A power user expects a phone to be an all-in-one communication/personal entertainment device that includes a web browser, GPS, media player, camera, SMS, and IM. However, if you only want to make calls and check your email, a smartphone doesn’t make much economic sense. The initial cost is high and monthly data plans are also expensive. Peek hopes its eponymous email-only device will catch on with people who want email on the go but not the other smartphone accoutrements.
The Peek is a slim (4.0”x2.7”x 0.4”) handheld email device with a bright 320x240 screen. It retails for $80 with a $20 monthly data plan. And if all you want is email, the Peek gets the job done—with some caveats. For a casual user, the device’s limitations may be inconsequential, but tech-savvy individuals will find the shortcomings to be deal breakers.
To get started, you simply enter the addresses and passwords of up to three accounts; the major providers—AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo—and numerous ISP-based services are supported. If you register multiple accounts, though, all your email will be dumped into one folder, and you can’t create additional folders, making organization of incoming mail a challenge.
Limited support for attachments is a larger issue. The Peek can open most image-file types, including JPEGs and GIFs, but there’s a size limit of 6MB per attachment and the device slows to a crawl as it tries to open images. Word docs, PDFs, and other types of attachments are not supported, though a spokesperson promised support for additional attachment types in 2009.
Peek leases bandwidth from a wireless phone provider and has stated that its coverage is “nationwide.” While we had no problems connecting, sending, or receiving email anywhere in the Bay Area, if you live in an area with spotty cell reception, your experience may differ. This isn’t push email, though—we generally waited five to eight minutes for mail to arrive.
Within the narrow focus of what it promises to deliver, the Peek succeeds. Just who would find this device appealing, though, is something of a mystery.
Does what it promises to do; simple to use.
Not for power users. Small attachment limit.
windbane
April 06, 2009 at 10:42am
Why not just dig up an old email only blackberry and go that route. Seems like a step backwards, plus most mobile phones can access hotmail and gmail or even your regular ISP's email, if you happen to also use their cell service, through the built in web browser - sure its txt only but you don't have to carry around another gadget and pay another bill on top of the service you already have, pretty darn useless...
Deafcyclist
April 06, 2009 at 3:41am
The price on the review applies to the new Peek Pronto set to come out in the next few weeks. But the review of this article is obvious that it is based on the regular Peek which cost $49.99 (but are on sale for around $25 to $30 at Target right now). Peek Pronto overcome many of the shortcoming mentioned in the article such as being able to open and read .doc and .pdf attachment. The Peek Pronto will also have push e-mail and it also includes unlimited texting. The Peek Pronto supports 5 accounts rather than the Peek three. It also should be mentioned that the fact that both Peek require NO contract at all. All you need is a credit card to pay for the months you need the Peek. Being deaf, all I really need is e-mail and texting so I will be disconnecting my t-mobile blackberry and even with the $200 ETF fee, switching to the Peek still saves me tons of money.
While Peek don't have many features, there are plently of services to help with that such as ENT and ping.fm. for more info on what services could be used with the Peek, look at this link.
http://boards.getpeek.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=465
Also, if you buy a Peek right now with software version 1.04 - 1.08, you can send your Peek in to have a free upgrade to the Peek Pronto.
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