Peek for Life: $299.95 one-day sale means no monthly fees
By Darren Murph 
posted Jan 16th 2009 7:05AM
posted Jan 16th 2009 7:05AM
posted Jan 16th 2009 7:05AM
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How many people are actually buying these? Because I saw them clearanced out at Target for $25 a couple weeks ago.
"one-day only affairs" are always welcome.
Now if that $25 included service for life I'd buy 5.
I've been checking my Target every week since Christmas hoping to discover such a thing, but they are still selling them for $99 :(
I just took a 'Peek' at their Terms & Conditions. Here are a few choice tidbits:
(For those considering hacking.)
"The SIM card included with your Peek is intended to only be used in a Peek device to access Peek’s email services. You will also be assessed unauthorized data usage charges if you use a Peek SIM card for any Improper Use or unintended purpose."
(Well, this section excludes me.)
"Examples of Improper Uses include, without limit: (e) ... transmitting any content that is ... obscene, offensive, profane or otherwise objectionable as determined by us in our sole discretion..."
(And last but not least.)
"We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your use of our Service, without notice, for any or no reason whatsoever."
Ouch, seems like someone's been reading a little too much 'Mein Kampf'.
@Talon - sounds like someone has the tinfoil hat on a little too tight
@Frankfurter - What the hell are you talking about? Those are genuinely ridiculously restrictive terms, what's tinfoil hat'ish about pointing out the pricks at Peek actually think they can control what you send over the device? I'm sorry I called this thing out for the redundant, worthless piece of tech that it is the first time I heard about it and all I got back was responses from people who had to reach far into the recesses of their ass to defend it. This is obviously a desperate reach for customers from a company that finally realizes NOBODY wants this thing. They might as well start selling pagers, they would be just as worthless as an email-only machine.
This device normally sells for $100 with a $20 monthly charge right? Well the extra $$ to buy this version pays for about a years worth of service, the average time somebody keeps a device like this before it's too worn and tattered to use or the next version is released. You would be an absolute fool to not use the extra money towards a data plan on your current cell phone and not have to carry around an extra, single-purpose device.
PLEASE GO AWAY PEEK!
@utahnkid and talon
have you guys ever read a cellular data service t&c? its pretty much as restrictive. Im with frankfurter, loosen your tin foil hats
http://xkcd.com/386/
I have a Peek. Around here, they've never been closed out at Target, though they briefly went on sale for $20 off back in November.
The problem with the Peek is that it can't currently be flashed to the current release of the OS without mailing it back to Peek customer service. So, some Targets have been stuck with inventory of older Peeks with the older OS. They're currently up to version 1.08. Mine is version 1.04, which is mostly functional. I understand that version 1.03 was a bit of a dog, especially in terms of OS stability.
My guess is that those closeout Peeks were old inventory that was cleared to make way for newer releases.
Personally, if I had to do it over again, I'd get a Peek through Costco (or costco.com). Better price and comes with a free month of service ($20 value). Or look for a deal of the day at getpeek.com. Today's lifetime service deal is equal to or less than buying a Peek and service for 1 year. Any time over that is gravy.
As for the utility of the Peek? That's a different question. There are times, however, when I don't carry my phone around but might carry a Peek. I'm still trying to figure that all out.
I wonder what kind of longevity you could expect out of such a device... If it was more than a few years, that'd be a mighty good deal.
If they go out of business tomorrow, not much.
Nobody, absolutely nobody wants to pay monthly fees for a device that can only check email. You'd have thought they'd have known that. This $300 is basically a fire sale and they are trying to recoup their losses or mitigate them.
ITS NOT WORTH IT.
The only things people are willing to pay subscriptions for in this regard are home internet access and cellular data access.
I feel bad for them cause I saw reps for PEEK at Engadget's Christmas meet&greet in NYC
Lifetime service is quite a fancy name for a Ponzi scheme. The only way they could sustain such a business model without loss is to keep recruiting new customers. Given the hard time they had selling this device thus far, it's highly unlikely they'd be able to do that.
Yeah.. I bet the hardware will outlast the company. That lifetime data plan will be good for the 6 months or so this company stays around.
What's to keep them from declaring bankruptcy next week and making off with my loot? Anyone know what Peek's financials look like?
Exactly. How long will this "life" be?
T-Mobil is their service partner, so maybe that counts for something. I'm not sure though.
This is kinda sorta almost tempting.
If somebody would hack it so I could use as a data modem for my laptop, I would definitely be buying one... Now.
I kind of agree with you, it is tempting. I bought a Kindle for $350, and I expect that device to last a good few years. My ThinkPad R-40, bought in 2002 is still working. I have a Motorola V195s which does not have email or real internet browsing. Carrying two devices is an inconvenience, but if one were to keep the device for two years, then it would be a savings. Not everyone needs to buy a new cell phone every other month. Buying a nice e-mail enabled device would cost me anywhere from $100-$200. The data plan would be another $20-$30 a month. I know new cool cell phone will come along in the next two years, but, this really is not such a bad deal. And, like NZO suggested, it is very tempting. On the other hand, I fully expect Peek to be providing other offers. Their business model just doesn't make sense to me.
Always a bad move stating lifetime.
1) You'll never be able to offer a true lifetime service without making a loss
2) Most people already know 1, and because of that, lose faith in your business
It might be if they plan to launch a much more compelling device this year. That way a bunch of those people who bought lifetime service will ditch it to upgrade.
Also, it makes it possible for someone like me to buy one as a gift for someone like my parents, who have no good options for internet, but can get cell coverage, without having to worry about how to deal with the monthly service fees. Now there would be no strings attached.
Too bad they didn't do this BEFORE Christmas!
thats actually an outstanding deal. hmmmm, i kinda want.....
wow, for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
nevermind, guess no one watched bedtime stories.,
No, we like good movies.
Will this give you service for your lifetime, or just the lifetime of the device? I've never had a phone last more than two years, and I doubt this would be any different.
i pay 10 dollars a month for unlimited internet on my 700wx. it does all my email my pc does and surfs the internet like my pc. so why would i buy this thing???
because its a gadget and here at engadget we are all addicted to gadgets, and this isnt a mac or a pc... so it is automatically awesome.
Because for some reason, it's supposed to appeal to the geek-chic crowd with its single-minded sensibilities who crave a simplistic device to do a function that is included with most other devices but without the extra functionality that other devices also have, like going to an actual link that might be in an e-mail or viewing attachments because honestly, who really needs that kind of crap? I think there's a place for this device, but not with $20/month service, so I can't understand why people exploded all over the device when it came out earlier.
On the other hand, I can see the lifetime thing being a good thing; I also seem to remember that Tivo had a similar lifetime offer and that company seems to be doing pretty well, though I'm also reminded that the hardware encoder on my Tivo decided to get the hiccups permanently, and would have rendered a lifetime subscription useless thereafter.
This deal is tempting. I need something a little better than my BB pearl for business emails but am not ready to give up how small the pearl is. But during the day when not out on the town the Peek would be worth looking at.
these things are stupid in my opinion, what cant you already do on your phone, and just another device to carry around
They're not targeted to you; they're targeted toward moms and grandparents.
Now we just need a hybrid Ooma-Peek offering for lifetime phone + e-mail for $500.
im really diggin these new startups with no monthly fees. im also surprised ooma is still chugging along. sweetness.
interesting device but if peak goes away in a year, the $299 lifetime plan is ruined..
Lol, what kind of an idiot would pay $300 for a "lifetime" of reading mails on an email-only device?
You can read and write emails for free on almost any phone. I don't know who falls for this.
I can't write e-mails for free on my phone, you know, with monthy service plans and all. I don't know anybody else who can either. Hook me up with your provider, G.
And what about those who are mute? Or the elderly who don't need all that extra nonsense a phone throws at you? Surely this is a better option, amirite?
I don't think I know anybody outside of myself who owns a phone that can receive emails. The vast majority of cheap phones out there are limited to SMS and MMS for messaging, those things aren't going to sync to your Gmail account. They also have standard 12-key number pads for input, and composing an email on one would suck hardcore anyway.
I'm sure you can turn off images and go to www.gmail.com with your phone, they have a site specifically designed for phones. And with no images you get almost no data transfer. And i can't hook you up with my provider because you probably live in another country, but they give me 1 GB of free data transfer per month.
Mute people could still use phones for texting or a million other things, I have an advanced phone, but i don't talk much at all. Maybe i could accept your argument about elderly people, but how many of them do you know that use email when they are not home (or use email at all)?
Er... You realise that if a phone doesn't have Email support, than it's probably not going to have a HTML browser, right?
G,
While you may get 1GB of free data transfer every month, it's still not free. You're getting that with whatever plan you have and that you pay for. Of course, if you're not in the US, you probably pay a lot less than us, too.
This is the dumbest conversation ever
What's stopping someone from pulling the SIM and using it with a smartphone for other data?
It's designed so they can only connect it to Peek's servers (which is an Amazon S3 setup, IIRC).
How come that all of a sudden forced monthly data plan is incredibly annoying? Is Engadget getting out of Apple scene?
Because they are annoying, I don't know anyone who actually likes to pay monthly fees.
$300 for unlimited data and text messaging isn't that bad of a deal. After a year this special would have paid for itself. It's just a question of what the definition of lifetime is.
If this thing could connect to a BB server I would be all over it. I have a Windows Mobile phone but I can't connect to the work exchange server unless I have a BB because of encryption and security. But that's a whole other issue...
I don't think this little startup company really has "suits". The founder goes around pushing this thing personally, answering emails and responding to comments online. I get the impression that he genuinely wants this thing to become successful, he's not looking to rip anybody off.
i can't see too many people jumping on this deal..