Have you ever wished that you could check your email, but were far from your computer? A new gadget is aimed at consumers who feel that getting a BlackBerry would be just too much.
Jeffrey Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal reviews the Peek, a new e-mail only mobile device, in his latest column. Mossberg tested out the Peek on his mother, who is often too busy to consistently check her e-mail. Both found the Peek “helpful and relatively easy to use.”
Peek’s biggest selling point is its simplicity. Its sole purpose is to send and receive e-mail. Unlike the Blackberry, Peek does not have a web browser, phone or digital camera. Another big advantage is the price. At $100 dollars for the device and $20 a month for contract-free service, the Peek is sold at Target and GoPeek.com.
Users can link up to three email accounts to their Peek and store 5000 emails at a time. Because the gadget is solely e-mail only, it cannot open attached Excel or Word documents, though photos can be opened quite easily.
However, there are some kinks that still need to be worked out. Mossberg described the keys as being “a bit stiff” and said the font could be larger. The device either chimes, vibrates or glows blue when e-mails are received, but none of these features are particularly noticeable.
The manufacturers have said that a louder chime, a blinking indicator light and a bigger font will be added by November.
