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Articles tagged “Blackberry”

Product review – Peek mobile email device (part 2)

by Scott Carmichael on Sep 2, 2008

Welcome back to part 2 of my Peek review. A quick reminder; Peek is a pocket email device that will be on shelves at your local Target stores in 2 weeks for $99. Unlimited email service is $19.99 a month.

In this follow-up to my initial “unboxing”, I’ll describe my experience with Peek in real life use over the past couple of days.

Normally, I’ll receive email from all my accounts on one device; my Blackberry. For this test, I actually switched one account to the Peek so I could determine how well it would perform.

The Hardware

As I pointed out in my first look, the hardware impressed me a lot. The device feels great, it looks fantasic and they clearly put a lot of thought into the design. Peek is powered by a 700mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack, which is enough to get it through several days of average use.

It can be charged with the included MicroUSB charger. MicroUSB is becoming quite popular nowadays, and large companies like RIM (Blackberry) and Nokia are including it on their newest devices. Using a spare MicroUSB cable I had lying around, I tried to charge the device on my PC, but couldn’t get past the “unrecognized device detected” message on my desktop.

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The Interface

The same thought that went into the outside, has clearly also been applied to the inside. The interface is clean, bright and easy to navigate. Of course, since the device has just one function, it isn’t hard to find your way around.

Email notifications are provided through a vibrating alert, an audible alert and a blinking blue LED above the screen. The settings menu has options for vibrate, 3 levels of audio and silent.

On the email screen, the device displays 8 emails with the sender, subject and time/date. Above the email list, is a signal indicator, battery indicator and the time/date. Next to those is an activity indicator that starts spinning when an email is being sent or received.

In the main email screen, the menu is activated by pressing the scroll wheel. The options in this menu are:

open email
new email
reply, reply all
save email
mark read/unread
delete email
Sent folder
Drafts folder
Saved folder
Trash folder
Send/receive
Contacts
Peek Manager

The “Peek Manager” screen is where the system settings can be found. Options are present for setting up your email accounts, registering a credit card to pay for the service, sounds/alerts, backlight settings and a choice of 3 different color themes (dusk, tangerine and spring).

Email performance

I did several email tests both sending and receiving emails from the Peek. On average, an email sent to the device arrived in about 5 minutes. Email sent from the device arrived on my desktop anywhere from 30 seconds to 4 minutes later. Since the device won’t be used by the Blackberry crowd where every second counts, I don’t think these times will bother anyone.

Peek for travelers

Peek operates on the T-mobile nationwide network, which covers most of the country. Peek does not allow international roaming with their device, so once you leave the United States, the device will no longer function. Since the device only provides access to email, you also won’t be able to browse flight update information or other online sources of travel news unless it is email based.

The cost

The cost model for getting a Peek is simple; $99 out the door, and $19.95 per month for service. There is no contract and no credit check involved. The device comes with 30 days of service, and to keep that service going, you provide Peek with a credit or debit card. That is all there is to it. No paperwork, no long term commitment and as long as you have a valid credit card, you are good to go.

I’ll admit that my initial reaction was “that is too expensive”. Then I looked into the alternatives. There really aren’t any. It’s not hard to get email on a device, most mobile phones currently have some form of email included, but to get that on a prepaid or commitment free device is much harder.

The only close competitor is the T-mobile Sidekick. This swivel-screen mobile phone has been available on a prepaid plan for several years. The downside to this plan is that you’ll have to pay the full unconnected price to purchase the Sidekick, which is between $299 and $499 depending on the model. The Sidekick prepaid service costs $1 per day, which includes unlimited email and SMS messages. Of course, because this is a regular prepaid phone, you’ll also be able to make phone calls on the device.

Other alternatives involve purchasing a separate smartphone, Blackberry or iPhone. Each of these solutions will usually end up costing more than the Peek. The only solution that costs the same as the Peek service is adding a T-mobile Blackberry to an existing Family Plan ($9.95 for the line, and $9.95 for email-only Blackberry service). Of course, as with all line additions on a mobile carrier, this solution will come with a 2 year contract.

Final thoughts

When you tell a geek about a product like Peek, their natural reaction will be to think it’s a crazy concept. $100 for something that only does email? Preposterous! They’ll show their iPhone and its GPS enabled Wi-Fi surfing superiority. But to be honest, I doubt that really is the target audience for Peek. When I talk to less technology savvy people, their number one complaint is that most products nowadays do too much. Many of them just want something that can make a phone call, or a camera that just makes photos without trying to be too cocky.

I won’t go so far as saying that Peek is designed for the Jitterbug generation, but it really is perfect for anyone who just wants email, and wants to be left alone the rest of the time. I’d have a hard time trying to convince a corporate email user that Peek could replace his Blackberry, and I would probably be killed if I tried to swap someones iPhone for a Peek.

But even as a hardcore geek, I think Peek is cute. It does one thing, and it does it really well, in a well presented manner, without trying to seem too smart. It is the perfect solution if you want to give your kids email access without the risk of costs spiraling out of control.

There is however a downside to being too easy; I can’t help feel that Peek has removed just a little too much. I’ll cut them some slack for not including email filters, or any kind of Exchange server compatibility. But the device does not even offer a password protection feature. When I asked a Peek representative about this, they let me know that they are constantly improving the features on the device, so it is certainly something that might appear in a future update.

Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services

by Jeremy Kressmann on Jun 10, 2008

Traveling for me evokes memories of ancient explorers, navigating across vast oceans with only a sextant and the light of the stars and moon. Or the arduous journey of Lewis and Clark as they mapped a slow path across the great wilderness of the Louisiana Purchase. We’ve certainly come a long way since then in terms of navigation – in fact the now-ubiquitous availability of handheld GPS units and Google Maps has made finding your way around in unknown places a cinch.

But in fact, GPS and Google Maps is only the beginning. As we saw with yesterday’s new 3G iPhone with built-in GPS, we’re in the midst of a new era of “location aware devices.” This includes everything from from cameras with geotagging to “location-aware” mobile phones which promise to revolutionize the way we travel and gather information for our trips. Follow along and we’ll take you through Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services.

Mobile Phones and Location Based Services
A whole range of mobile devices are now on the market that can pinpoint your exact location. Companies like Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola and Apple all make devices which can access this information over the network. This has enabled a huge range of new ways to use your phone, from getting turn-by-turn driving directions to more advanced applications that combine the power of social networks with your location. Services like Where and Socialight not only know where you are, they also let you access location-specific “tags” left by other users in popular locations. Want to know the best place to grab a drink when most bars close at 11pm in London? Find the closest late-night pub by subscribing to Socialight’s “Late London” channel. Looking for a place to cool off this summer in the Northeast United States? Check out the “Swimming holes” group. Drank too much coffee this morning? Better get MizPee. The best part of all this is that the recommendations are based on your location, so you can find the most interesting/useful spots closest to you relatively quickly – no guidebook required.

Geotagging and Photography
Not only does your mobile phone know where you are, your camera is also getting in on the act too. Tools like this Sony GPS unit let you add location data to your snapshots, providing a whole new dimension to your digital scrapbook. Perhaps you’re trying to track down that street in Austin where you took a photo of the great Mexican restaurant? Not a problem, just check out the location data embedded in your image and the next time you’re there, you can swing by for a few tacos. Even popular photo-sharing site Flickr has gotten in on the trend, allowing you to view maps of destinations with popular photos pinpointed to where they were taken. Interestingly enough, there are now even cameras on the market that have built-in GPS capabiltiies.

GPS Just for Fun
In addition to GPS-equipped phones and cameras, there are also plenty of other ways you can use GPS devices just for goofing around. Sony’s popular PlayStation Portable offers a GPS add-on, allowing you to access location data for some of your favorite games like Metal Gear Solid to unlock special bonus characters. And you’ve probably heard by now about the artwork people have been creating using GPS software. Even though the recent DHL piece proved to be a hoax, other copycats have already followed suit. Of course, no article about GPS would be complete without a mention of everyone’s favorite GPS activity, geocaching. If you want to take it step further, you might even use GPS to create a life-size game of Pac-Man for yourself. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Not only do these new location-aware devices services provide us with useful information, they promise to change the way we travel. We are no longer tied to the recommendations of guidebooks. We can call upon user-created information about places to make informed decisions about what to see and where to go. We can take a look at a tiny street in a far-away land, without ever having to step foot there. Or we can use these new services for just plain fun. As location-based devices and services become cheaper and more widespread, they can only serve to help us make more informed travel decisions in the future.

Use a cell phone to secure your Southwest Airlines boarding pass

by Justin Glow on Mar 27, 2008

Over a year ago, I wrote about how you can print your Southwest Airlines boarding pass without a printer, but since then I got a Blackberry and have adapted the same concept to a cell phone.

Two weekends ago, I was in Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day, and instead of leaving the party mid-day Saturday to find a computer to check in and get my “A” boarding pass for our Sunday flight back home, I used my cell phone’s Internet browser to login to Southwest Airline’s website. Once I entered in my information, it took me to the screen where I could select the passengers to check in and hit “print boarding pass.”

Obviously I didn’t have a printer attached to my cell phone, but with Southwest’s system it doesn’t matter. I was able to see on-screen that I had secured an “A” boarding pass, so I closed out of it and continued on my marry way. Come Sunday, hungover and ready for the flight back home, we arrived at Midway and found a SWA check-in kiosk. There I swiped my credit card, and instead of selecting “print boarding pass,” I selected “re-print boarding pass.”

Southwest does this in case you lose your boarding pass or run out of printer ink mid-print, but it’s perfect for checking in using your cell phone or printing your boarding pass if you don’t have a printer at home, but still want that coveted “A” position. Give it a try.

Driving–Into Others–While on Your Blackberry

by Iva Skoch on Dec 6, 2006

I’m sure many of us have done it, tapping on a cellphone, mp3 player, or other mobile device while driving. But there are costs to being wired and distracted while traveling, and we should avoid these dangerous activities when we’re in control of several tons of steel.

A Washington man driving in the express lanes on I-5 near Seattle caused a chain-reaction car collision yesterday, after failing to notice traffic in front of him had stopped. The reason? He was tapping away on his Blackberry.

By some strange luck, no one was seriously injured, although the collisions involved 28 passengers on a bus plus four cars. Folks: let’s set the cellphone, Blackberry, and iPod aside while behind the wheel, please. While we’re at it, let’s put away the make-up and newspaper, too. Driving, like traveling, requires our attention: “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”