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Cyber Wednesday brings half price Peek service, discounted Wii
Ever heard of Cyber Wednesday? Yeah, same here. But seriously -- when's the last time you heard us kvetch over a deal? Effective today only, Peek's email-only handhelds are being offered up with lifetime service for half of the normal price. Buy any Peek handheld and you'll get service for just $9.99 per month for as long as you keep the device, which is certainly a bargain compared to the $19.99 that's typically charged. In other news, Wally World has announced that from December 5th through the 12th (while supplies last, obviously), a $50 gift card will be handed over when you purchase a Wii console in-store. Just think -- Walmart is actually incenting you to buy a Wii. Man, how the times have changed.
Peek offers disgruntled Sidekick owners a free Pronto, internet high-five
As Microsoft and Apple have so precisely demonstrated, there's nothing like a face full of egg to make the competition fire up the sucker punch machine. Take Peek, for example, who is now offering angered Sidekick users (you know, the ones that probably lost all of their data recently) a gratis Pronto for their trouble. All that's required is an image of you, a frowny face, your wiped Sidekick and a T-Mobile bill -- once that's sent over to Peek's dedicated inbox, you'll soon receive your Pronto in the mail. 'Course, it's up to you to foot the $20 monthly bill for keeping the thing active, but hey, free's free. Kind of.
Peek manages to survive a whole year, promises more features for year two
We actually first caught wind of the Peek email-only handheld around 13 months ago, but today Peek is celebrating its first year as a company with a shipping product. During the past year, it has managed to ship two distinct devices and a good bit of functionality, but most importantly, it has managed to survive. Not sure if you've noticed, but the past dozen months have been twelve of the most tumultuous (financially, anyway) in American history, yet this startup is still going strong and looking forward to a second year full of "new features and services" and even a few international launches. Generally we don't stop to wish companies a happy first birthday, but seriously -- how many of you expected this firm to be around in late 2009?Read - First Peek birthdayRead - Tales of survival
Peek issues call for developers, yearns to build Linux-infused model
Peek always has been a company for the people, with its suits sitting down late last year to listen intently to input from users regarding hacks and tweaks. Now, the outfit's looking for a bona fide Linux guru, someone who could get Linux running on the Peek's ARM7 processor and look suave doing it. The kicker? Should you succeed (and impress), you could score a "mini-consulting gig" with the top brass at Peek, and your work could one day revolutionize the fabled email-only handheld. Seriously, there's nothing but fear and debilitating hesitation stopping you, so once you're over that, hit the read link and get to work.[Via SlashGear]
Peek arrives for small businesses in $149 5-pack
As Peek continues to poke, prod and experiment in order to find the best niche(s) to serve, it has now pushed out a sweetly priced 5-pack designed for small businesses. Reportedly, "lots" of these smaller operations have been looking for "more affordable solutions" to everyone toting BlackBerry devices, and this is Peek's answer to that so-called demand. The offer, which delivers five Peek email-only handhelds for $149.95, is set to expire on April 3rd, and business owners should still be aware that each handset will require a $19.95 monthly fee to stay connected. Peek's David Madden has informed us that this offer is just the tip of the iceberg, noting that it has "a few more tricks up its sleeves for the SMB market." We're literally on the edge of our seats here -- aren't you?
Peek finds that Costco customers greatly prefer lifetime subscriptions
We're not about to say "we told you so," but Peek's own David Madden has contacted us with a detail so telling that we simply had to pass it on. In an effort to understand whether the email-only handheld really would sell better if not hamstrung by monthly fees, it has been offering it up in two forms at Costco. A "$44 + monthly fees" package and an all-inclusive "Peek-for-life" bundle that sells for $399. So far, a whopping 70 percent of sales have been for the lifetime Peek, despite the fact that said bundle is a Benjamin more expensive than Peek's own one-day lifetime sale earlier this year. He also goes on to say that this pricing strategy (the no monthly fees one) "may yet be vindicated," hinting that the model could become a permanent option in the future. Oh, and we told you so.
Peek for Life: $299.95 one-day sale means no monthly fees
Our biggest gripe with the Peek email-only handheld has always been the incredibly annoying $19.95 per month data plan. If you jump in today, however, you can forget all about those recurring charges. It seems the suits at Peek have finally stumbled upon what could actually be a viable business model for this unique handset, as they're offering the unit up for $299.95 with data included for the life of the device. Unfortunately, the deal is a one-day only affair, but truthfully, we fully expect this option to become the norm in the not-too-distant future.
Video: eccentric Peek demonstration highlights the pain of 2-year contracts
Most of the world probably missed this stunt because of how short lived it really was (thanks, NYPD!), but at any rate, we found it wacky enough to pass along. Back in late November, a few Peek faithful donned prisoner uniforms and walked around chained to BlackBerry Storms on the day Verizon launched the touchscreen RIM device. Naturally, Verizon officials were none too pleased, and everyone involved in the protest was asked to leave shortly after they arrived. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube (vid's after the break), you'll be able to watch it over, and over, and over again. Death to contracts... er, something![Via SlashGear]Read - Peek's take on the eventRead - YouTube video of the prank
Peek email-only handheld already discounted $20
The Peek email-only handheld got a peculiar amount of praise given how, shall we say, non-multifaceted is it, but even being atop Time's "Gadget Of The Year" poll couldn't save it from an imminent price cut. Yes friends -- nary two months after this here device began shipping, its creator is already knocking a Jackson off of the purchase price. Sure, the site says "limited time only," but as with Celio's REDFLY, we have all ideas the sticker will be sinking lower before it shoots back up. Monthly service is still situated at $19.95 per month, but you can snag yours now in Black Cherry, Charcoal Gray or Aqua Blue for the low, low price of $79.95.[Via Gadling]
Peek email-only handheld now available for pre-order, in stores Monday
Man, the Peek email-only handheld must really be, uh, piquing people's interest -- it just went up for pre-orders and two of the three colors are already backordered a week. The $100 device should also be showing up in Targets nationwide Monday, so if you're as curious as we are they'll be easy to impulse purchase in person as well. Too bad that you're locked into that $19.95/mo data plan as your only option, though -- if we could somehow use our existing data plan or even pay a flat fee upfront for lifetime service we'd be way more likely to snag one. Anyone else picking one up?[Via Silicon Alley Insider]
