Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 133
 Peek w/ Lifetime Service saves me $[...] a year, Lifetime Peek = Happy Guy September 28, 2009
Demand Curve (LA, CA United States)
41 out of 42 found this review helpful
I used this to replace my iPhone. I know, it doesn't do much other than text and email - but that was all I was using my iPhone for... all the other stuff was just for passing time in the doctors waiting room ... I now have 5 peeks in my family ....
Integrates really well with Google Voice - check out their discussion boards for more info.
Pluses:
Simple.
-Up to 5 email accounts
-text all you want (they have recently improved texting and it can give you a fixed number)
- Works well with Google Voice and 3Jam
-unlimited emails
- can do pics and pdfs, and word docs
-no monthly fees (my biggest +!!)
-mapping / locating service at [...] (follow your Peek - very cool)
-lots of searches available via email
-great customer service
-works seamlessly with gmail and yahoo mail
- full keyboard
- fast delivery of email
- long battery times (mine goes 2+ days on 1 charge)
- holds minor contact info (1 per email address)
- can import address book directly from gmail, yahoo, etc
minuses:
- documents and pictures are OK - but like all mobile devices - they don't always display perfectly
- exchange is supported - but if your server is using old version (2000-2003) it might not work
- typing on small keyboard (long messages are tough)
- only minor spell checking
- one more thing to carry
- the occasional email outage (in over 9 months this has happened 2 times with gmail) others report more often
- some people report slow performance - my experience has been great
- no alarm
- only holds minor contact info
The device really is simple and super easy to use. If you have a teenager that texts all the time - this works really good. If you like simple devices that do their 1 thing and do it well - then this is great. if you are on the go a lot or don't want to be tethered to a computer for your email - then this is it.
If you are a mobile professional that needs to stay in constant email contact - then this device rocks. Especially at the lifetime price point. If I have the monthly fee - it kills it for me.
Lifetime Peek = happy guy.
you should browse their forum - the company lets people say whatever they want - and their employees are very responsive to customers. They are always in the forums ... over at [...].
Peek very nearly perfect for my needs November 7, 2009
Jeanne (Kirkland, WA United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was looking for a way to have easier access to email when traveling, without always needing to carry around a laptop, but the ongoing expense of a smartphone was too much for my needs. (I also have a cheap cell phone that I use as little as possible, preferring email/text.) This device is nearly perfect for me. Its very light, works well, has a nice keyboard and feel, and the lifetime service made it a great value. Emails arrive nearly instantly, often faster than into Thunderbird. Customer service and technical support have been very good in comparison with other companies. The support staff are almost all very knowledgeable and helpful. It usually only takes a minute or few minutes to get through on the phone. There were some initial problems with converting to gmail, downloading gmail contacts, and getting my (unusual) work email system set up properly, but Peek staff patiently got me through every issue (in conjunction with tech support at work), and everything is working just fine now. I love having access to email info systems (this can fill a few of the needs that not having a web browser creates) like weather reports, wikipedia look-ups, maps, news reports, etc, which I didn't know about/expect. There is one remaining issue which I hope will be solved by Peek soon. Since I would prefer to use this device only intermittently (like while traveling, on extended commutes, etc), I would like to have a feature that would prevent all stored email from being downloaded to the Peek whenever it is turned on (this happens even if the email is already marked as read/deleted, since it was already downloaded to the Peek server). This downloading backload can take a long time to process, and delays being able to see any truly new messages. As a consequence, I've just been keeping the Peek on all the time, which is a waste of power/recharging/my time. But overall, I'm very pleased with this product and particularly with their customer service/technical support.
The Language of E-Mail October 9, 2009
Artson Hardison (Los Angeles)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
My Peek and the fine folks at Peek-they call themselves Peeksters-have introduced a whole new side of the Internet to me which is revealing and disturbing all at the same time. I, as well as everyone else on the planet, have long suspected what highway robbers the major wireless carriers are and this was only truly understood by me when I first started to work with my Peek.
A text message is just an e-mail that is limited to 140 characters. You can send a text to your daughter or your husband or anyone by simply typing in their 10 digit telephone number in the to: box of your gmail or yahoo or hotmail account and pressing send. Chances are that you are now sitting at your computer: try it right now to your own cell phone. If your carrier is in compliance (and most but not all are) you will at this moment be freed from the hokey, shadowy, slimy world that are the wireless companies.
This is the premise that the folks at Peek have based their business model upon. They are the counter culture mobile e-mail and text message based company. But there is a price that you as a consumer must pay. If you own an iPhone or a Blackberry then you must play the Internet game under their rules and pay them money to do so at a hefty price.
With Peek the price to play the Internet is minimal but the learning curve to use text based e-mail can be a bit steep. Need to know movie showtimes, or traffic issues, or directions, or the weather picture off the satellite, or sports scores, or breaking news? You can do all of that in e-mail. You can even, in a very limited but useful way, surf the internet with e-mail, but you need to learn the language. You need to know what words to send to what addresses and once you accomplish that the Peek can do the absolute critical things that you really need in a mobile device.
The folks at Peek pride themselves in the fact that their gadget is bone simple, and it is. Your grandma can use a Peek in about two minutes. But you, the clever, savvy consumer, can take that simple gadget and turn it into a highly sophisticated information and communication device. All you need to do is learn the language of e-mail.
Buy this lifetime deal. It will start to pay you back in less than a year. You will be freed. You will never go back.
Awesome, very cool product. October 23, 2009
its me (Los Angeles)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased my product from Amazon on October 21, I got it on October 23, four days early than the expected delivery date, THANKS Amazon.
I opened the package, could not get it working, I called Peek and in 10-minutes I was up and running, excellent and friendly customer service. I went to do some errands, took my Peek and got messages, pretty cool.
I read many reviews before buying this device. For $300 for lifetime service for the device it is less expensive than any other method of email/text that does not require WiFi, no cheap cell phone package gives unlimited use, if email and text is what you want there is no better product, i checked them all out.
Thanks Amazon and Peek for offering this product.
For my purposes (and frugality), it's been terrific October 9, 2009
jj2me (Red Bank, NJ United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I got my Lifetime Peek the one day they offered it in January '09. Sure, it's a risk going for the lifetime contract--it's the lifetime of the device. But so far, I've had zero problems. The keys seem just as "clicky" as the first day, everything mechanical/electrical seems A-OK, like new. Its battery life is good (and it has a user-replaceable battery). Never had a software problem either, no freezes, nothing. They even gave all of us owners a free upgrade from "Classic" to "Pronto" via a send-it-in service (which I chose to do) or firmware update you do if you have their cable.
For my purposes, listed below, it's perfect.
- helps avoid Carrier charges, replacing Verizon Wireless's expensive data plan and texting charges. Texting only only works if I initiate text messages, and the other person responds--there's no telephone number assigned to the Peek, so a friend can't address a text to my Peek, s/he can only reply to my message.
- helps me stay away from the time-wasting lure of the computer.
- saves me internet charges at a vacation home. This is along the lines of keeping me away from mindless checking on the computer, because I've avoided installing internet at a vacation home by having this Peek. Important stuff still gets through via e-mail (or phone), and I can concentrate on vacationing. I have it send me all my e-mails from five accounts (five is the maximum number of accounts the Peek supports).
- wonderful for travel. E.g., I was recently traveling to the San Francisco area, and when on BART (S.F.'s rail system) I coordinated arrival/pickup at my sister's stop by sending and receiving e-mails with her. A cellphone call would have been dropped too many times in the tunnels (amazingly, I experienced no loss of e-mails on that trip through tunnels--I must have only hit "send" when outside any tunnels). Later on that trip, I used the Peek to coordinate visits with friends.
Yeah, this all boils down to dollar savings, as all of the above (and more, like web browsing) could have been accomplished by adding a data plan to your calling plan. But I just couldn't see paying that continuous stream of money to my carrier. I think a data plan would have been an additional $30 or $40/mo. at the time I got my PDA-phone.
Some things that may concern you:
- your eyesight needs to be good, as the font is small, as are any attached pictures.
- very long e-mails are truncated (after several scrolling screenfuls, you get a message like "Whoops, this e-mail is too long, view it on a computer.").
- for some reason, they didn't light up the top row of keys, so when you're in the dark and you need punctuation that's on that top row, it's annoying.
Whenever I'm asked about the device, my short explanation is, "It's a poor man's blackberry. It does e-mail and texts."
I'm delighted I bought this. I really like it for my purposes (and the savings over a data plan). At the price of a lifetime contract, I think I've just about gotten my money's worth already. I can't say it's right for everyone. You'll have to look at one and view the screen, and think about your usage patterns and whether carrying another device is a burden. In these times, you don't have to be Jack Benny to enjoy the savings over a smartphone and data plan. The device is very easy to use--a back button, and a scroll wheel that you can also push in to open the menu and to select. That's it. (Though there are keyboard shortcuts you can use instead.) There are also little services you can request via e-mail, like requesting the current weather (not a forecast) for an area code, or requesting a map.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 133
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