The original Peek was something of a curiosity when it came out last year, and the new Pronto is still a head scratcher. It's a no-bones-about-it handheld email device that's cheap and simple, with a decidedly attractive spartan look marred by an ugly interface.

One of its biggest draws is how small it is — it's just a tad larger than an iPod and it's nice and thin. It'll allow you to check and send email from up to five accounts, which, in a post-iPhone world, isn't all that interesting until you consider it's only $80. The steep $20-a-month plan will also give you unlimited texting from the Pronto, and you can do most of what you'd normally do on your home computer, such as search through your email and view the PDFs and pictures people send you (though don't try to open anything larger than 6MB, and you'll be waiting a while to view smaller attachments). Navigation is handled by a scroll wheel and you type with — love it or hate it — a well-spaced physical keypad.

If you're sitting there right now and you can't imagine why you'd want a Pronto (or you have a smartphone of any kind), then it's probably not for you. If, however, you're still using a cellphone from five years ago and just want an easy way to email on the go, then... Well, then maybe you'd consider it?

You can get a Pronto nationwide starting April 8th, or right now from Amazon or GetPeek.com.

Peek Pronto, via Maximum PC