Peek Wireless Email Messenger reviewed: Oversimplified?

The Peek wireless email device seems to polarize opinion; some people are quite drawn to its simplicity and dedication of purpose, while others scoff at the concept of something only doing one task when we expect every other gadget we carry to do multiple.  Gear Diary picked up one of the $99 handhelds and have been testing it out: after all, if you're only going to do one thing, you'd better do it right.

Size-wise, the Peek is thinner than many smartphones, and the setup is more straightforward too.  Charge, turn on, enter your email account details (username and password) and that's it – the device will automatically check for new mail every 5 to 15 minutes.  There's no way to manually check.

There's a question over the pricing of the device – there's a $19.95 monthly fee for unlimited email use – and some people will be turned off by the lack of even web browsing and the missing customization.  The keyboard could also be a love-it-or-hate-it thing. 

I'm still not convinced, but Gear Diary seem happy.  Check out the full review for all the details.