About two weeks ago I was strolling through Target and noticed that the Peek email device had dropped to $49.99. I can’t say that I need to have constant email service, but it would be nice. So I decided to take a chance and buy it. This is how I rationalized my purchase:

·         I am getting rid of my iPhone and the whole too-expensive-for-what-I-am-getting parasitical cell phone bill.

·         The Peek requires no contract and the $20 a month is a lot better than what I am paying for my cell phone now.

·         Since there is no contract, I can quit and return anytime that I want. In these rough economic times, this can really save me some money and still feel connected.

·         Peek is adding text messaging features

·         I can have Daily Lit sent to my Peek and actually really read a book via email. I tried doing on my Nokia N800 and it didn’t work out well for me.

·         It was on sale and I could resist. It’s been awhile since I bought a gadget on a whim.

To make sure I can stop service whenever I want, I got a pre-paid debit card. It works great and is even listed as a suggestion on the Peek support site. I also went to their Peek Boutique page and bought an upgrade cable. Set up was almost instantaneous. The unit I bought had v1.04 and their newest firmware is 1.08. Upgrading to the newest firmware was much more tedious. Much of that was my fault. So now I am up and running and have been trying out my new toy.  So far I don’t really see too many differences in the two versions other than more keypad shortcuts.

Tomorrow, I plan to post my review of the unit in light of the newest Peek being available. For right now I do want to point out something that I read on their discussion board today. Even if you buy or already own the first gen Peek you will be able to upgrade to the same features as the Peek Pronto for free. I believe the only differences are that the new gen device will have a softer keypad, push email, and being able to receive email from three more different accounts.

If you are interested in one, check out your local Target. I hear that in some places it is as low as $35.00