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Peek (mobile Internet device)

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Peek
ManufacturersPeek, Inc.
Availability by regionUnited States September 2008
Compatible networksPeek, T-Mobile, KPN, Aircel
Dimensions4.0" × 2.7" × 0.4"
Weight3.8 oz (109 grams)
Operating systemPeekux SDK on Mentor Graphics Nucleus
CPU104 MHz.
Memory8 MB internal storage
Display2.5" diagonal
ConnectivityGSM tri-band US, Euro, India
Data inputsQWERTY keyboard,
scroll wheel,
back button.
Peek, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryMobile Internet
Founded2007
HeadquartersUnited States New York, NY
WebsitePeek

Peek Inc. is a mobile technology company headquartered in New York, NY. Its flagship product is the Peek 9, the 2010 version of its mobile Internet device that originally debuted as an email-only mobile handheld device in September 2008 to awards such as Time's "Gadget of the Year" and Wired's "#1 Gadget".

Company

Peek was founded in 2007 by three of the first four employees at Virgin Mobile USA [1] -- Rob Gray (Virgin's first head of product marketing), Amol Sarva (Virgin's first head of non-voice applications and its finance director), and John Tantum (its first employee and first President [2]). The company has offices in New York, NY, New Delhi, India and staff in Arizona, California, and Toronto, ON.

Peek device and software

Peek is an alternative to multi-featured smartphones that provide a variety of services and applications at the cost of greater complexity and higher prices. Unlike traditional converged devices that may offer voice, SMS, email, etc., Peek is a "diverged", special purpose product that is designed just for mobile e-mail, in the way that Flip Video cameras are for video only or Amazon Kindles are for reading only.

In 2009, Peek launched the Peek Pronto, which made the Peek email service real-time and added SMS. In 2010, Peek refreshed the lineup with the Peek 9, product, which adds Twitter, Facebook, Maps, Weather, and other real-time web service utilities. Peek 9 is still not a voice phone or web browsing device.

The Peek service operates anywhere in the world with GSM networks over GPRS data connection. In the United States, Peek operates primarily on the GSM wireless network operated by T-Mobile. There is a flat monthly service fee for unlimited email and SMS with unlimited accounts on the Peek 9. The fee ranges from about $10/month up to $20, depending on the plan selected.

Peek's messaging services include link previewing and attachment viewing for images, office documents, and PDFs.

History

In September 2008, the original Peek email device launched in Target stores across the United States. On September 12, 2008, Peek received its first review in a major outlet when David Pogue called it "sweet", "simple", "elegant" and predicted that Peek's model would win "quiet, gradual popular acceptance by normal people". [3]

In April 2009, Peek launched their second device, the Peek Pronto, which supports Push email ('instant' delivery), Microsoft Exchange, increased support for email attachments (PDFs, DOC and pictures), and unlimited texting support.

TwitterPeek, introduced in November 2009, is a mobile device that allows users to send and receive tweets using Twitter. It is the first Twitter-only mobile device. It went on sale on November 3, 2009.[4]

Technology

The Peek device was designed by Peek in partnership with IDEO and BYD, and its architecture is based on the Texas Instruments Locosto chipset with an ARM core. It uses a customized, lightweight operating system nicknamed "Peekux" which is based on Nucleus RTOS by Mentor Graphics [5]

The Peek client firmware is C/C++ code written for the the TI environment. Flavors of the Peek application for alternative operating environments from other RTOSes, to BREW, to Windows, to Android have all been spotted. [6]

The core of Peek's real time mobile messaging platform is a cloud application. The environment is a conventional web application LAMP stack and relies in part on Amazon Web Services. [7]

Reception

Time selected Peek as one of the 50 Best Inventions of the Year 2008.[8] It was voted on Time.com as the #1 entry in the Gadget of the Year review.

Elizabeth Woyke of Forbes wrote, "at a time when the economy is melting and one-time bankers are on the street [Peek] is betting customers will embrace the no-fuss simplicity - not to mention the modest price - of the Peek."[9]

Tony Long, a journalist of Gadget Lab from Wired.com reviewed Peek as a device that "delivers peak email performance" and that using the device was "a breeze... even without operating instructions". He recommended the Peek device to those who would like access to their "e-mail from time to time, or if [they] believe that simplicity in all things is the key to life".[10]

Wired Magazine's December 2008 issue named Peek their #1 Gadget on their "Gear of the Year" review: "Not every gadget needs a carnival of features. Take the Peek, which tackles just a single task: mobile email. No phone, no browser, no camera—and no apologies. It won't satisfy convergence-rabid smartphone fetishists, but for the rest of the world (i.e., the majority of it), this one-trick pony is a godsend. In terms of looks, its slim profile stands up to the big boys. But the real treat is the interface." [11]

After the Peek Pronto launch, International Design Magazine featured Peek Pronto on the cover of its 2009 -- and final -- Annual Design Review.[12]

TwitterPeek, on the other hand, met broad skepticism in the press.[13][14][15] CNN.com 2009 Year in Review listed it as one of the top 10 biggest technology failures of 2009.[13] Gizmodo went as far as to name TwitterPeek as one of the "50 Worst Gadgets of the Decade."[15]

In 2010, Peek 9's enhanced features were met by Engadget's reviewers as "dancing with a full list of features" and "Peek 9 is nine times faster than Pronto, adds PeekMaps, weather, Twitter, and Facebook". [16] TechCrunch's gadget reviewers said Peek 9 "brings a whole new level of cool to the not-a-smartphone device. It seems nearly everything is updated from the mail service to the hardware. It’s a mighty big update for Peek, but somehow all this goodness rings up for less than the previous generation — even the service plan is cheaper now." [17]

Peek Pronto end of life

On October 14, 2010, older Peek devices were disconnected from the network[18] and Peek claimed that it offered all its users a free, new replacement Peek 9 device; but on the contrary the devices were sold for a dollar and also included significant shipping charges. All users who did not convert to the new Peek9 were no longer supported even though they had paid their bill in advance. The act of removing all Peek Pronto devices from the working network has been the subject of much animosity and discussions regarding the business practices of Peek Inc.[19]

Next generation Peeks

Beginning 2011, mobile devices designed and manufactured by consumer electronics brands globally have begun to appear with Peek software connecting them to Peek's cloud platform for smart devices. The next-generation Peek approach focused on powering devices including smartphones but beyond phone-centric devices into tablets, netbooks, and other household and non-mobile consumer electronics. [20]


References

  1. ^ "Peek-ing at Your E-Mail". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  2. ^ "Virgin phone service to reach U.S. shores". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  3. ^ "Nontechies, This one's for you". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  4. ^ LaVallee, Andrew (November 3, 2009). "Peek's Twitter-Only Device Goes On Sale". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  5. ^ "How to hack-not hack the Peek". Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  6. ^ "GeekyPeek Blog". Retrieved 2010-12-11.
  7. ^ "GeekyPeek Blog". Retrieved 2010-12-11.
  8. ^ "50 Best Invention of the Year 2008: Peek". Time. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  9. ^ "Gadgets We Crave:Time For Simplicity". Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  10. ^ "Review: Peek Device Delivers Peak Email Performance And Not Much Else". Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  11. ^ "This Mobile Device Only Does Email — Perfectly". Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  12. ^ "I.D. Annual Design Review". Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  13. ^ a b "#%*@#! The top 10 tech 'fails' of 2009". CNN. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  14. ^ "Best and Worst Tech Gadgets of 2009". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  15. ^ a b "The 50 Worst Gadgets of the Decade". Gizmodo. December 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  16. ^ "Peek 9 is 9 times faster". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  17. ^ "The Brand New Peek 9 Brings Apps, Facebook, Twitter, PeekMaps, RSS, Weather And A Generous Speed Bump". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  18. ^ "Massive Peek outage kills older peek devices". Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  19. ^ "Peek FAQs". Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  20. ^ "GigaOm profile of Peek's 2011 strategy". Retrieved 2011-01-31.
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