Peek Pronto Handheld Does Email, Texting Faster

Too much hassle to carry a BlackBerry, iPhone or any other smartphone? Not worried about having two devices on you at the same time for mobile communication? If you managed to fit into the narrow niche we just described, Peek's newest handheld is probably right down your alley. For those out of the loop, Peek sells handsets that look much like QWERTY-based smartphones produced by the likes of RIM, but instead of making phone calls, these devices strictly do email. In other words, this is your personal email assistant, but not your cellular telephone or mobile web browsing assistant. Weird, right?

At any rate, the outfit has just unveiled its second-ever device, the Pronto. Unlike the original Peek -- which will still be offered as the 'Peek Classic' for $49.95 -- the Pronto adds in unlimited text massaging and Push email notifications. Moreover, it provides compatibility with Microsoft Exchange, the ability to view images / PDFs / Word documents, access to up to five email accounts, an email search function, 50% faster software and a larger font size option for those with trouble seeing tiny screens.



Basically, what $79.95 gets you is yet another device to carry around alongside your cellphone, but it supposedly handles email on-the-go about as good as any smartphone on the market. That said, there's still a painful $19.95 monthly fee to swallow (but no contract to speak of), as all that Push email and unlimited texting won't just happen for free. If you're intrigued, you can order a Pronto today exclusively on Amazon.com, and retail lovers can wait until April to pick one up at Radio Shack.