A Very Social Phone

It was about time that someone came up with the concept of a phone that was dedicated to social networking. Designer Shane Crozier is on top things and has his finger on the pulse. 31337 (Elite) Phone connects to Facebook and Twitter and hooks up to the contacts to fill up the address book. Usual suspects like camera, speakerphone, music, video and internet functionality have been removed for the sake of functional transparency and ease of use. This minimal phone is good for inbound and outbound calls!

Details:

* All functions are controlled by the minimal 2 button, 2 dial interface, with a scrolling interface providing feedback.
* Height: 85.0mm
* Diameter: 15mm

Designer: Shane Crozier

Simply Connected, Peek Review

It’s an email device. That’s it. That’s all it does and like the tagline “simply connected,” it don’t get much simpler than this. Meet Peek. I’ve spent the past month using it as my exclusive go-to email device. Tho I have an iPhone, did the Peek meet my standards? Hit the jump to read my review

If you couldn’t tell from the pictures, it’s thin - very thin. The build is surprisingly sturdy and the rubberized face lends a sense of robustness in hand. The 2.5? screen isn’t the brightest or color dense but it gets the job done. The UI is pretty straight forward all controlled by the jog dial and back button on the side. If you’re familiar with Blackberries, you’ll feel right at home. The keys are raised and rubberized too. They’re clicky which is good but require a bit too much pressure to depress for my liking. The battery is removable but all you need is the supplied mini-USB a/c adapter to charge it.

You can only set up one email account, in my case I used GMAIL which sync’d beautifully. It can read attachments but beware, you’ll have to tag specific messages to save, otherwise old messages get deleted to make room for new ones. Receiving email was instantaneous and this is where this thing SHINES…

Wireless service comes with the Peek. You read right. No contracts, no limits, or caps. Just $19/month and your ready to go. Awesome right?

What we liked:

* Slim, consumer friendly looking device
* Easy to use
* Built-in themes
* Affordable monthly service
* 3 colors to choose from
* Only $49.95

What could be improved:

* Interface is slow at times
* Scrolling with the jog wheel isn’t accurate
* Battery life is short, lasts about a day and a half
* No email sorting, no junk filtering
* Screen color should be more dense for photo attachments
* 8MB memory too small

The Peek isn’t for everyone, especially if you already have a smartphone, but I don’t think pros are the Peek’s target market. This is for that friend or family member who wants their email on the go without all the complexities of a smartphone, contracts, and UI quirks. At $49, it’s a steal. Simply Connected, simply Peek. It’s email done right in one beautiful package.