Peeks in action
Update: Some sexy shots of our lovely Peeks!
–
Peeks are getting out there. Exciting!
We’re always impressed by the lovely and careful photography people do of our little Peek. It sure is lovely. We’re glad they take care.
(from GeekSugar)
(from Gadling)
(from CNET)
Update: lots more really nice pictures at Chip Chick and Mobile Burn
Your phone doesn’t even have javascript???
Some of those tech bloggers who’ve been “helping us out” with their ideas kind of remind me of this friendly guy from the 90’s…
From Peek’s inbox
What a week for us here at Peek. All the big tech blogs caught wind of our upcoming little product, and boy did a lot of people notice! We got lots of love notes, orders, and general “hey, thanks for making something that flies in the face of the gadget conventional wisdom that more is better”-type messages and comments. Thanks!
Here is what various people said to us as they first heard about Peek:
I … am fairly interested in the Peek. Most of my job consists of answering emails for software support and company PR; it’s nothing too high profile and definitely doesn’t warrant use of a whole computer. I’d also like business to be separate from normal life stuff just to keep things organized and having a dedicated little thing that I take everywhere with me sounds pretty helpful. Basically all I want is email.
Why am I excited about your product? I this is a big O’ goofy world and I have plenty of room in my bag for your product. Best of Luck looking forward to my PEEK.
Thanks - I really appreciate it. I think your product is a great idea - I have an iPhone and have had several Blackberries, but my favorite is still the 950, which you mentioned. Just recently I was trying to determine if anyone still operated the old Mobitex network - I believe it was purchased, but couldn’t really get much info. The bottom line is that with all of the full-featured devices flooding the market, a simple device that just does one thing well may be the answer - good luck with it!
I want to say thank you for going against what everyone else thinks is “conventional”. You’re absolutely right, the geeks won’t think too much of this device, but I can think of a dozen people that would love to have your Peek(r).
I would love a ‘peek’ at this new product. I am frustrated by [other phones] and am trying to find the ideal, affordable email device. Please send me a sample if possible! I just graduated from Harvard Business School and will promote the gadget to my colleagues who are all in the market for a smartphone/email device as well. Thanks!!
Hear the music jingle in the background, and a voice comes on - only to say, “please wait while our customer representatives will be with you shortly”. Oh gosh. Even the best carrier I’ve experienced needed at least 1 telephone call / check-up in person.
And why do so handsets still have so many bugs, lags, crashes… etc. in their software, even after rigorous testing? Bottom line, things need to just work - properly and seamlessly.Time is crucial, I don’t want to spend too much time fiddling the new handset just to get it to work.
Being “chained” to a carrier for years - no thanks. Having experienced [a] 3-year contract, any contract is hard to swallow. I hate how everywhere, people fail to realise the initial attraction of lower initial purchase price, is what makes them pay more to the cell phone carriers in the long run. There is always a better monthly plan with more offerings after couple of months. That’s how carriers attract more customers or switch from competitors. Carriers never “lose” money when selling a handset for a hundred bucks less. They can easily recuperate it within the couple of months - that’s right, from your month bills. … Signing at the bottom of any agreement is like signing your soul away.
I can easily think of scenarios like this - hiking trip, going out at night.
I don’t mind carrying [my smartphone] because it’s cool looking, thin and well designed … Only thing is it’s kinda heavy and I would get in great trouble if I lose it (confidential information from work, personal e-mails). So I worry a little bit. Sometimes, I do appreciate just having a separate simple phone (like the Razr) for that kind of day/event.Just think, when you’re out at night and a girl gives you her digits. She offers to punch it in for you and holds on to your QWERT BlackBerry Curve, Samsung Blackjack… etc. And then, “wow, where are the numbers”, or “where do I type”… Awkward. Thick, wide, QWERTY keyboard all over the front - not sexy at all. Yes, a simple phone like the Razr would have helped in that case.
And good luck with the device… I think the concept is great! I don’t think people need to buy their email device from the same place as their phone. You’ve got the right product at the right time.
I just wanted to say that I really like your idea and will probably buy one when it comes out. I am sick and tired of Blackberries and 2-year contracts. Make sure it looks great, it is slim, and handles e-mail really well (like several different accounts in one device) and I am onboard. I think you are on to something and wanted to send a positive message. I wish you lots of success…
What’s in your bag?
When you hang out with “industry” people too much, you start to think like them. As we started to create Peek a while back, we found ourselves around a lot of mobile industry people. And there was a lot of pressure to start thinking like them.
One of the big ways “they” think is like this: mobile phones are these great little computers and we just can’t wait till you can do everything on them from call your friends to book airline tickets to write term papers to watch TV to exercise more to…. In fact, why would you ever need anything besides a mobile phone? And who in their right mind would want to carry anything at all besides their phone?
Well, maybe that’s putting it a bit strong. But we have had to listen to a lot of such people along the way.
“It’s all converging. One device will do everything…as soon as the next such-and-such comes out.”
Indeed, there are lots of pretty impressive smartphones out there. But one thing we just can’t get over: nobody carries “just one thing.” We’ve been noticing it for years — going to business meetings and seeing people with PDAs and email devices and cell phones on the conference table; hanging out with friends and seeing them whip out point-and-shoot digital cameras, handheld game players, and a flip cell phone.
We surveyed about 1000 people and found that of the people with smartphones, 45% of them have two cell phones. Rubicon Consulting did a study that found a third of iPhone users carry two phones.
The data got us thinking. And looking around.
Some people have a lot of stuff! Which made us think — despite all this convergence talk for the last ten years, there have a been a series of really huge and successful products: more than 100 million mp3 players out there; game players like the Nintendo DS (which has sold more than 75 million units) are among the most successful products ever; pocket digital cameras are rocking along faster than ever; personal navigation devices are growing at triple digit rates; and check out the point-and-shoot video cameras cropping up everywhere!
The picture above is pretty extreme, but here is something totally real world: a bag from really close to home (mine) with a bunch of things in it (a phone, a PDA, a mirror, keys, sunglasses, a USB key, a Target gift card, etc. etc. etc.)
Through the magic of the Internet, there are just tons of other folks that were kind enough to provide us with a little market research with their what’s in your bag group on Flickr. Check these out for yourself:
http://flickr.com/photos/smokingpermitted/6781495/
http://flickr.com/photos/electrichamster/1954690088/
The vast majority of regular people carry various stuff for various occasions — and we think mobile email fits that mold. Carry it when you are running errands, leave it behind when you head out on Friday night.
So if you need a swiss army knife, Peek isn’t for you. If you want something that’s totally easy and great at what it does — say hello to Peek!
Email… bankruptcy?
There has been an interesting little trendlet in the last year or so among tech geeks that we have been watching with amusement. Too much email!
Well, that’s not the trend. Since the first buzz wore off upon getting your first Hotmail account or AOL account back in the 1990s, you probably had too much email. One too many forwarded jokes or free offers…
The trend is “email bankruptcy”. Some high tech types have been “switching off” and just deleting all their emails or telling people to stop emailing them altogether. Here is a good run down of some of these people.
Kind of an extreme option.
Email is so handy and convenient that we at Peek can’t imagine going that far.
Sure, you need to stay on top of your emails to be organized. Going away for a long weekend…being away from home driving Mom’s Taxi all day…or just not bothering to go switch on that fussy Windows PC in the basement… all good ways to get yourself a big full inbox with tons of stuff to wade through. Scary.
But we love keeping in touch with family, seeing pictures of babies and trips, planning out gatherings, etc etc etc and email is the way we do it.
So, what to do about that overload issue? Run to an Internet cafe when you are on a trip? Interrupt dinner to go watch your computer boot up? Nope.
We think we have a better idea! And it’s coming soon to a store near you.
Update
A friend from AOL read this post and sent us this great link about research they did — http://www.crazyforemail.com
It’s full of tidbits about the way people use email. But the bottom line is they use it a lot!
The biggest one is that 46% of the people they surveyed say they are “hooked on email”.
Email as a way of life
People email a lot. It’s amazing to think that in the last 10 years, email has become the main way to reach lots of people — better than letters for sure and often better than telephone calls.
As we started working on creating Peek, we thought a lot about how people communicate these days. Of all the things people do on the Internet — and these days it’s lots of stuff — email is usually the first reason they got online and still the #1 thing they do online. Research we saw from the Pew Internet and American Life Project recently gave us an updated view on something that has been true for a while: email is the #1 thing people do online and it’s still growing. 60% of people who use the Internet do email daily or more.
Some other folks who read this research were impressed that “web search” was catching up (also these folks). So were we — but we were more impressed that emailing was way, way more frequently used than all the other stuff!
Email is really central to the way people communicate — and the time they spend on it is the proof that it matters. So then why do most people have to wait till the end of the day, or until they get off work, or until they are back home sitting in their den to get on email…?
We think we know the reason. And Peek is going to fix it.
How Peek started
Peek was born on a walk in the park. Well, kind of. Here’s the short version:
My partner was pregnant with our first child, and it was getting uncomfortable to sit around the house. So we would go on big walks - 1, 2, 3 hours at a time. Most parents are familiar with this phase. For me this was just good outdoor time — I was on my email and on my cell phone the whole time.
But for Ursula, a few hours out of the house was a few hours away from her lifeline: her inbox. The longer we’d walk, the more emails there would be piled up for her when we got back home. Friends, family, work, etc, etc contacted her by email. Her cell phone would ring rarely; most stuff was email. And the longer we’d walk, the more she would get inbox anxiety. “What’s waiting for me to get to at home?”
When I tried to get her to use a smartphone to check her email, the idea for Peek was born. Smartphones are too complicated and tricky and costly and just not made for someone like her. They are businessy and techy but not easy. It took just one look from her to say it all. “You want me to carry that THING around?”
So we decided to make Peek: a beautiful, thin, little gadget that is super easy and accessible as a way to keep on top of your emails any time, anywhere. Voila! The story of Peek.
Peek says hello
Welcome to Peek Speaks. We want to say hello to you. And share our thoughts on creating a terrific new mobile email service that anybody can use to stay connected to their world wherever they are, whenever.
Archives
Categories
Recent posts
A gadget just for Twitter? WTF!Nifty Ways to Use TwitterPeek
Q&A on TwitterPeek
Just hatched
Trick-Treat-or-Peek
Peek now at Blockbuster
It’s Peek to the Rescue
Lifetime: A Peek for all seasons
Oh, Gmail…
1st Peekiversary