Last week we covered the early emergence of the TwitterPeek, a handheld device made exclusively to provide Twitter service on the go. Now that it's officially announced, we wanted to follow up with the final pricing and more details.

The TwitterPeek was initially listed for $199.99 with lifetime service, which is still one of the two purchase options. The other pricing option is $99.99 with 6 months of free service, after which you'll be paying $7.95 a month to use Twitter on the device. In either case there's no contract and no obligation to continue using the service if you opt for the latter $99 price plan. For either price you get unlimited tweets, a full QWERTY keyboard and an always-on device with nationwide coverage. You won't be able to browse the web on the device, but you'll be able to view Twitpics, according to the FAQ. The battery should last a reported 3-4 days before needing a recharge, with extra batteries and car chargers available for purchase at extra cost. The user interface has been completely designed in collaboration with Twitter to be intuitive for use with the service, including special keyboard shortcuts for easy access to common functions.

Although many of the comments on the original post disparaged the idea behind the TwitterPeek device, there is a market of people who think spending hundreds of dollars on a smartphone and $100+ a month for the plan to support it is outrageous — and Peek is wisely going after those people with its marketing efforts. And some have also noted the benefits of a messaging device for teens or tweens that won't come with surprising overage charges. Still, it will remain to be seen if that market uses Twitter, and if they're willing to spend a smaller but still significant chunk of change on a single-function device.

Check out a couple more images of the TwitterPeek below — it's available in charcoal or aqua to match the Twitter logo. Let us know if your thoughts on the device in the comments now that it's official: is $199 for lifetime mobile Twitter interesting to some? Is $7.95 a month for on-the-go Twitter access more or less tempting that a higher up front cost?

TwitterPeek Pics















