MaximumPC 2002 09

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 fi nd the shortcom-
ings to be deal breakers.
To get started, you simply enter the ad-
dresses 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 ac-

counts, 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-fi le 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 con-

necting, sending, or receiving email anywhere

in the Bay Area, if you live in an area with spotty

cell reception, your experience may diff er. This

isn’t push email, though—we generally waited

fi ve to eight minutes for mail to arrive.

Within the narrow focus of what it promises

to deliver, the Peek succeeds. Just who would

fi nd this device appealing, though, is something

of a mystery. – T O M E D W A R D S

Peek

Mobile email—and nothing else

+ -

VERDICT

$80, http://www.getpeek.com

6

Does what it prom-

ises to do; simple

to use.

Not for power users.

Small attachment limit.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD

PEEK

LEONARD PART 6

The Peek’s $20

monthly data plan

is a bargain—if you

can live with the

device’s limitations.