Recently voted Time’s top gadget of 2008,
the Peek Handheld hasn’t garnered a lot of headline space, but it’s certainly
worth a look. First off, the Peek is a handheld device with a full fledged
QWERTY keyboard that handle one thing and one thing only: email. So what’s so
appealing about that? Well, for one it simplifies what can be a surprisingly
complicated process of finding a decent device that makes email accessible as
well as securing a viable wireless plan. The Peek comes in under $100 and is being
sold with unlimited use on T-Mobile for $20/month.
But the real question is: do you really
need one? On the one hand it’s relatively cost-effective but on the other it
only handles email. And the latter seems to be the critical response, as CNET’s
review praises the device for its ease of use but admonishes it for its lack of
versatility. In many was these almost seems like a device that missed its window of opportunity. With the recent influx of smartphones into the mainstream, from BlackBerrys to iPhones, most users who need email on the go likely already have it right there in their cell phone. Nevertheless, the voters have spoken loud and clear, and Time is listing the Peek as the voters-choice best invention of 2008. It comes in with 5,599 votes, a marked distance ahead of the second place G1 at 2,821.
Here’s what Time had to say about the Peek:
“If the BlackBerry is too techie or pricey
for you, check out the Peek. It does one thing and one thing only: e-mail. This
slender little device gives you BlackBerry-like portable access to e-mail (it’s
not a phone, organizer or anything else), but without the hefty fees; monthly
service costs about $20 for unlimited access to your messages. The Peek doesn’t
work with corporate e-mail yet, so for now, it’s primarily for Web-based mail.
Still, for anyone who wants to keep in touch when they’re away from a computer,
it’s a smart, handy tool.”
