Just Duke - Mostly Tech Ponderings

Unlike most of the Tech authors I follow, I haven't totally dismissed the merits of the Peek Data Devices. The first Peek offered was an email only device! Later I recall them offering a device that only did Twitter. I never saw these devices as a challenge to the true smartphone, but I did see them as a somewhat cheaper alternative. In September, the company released the $70.00 Peek 9ine. This device does Email, Facebook, Twitter, Weather, RSS and Texting. If Peek is ever going to break into mainstream, I would think it would be with this device. Data Service is provided through T-mobile.

Peek touts that you aren't obligated to a long term contract with this device. While that may be true, the per month plan is $20.00. That is not exactly cheap, and is only slightly cheaper than typical smartphone plans. But if you bite a two year contract price, then suddenly that price drops to $10.00 per month. Now this is cheap for a dataplan, even if it's for a limited device. And even though you might have access to Twitter and Facebook, there is no camera on this device, so sharing media while on the go, is out! Still, if you are on a Strict budget (and many of us are) but need access to on the go email, a free texting service, and as a side benefit, the ability to follow your social buds, a one time price of $70.00 and $10.00 per month on a two-year might not be too bad. Compare that to $200-$300 up front for an Android/iPhone and $25-$40 per month for a data plan.

Who would want such a device? Quite honestly, no one and everyone. No one wants this device compared to a smartphone! Everyone aware wants one device that does these things and more well, as evident with the soaring smartphone sales all across the world. However, Polls show that Teens don't want to talk to you; they want to text you. So I see this as a device that might appeal to parents of teens. For the person who is still carrying a Razr but a little envious of their friends, I see this as a 2nd device that they might be willing to carry, with a contract price that doesn't blow the budget. 

There is not any real internet browsing on this device, so it's not like your going to be able to do new things on the fly, like locate the closest Starbucks, or read reviews for that diner you find yourself standing in front of.

Reviewers have reported that the hardware isn't bad. The Keypad is adequate, the color screen is readable in bright sun, and it's rugged enough to be abused from time to time. It supports all the major email protocols, and gives you limited access to your favorite web sites through News Feeds. You can do all of this for a total of $310! (Peek device and two years worth of service) Worth it? I can't make that call! But I know that price is probably about average of what a smart phone costs! So I'm thinking to a few, it might be worth it. But with no voice ability, no easy way to expand it with apps, it's not a smartphone, or even a dumb-phone. It's a limited data device! That might be all many need. It probably isn't anything anyone really wants. 

Peek Web Site

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