http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/ Engadget Comments for Peek finds that Costco customers greatly prefer lifetime subscriptions http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 9:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 10:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 12:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
It's nice to see people are doing some simple math before purchases.]]>Mar 6th 2009 2:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
That said, I quite like the Peek. Good idea for a product. If they'd have sealed international support and created some kick-ass email software, it could have changed email for good.]]>Mar 6th 2009 5:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 9:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 9:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
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The only numbskull I can see purchasing this is someone who is under an existing contract and not willing to pay to upgrade their phone.

]]>Mar 5th 2009 10:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
The Peek-for-life deal is also a bit more disingenuous than the simple description that Engadget gave. It's not "pay $400 and get a lifelong Peek account." Instead, it's "Pay $400 and you will get connectivity for the life of the current piece of hardware that you just purchased." Think Tivo, not pager company, as a business model. With the faintest rumors of updated Peek hardware coming out in late 2009 or 2010 (assuming the company stays in business), those lifetime connectivity deals may end up being nothing but profit to Peek when version 1.0 hardware gets tossed in a drawer and never used again. Or if someone drops their Peek and it breaks. Or if a Peek gets lost or stolen. Tying pre-paid service to a specific piece of hardware is actually a pretty savvy business strategy.]]>Mar 5th 2009 10:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 10:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 11:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
I took advantage of the one-day sale and got my girlfriend a Peek for V-Day. Rationale for dropping the $299? The economics work out pretty good for me, if I consider that she'll use the device for over one year. Since then the price drops mean she'll have to use it for about 15 months for it to be net positive.

But most of the comments are for why get a Peek at all? Well, she's an email addict. She doesn't have a Blackberry since work looked to cut costs and upgrading her personal cell above the basic voice plan to a Blackberry plan is at least $30/month more than she currently pays. Plus, she's not looking to get a Blackberry. She likes her dead simple phone. She loves her dead simple Peek.

Personally, I could never see myself using the service - it can't do the most basic web browsing to get sports scores or weather. It can't install an IM client. It can't get stock quotes. Can you tell I'm a Blackberry user yet? It's not for me. The company recognizes that - it's only for dead simple email.

Next person on my Peek list? My dad. A former businessman (retired) who carried a Blackberry for years and is starting to use personal email to communicate more and more. We he goes on personal trips, he'll be able to avoid bringing the computer and instead just pack the Peek. Are my girlfriend and dad tech revolutionaries? Absolutely wrong end of the curve, actually, but they're definite Peek users.]]>Mar 5th 2009 10:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
Same comment re your Dad. You don't think he can operate an iPhone? He doesn't want access to all the apps that are dead simple to use?

]]>Mar 5th 2009 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/For one thing, their data plans are more expensive than the Peek's $16
For another, I like simple and elegant devices. I personally do not like the pseudo keyboard on the iPhone. I do not want to have an AT&T voice plan. It is cheaper for me to have a monthly paid tmobile plan with no data services, and a Peek.]]>Mar 6th 2009 9:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 7th 2009 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 1:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
And pay $30 more per month just to receive email? The Peek + lifetime service ($299) pays for itself after 12 months. Not everyone needs/wants a smartphone]]>Mar 5th 2009 11:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 5th 2009 11:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 12:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 12:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 12:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 12:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/As Of What i Know... E-mail and ???
Is there SMS and IM? or what? anything else? or just plain-ol' email?]]>Mar 6th 2009 12:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 2:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
Ok, I do carry around two devices, a Motorola V195s (t-mobile) and a Peek. But, it is cheaper than if I had a Blackberry or iPhone. Before you reject the Peek based upon a few articles, and the opinions of people who have never used it, you really have to try the device. www.getpeek.com

(I do not work for Peek, although I wish I did.)]]>Mar 6th 2009 9:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
I don't understand why anyone would buy one of these when they could just get a multifunctional phone (AT&T Fuze, Blackberry, iPhone, etc.) that does everything for less money. I understand you can get lifetime email with the Peek (with no monthly fees) and yada yada yada, but email is all it does.

Wouldn't it be smarter to have a phone that has a much better screen, much greater memory and processing power, and can handle email, IM, messaging of all kinds, GPS, WiFi, BT, taking photos and videos, internet, photos, music, movies, radio (perhaps), TV (with a slingbox or through your carrier), computing tasks, AND work as a phone? With a new contract, you can get an AT&T Fuze, for example, from Amazon for $175. And if you don't want to do ALL those things I mentioned, you don't have to... just do a few things - phone, email, and a bit of messaging.

Most people who have a device like the Peek, are going to have a mobile phone, too, and will be paying a monthly fee for that service, anyway. So the only service fee on top of that to make use of a nicer phone like the Fuze or a Blackberry, would be data and messaging (and with a mobile phone, people may already be paying for messaging); in any case, those two services together aren't much more (and less, depending on your provider) than what Peek is charging simply for email from month to month.

I understand that some people like a device with a dedicated purpose, but I'm looking at overall value and flexibility, as well as convergence and the simplicity that that can bring in and of itself (instead of juggling two or more devices). If you're prepared to carry both this and a simpler mobile phone, why not just have it all in one device? It seems that the Peek is simply nothing more than what Blackberry was when it first started out, only with a color screen. Why are we taking several steps back? Is the Peek honestly becoming that popular? Does it honestly have any kind of a lasting appeal in the marketplace? And couldn't the Peek eventually evolve into a multifunctional mobile phone like the Blackberry did? Keep in mind, if they go out of business, a lifetime service subscription won't mean squat (neither will month-to-month service). That won't be a risk you face with your MSP.

I just don't see this lasting.]]>Mar 6th 2009 9:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
The upfront costs of BlackBerry's, iPhones can be $100-$200 per device. x10 employees... that's a lot of cash.

The Peek says EMail and texting. Businesses usually need only emails. Businesses don't usually need iPods, Cameras, Facebook or mobile browsing. From that perspective, the thing makes sense.]]>Mar 6th 2009 6:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/It's like getting a Netbook for $299 instead of a iSuperDBZUberleetXPSbbq9000+ for $1999.
It's just dead simple.

I personally ended up getting a new blackberry when my phone came up for renewal (love T-mobile) but I can see a wide audience carrying Peeks.

The $400 for lifetime deal is a hell of alot better than the cost of a new (even subbed) phone plus monthly bills.

]]>Mar 6th 2009 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
On another note, I don't know what a business would have to pay to acquire Blackberries, especially if they were buying many. But from a business perspective, you also have to figure in the cost of maintaining more devices. It's not just what you spend up front. It's the time, energy, and money you devote to configuring, maintaining, and repairing or replacing the devices and to the accounting that goes along with additional separate services, not to mention, additional training for a new device. What does all that cost in man-hours? Additionally, there's more support for Blackberries in the industry than there is for the Peek, which is something to keep in mind. I'm sure after a certain number of these, the cost to benefit ratio is no longer rationale, as opposed to keeping track of only one device per worker.

It's nothing like buying a computer. And Deadpan, you're not giving yourself much of a platform to stand on when you yourself chose and own a Blackberry. But again, anyone buying and using one of these, will have a mobile phone and be paying for that service anyway, so the only service they're adding for a more sophisticated phone, is data and possibly messaging. How would those data/messaging prices differ from the monthly fees on the Peek?

And yes, you can consider $400 for a lifetime, but once again, that's only worth it if Peek remains in business, which no one can predict. If they go out, your money is lost and you're back to a carrier, anyway. For a business, that's disruptive, a hassle, and expensive in time, energy, and money. Would a business want to risk investing in a smaller company like this that doesn't have much of a track record? I'm not sure, based on all the concerns, if it would be such a smart investment, after all. There are always hidden costs and risk factors that have to be weighed. It's not just money up front and a monthly fee.
]]>Mar 7th 2009 3:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.peekonomics.com/

And the math of the lifetime offer at Costco.com is even better!
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11378694&cm_mmc=BCEmail_MarchMailer-_-Feature-_-24-_-PeekMobileEmail

]]>Mar 6th 2009 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/Mar 6th 2009 5:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/peek-finds-that-costco-customers-greatly-prefer-lifetime-subscri/
And compared to the $50 Peek + $20/month, the cost inflexion is at only 17.5 months at $400 lifetime, 12.5 months at $300 lifetime, and 10 months for a $250 lifetime contract.

Translation, I do think PEEK will be around for another year or so, so if they offered a $250 lifetime deal, you are virtually guaranteed to get your value.

After that, it starts to pay for itself. I won't compare against cell phone carriers, as it is apples and oranges.

Further, even if you break it, a skilled person can transmit the SIM card to another PEEK.

Hopefully the PEEK2 will have calendar and note capabilities. Would be great if they just moved to reduced capability Access OS (the old Palm OS), I think there is a big 'shadow' market for a tethered pda out there, a 'dumbphone' if you will.]]>Mar 6th 2009 5:13PM