Peek has released a beta of their first major firmware update.
Because the Peek was designed to be built cheaply (selling for as low as $20 on a no contract service plan), the device lacks common features in modern devices such as firmware over the air. It also doesn’t ship with a computer cable.
So, how is the device updated? Peek wants you to buy the upgrade cable, and then do the upgrade yourself. Peek owners might look at it and try to use a microUSB cable. Unfortunately, standard microUSB cables won’t work.
While Peek bears a microUSB port, it actually isn’t to USB specification. Indeed, the port is actually just a serial port with microUSB port shape. This makes it great for charging on the cheap, not so great for upgrading.
So, to upgrade, you have to buy a $17.99 cable from Peek to update the device.
Peek says that the update is worth the one-time payment, and that they will release future updates as more people adopt the cable. The 01.10 beta update offers a rewritten user interface, network performance improvements, and upgraded email viewer.
