The Evangelist

With all of the modern smartphones and push-email devices on the market now, a device dedicated to just email may seem like what a pager is to a cell phone. That, however, is exactly what the Peek, a device now on sale at Target stores, is.


The Peek is a device specifically designed for mobile email. It is a good example of the classic concept of doing one thing, and doing it well. It operates in the United States using a nationwide GSM network, which will cost you $19.95 a month in addition to the $79.95 for the device itself.

Because it is designed just for email, the device is very slim and light (at just 3.8 ounces). It features a full QWERTY keyboard that promises to be easy to type on. It also has a decently-sized (and high contrast) screen (2.5 in. QVGA at a resolution of 320x240) which makes it easier to read emails. The Peek's website also says that it lasts around 4-5 days under typical usage. While 'typical' is a bit ambiguous, it seems likely that this device will get pretty good battery life.

To give the specifics, the device has a total of 8MB of memory for storing emails and sports a 104MHz ARM7 chipset from TI and an operating system called "Peekux" (no relation to the open-source Linux).

So far, the device has been reviewed favorably, with Time calling it one of the "50 Best Inventions if the Year 2008." I'm not at all surprised; I can't help but like the device myself for its simplicity and reasonable price. While I do a fair deal of instant messaging, I still like to use email for a good deal of my communications.

For more information on the peak, or to purchase a device, you can visit the Peek website at http://www.getpeek.com/.