS Phone biz
Can Club Nokia thwart .NET?
Microsoft dispatches phone OEMs to knife Bluetooth
Stinger: The Sneak Preview [stone tablets edition - Aug2001]
Microsoft banks on Sendo for smartphones