Peek
I’m a technology oriented girl. Not only do I love computers, laptops, digital cameras and accessories, I’m hooked on the internet. For me, the internet used to be just about fun, socializing and web design. It still is, but more of my focus is on work, since I work exclusively on the internet. Since I work for several different companies and a few clients, I need to be on the ball with checking email and responding to new projects and requests.
But as a lot of you guys know, I’m quite busy with Alyssa and Ryan especially (two years old + autism = turbo terrible toddler two’s), and I also go out a lot. We take Alyssa and Ryan out several times a week, weather permitting, and I’m also out a lot with my mom. We go to visit my brothers at least once a week each, and each of them are close to fifty miles away from us — in opposite directions. To give you a good idea on how much I’ve been on the go since mid-September, consider the mileage: over 1500 miles on the Hyundai since late September, and over 1000 miles on the Kia since early October. Yeah, it makes me sick, too. Especially when I consider the fact that I’ve had the Kia since December of 2005, and as of June 2008 I had only put 12,000 miles on it!
Anyway, checking email at home AND on the go is an absolute must for me. So when the guys behind the new and innovative Peek contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their product, I spent a few minutes reading their email and checking out the website, and then responded with a definite yes!
The Peek is like a cell phone, only without the phone features. Instead, it is ALL about email, and enabling you to send and receive on the go, wherever you are in the United States. It features a full QWERTY keyboard, space key, shift key, all that jazz. On the side of the Peek is a scroll wheel and a little button beneath that works as the “back” button. In addition to scrolling, the scroll wheel can be clicked to reveal a navigation menu, and also to confirm changes and menu selections. The Peek comes in black, cherry red or aqua blue, and is about the size of an iPod. The keyboard is backlit, and the Peek offers several color themes on the device itself.
Peek costs just under $100 at Target, but right now you can get it for $79.95 (yay for holiday shopping!). If you decide to order online, then you’ll love the free shipping that Target is offering right now! The monthly $19.95 service for Peek includes unlimited access for up to three POP3 email addresses. Free public domain addresses like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo can be setup automatically on the device; others like those accounts for personal domains (such as jenn.nu) can be set up manually through the excellent Peek customer support team (they can be reached via phone, email, through the Peek boards, even on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter!).
I have been using the Peek for about a week now, and I really enjoy it. Setting up the Peek was a breeze. I did have to contact the guys at Peek to have my x@jenn.nu email account set up (all this required was sending them the mail server information; I didn’t have to give out my password anywhere but on the Peek device itself), but they were very quick in getting back to me. The wireless service is working great, though I have noticed one or two dead spots here in the house (not a surprise or a negative mark against Peek; I DO live in a very rural area, and rarely get cell phone reception in the house!). The battery life is quite impressive — I’ve let the Peek stay on for three days straight while checking email off and on.
I do two have two minor critiques about the Peek, but they’re minor in comparison to the features that the device offers. First, the keys are a little hard to depress. Typing out a short email to Danielle last week made my hand cramp out. The space bar is especially stiff. But I’m keeping at it, and it feels like the keys are beginning to “soften” a bit. Second, I think it would be great if the Peek had a car charger available for it. 
Oh, and one really GREAT thing about the Peek? It seems quite kid friendly. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience here.
Overall, I really do like the Peek, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a contract-free, no-credit-check-required way to conveniently and affordably check their email while they’re out and about. 
Psst… interested in more photos of the Peek? Click here!
Related posts:
