Peek: The $100 E-mail-Only Device

With no calling, texting, IM or other features, the designers of the $100 Peek hope it will be able to outperform so-called convergence devices by concentrating on e-mail and e-mail alone.

Smartphones may be all about piling every feature possible into one device these days, but one manufacturer seems to be running against that tide with a new mobile device that does just one thing: e-mail. Call it a unitasker or divergence device if must, but the upcoming Peek has no voice capability, text-messaging or even a basic media player – all it does is send and receive e-mails.

Peek’s e-mail-only device is simply a slim rectangular block with a screen and QWERTY keyboard that can be configured to interface with just about any e-mail service, from your ISP’s POP mail to free accounts like Gmail and Hotmail. The founders of the company have one only goal: build a device that only does one thing, really, really well.

When it launches on Sept. 14 in retail stores like Target, the Peek will run only $100 without any contract, and service from T-Mobile will cost $20 a month.