AmolSarva
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Peek killing off US email and Twitter devices after 'lifelong service'
There's an old saying that eternal love lasts for two years. Apparently, that also applies to Peek's bare bones email and Twitter devices, which launched in 2008 and 2009 respectively. We've received emails from users anxious that their handsets -- all running on T-Mo's network -- stopped working on January 30th, despite them having paid up to $299 for "lifelong service." Although at least some users received emails about this, we've just had confirmation from Peek's CEO, Amol Sarva, that the products really are being abandoned. By way of justification, he told us that they're "seriously old" and have reached their end of life, with only a "handful of users" left in the US. He adds that anyone who bought the $299 one-off bundle still eked out 28 months of service, whereas paying the monthly $19.95 subscription plus extra for the device would have added up to much more. As to why the service is being killed, perhaps we should have taken the hint back in July, because now the company is all about software-only cloud services rather than handsets. Here's some more detail from Sarva himself: "Unfortunately we cannot maintain the network forever for a few users, so that end time has come. The networks are changing standards, protocols etc and the old units are now end of life. We have lots going with rapid adoption of our software by phone brands around the world, so Peek is flat out building for a number of platforms that our OEM customers are deploying like Android and Mediatek. We are not offering a Peek-made device to replace these old ones." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Does Peek's future lay in low-powered feature phones, emerging markets?
The overriding philosophy at Peek is "keep it simple," and we have to agree that as these things go, this is a pretty sound principle (even if we don't necessarily have much use for dedicated Twitter hardware). If the big payoff for the company isn't in the gadget-addicted states, it's been a good start: the company has sold some 50,000 units in two years while developing the back-end technology that CEO Amol Sarva believes can supply cheap, low-powered feature phones and other devices for emerging markets -- devices that could retail for as little as $50. "This is a huge opportunity for us," Sarva told GigaOm. "We've built technology that no one cared about but now we're suddenly being approached by guys who have the hardware that want to make it smart." And if that doesn't pan out, we have a suggestion: FourPeek, the dedicated Foursquare device.
Peek experiences permanent outage for older devices, vows to replace with free Peek 9
Thinking of upgrading your Peek or Peek Pronto to a shiny new Peek 9? You may no longer have a choice -- following an epic fail when migrating to a new network provider, loads of older devices were reportedly fried. Normally consumer outrage would run rampant at this news, but Peek CEO Amol Sarva has a plan -- he's offering brand-new Peek 9s to existing customers, free of charge. It's not clear what will happen to the older units at this point, but a Peek customer service rep says that while fried QWERTY candybars are no more, the unscathed Peeks might possibly be turned back on. "We are currently waiting on T-Mobile to decide our fate," the rep wrote, "There is still a CHANCE that the sky is not falling and older devices will continue to work." In the meantime, Sarva has an amusing instruction for affected customers looking to get in on the deal: "Just check your email." [Thanks, standingup]
Peek 9 confirmed to be real, announcement coming tomorrow
Hold onto your Peeks, people. A listing for a brand new Peek 9 has turned up on a few retailers' websites, and we've just confirmed with Peek CEO Amol Sarva that the device is indeed the real deal -- there had been a bit of confusion given it was listed under the two-way radio category on one site. Unfortunately, any details beyond the price you see above will have to wait until tomorrow, which means we can only speculate for the time being. Perhaps a FaceBook-only device to complement the TwitterPeek? A FacePeek, if you will.
Unbagging: Peek CEO Amol Sarva
Unbagging is a new feature inspired by one of our favorite Flickr groups: what's in your bag? The premise is simple -- empty out your bag, arrange what's inside, and snap a photo. Engadget will be taking a look inside the bags of some of the people we know and love in the tech world, combining our two favorite pastimes of gadgetry and voyeurism. Want to be included? Send an email to unbagging [at] engadget [dot] com with your submissions! Today's Unbagging installment comes from Peek CEO (and all around bon vivant) Amol Sarva. Clearly a man who loves the written word, you can see no less than three separate pieces of reading material here (though of course, two are made from dead trees -- do they still count?). If you want to see the whole list, click on through after the break. For a larger picture, as well as a group of reader submissions we've gotten, hit the gallery! %Gallery-74155%
Peek CEO: buy two Peeks, your next iPhone or G1 bill is on us
Yesterday we sat down for an interview with Amol Sarva, CEO of the email-handheld startup Peek. We're in the midst of transcribing what was a fairly interesting conversation, but in the middle of our chat he proposed a curious deal, and we wanted to put it out there (as well as see the company put its money where its mouth is). Sarva and co. are pretty convinced that while the Peek may not be the perfect device for the hardcore gadget junkie, it is the perfect device for their moms or girlfriends (or boyfriends, we assume) -- in fact, they're so convinced that they're offering to pay a month of said junkie's iPhone or G1 bill (up to $150) if they buy a Peek for their mom... and girlfriend. According to Amol, if you buy two of the devices (which you can get for $79.95 right now) and activate them, the company will cover your November cellphone bill. Amol himself will be heading up this project, and as long as you place your order by December 1st, you can make the magic happen. Wildly, Amol says to just email him with the account info at: amol (at) getpeek (dot) com.
