There is good news for all those who use Peek, the handy and extremely affordable QWERTY device that lets you access e-mail on the move. According to a mail that we have received, the Peek service is going to get upgraded on May 18. Improvements include “faster email delivery for many users, and the ability to view PDF attachments as images on your Peek.” The service will not be available for three hours (from 0730 hrs to 1030 hrs, Indian time) on May 18, while the upgrade takes place. Also, the upgrade will not let users view attachments of old mail downloaded before the upgrade. Still, if it delivers what it promises - the speed boost and the PDF handling - most Peek users in India, some of whom have been complaining about the service being a tad on the slow side, will be more than delighted.
Now, we just hope the folks at Peek can do something to bring down that Rs 299 per month rental for using the service, which we maintain remains on the high side, considering that Aircel (the network that offers the Peek) has an unlimited Mobile Internet access package of Rs 98 per month!
How do you buy gadget for someone who not just brought you into the world but has also played a major role in ensuring that you turned out the way you have? Yes, is is Mother’s Day on May 9 and if you are thinking of buying your mum a tech toy to show how much she means to you, we would suggest a fair degree of caution and preparation. For, let’s face it, mums are not generally the most tech-savvy people on the planet (heck, they do not need technology, unlike us lesser humans), but they sure are going to try their best to use whatever their offspring gives them (after yelling at them that there was no need for anything, of course. Of course!). While there are stacks of gadgets out there that might appeal to mothers, we have shortlisted five that we think are surefire hits with most mums. 
When Aircel launched Peek in India a few weeks ago, the initial reaction of most people was “why would someone buy a device that only does e-mail when they can get the same service on their handsets at a much lower cost?” It was a perfectly valid argument, as the Peek, notwithstanding its relatively low price of Rs 2,999, came with a monthly plan of Rs 299, which allowed one unlimited access to e-mail on the device - not bad really, but a tad on the high side, when one considered the fact that Aircel itself offered an unlimited Internet browsing option on phone connections for less than Rs. 100 per month.
It looks like a BlackBerry. And handles e-mail like a BlackBerry - letting you view and reply to mails the moment they arrive in your inbox. But unlike a BlackBerry, it does not do anything other than that. And before you start complaining, we should point out that it costs a fraction of a BlackBerry. We are talking of Peek, the e-mail-only device released by Aircel. It is a device that lets you access your mail on the move with a bright 2.5 inch screen and a very spacious QWERTY keypad. And all at a price of Rs 2,990, with unlimited mail access at the rate of Rs 299 per month, available on both prepaid and postpaid. It allows you to configure up to three e-mail accounts on it, including most popular Web mail services like Gmail, and also allows you to view (but not edit) MS Office and most popular image format attachments.
