Shifting Technology from Pagers to Cellular Phones
Shifting Technology from Pagers to Cellular Phones
People like to stay in touch and because of technology we have many ways to communicate with one another. Because of the inventions of the telephone, cellular phone, and also the Internet like e-mail and instant messenger we can talk any time. What is popular today is that people can communicate anywhere. The invention of the pager and cellular phone now allow people to talk anywhere. Pagers and cellular phones have been growing and more people have them over the last 15 years. Which one is going to stay popular and help people keep communicating with each other?
The pager or beeper is a dedicated RF (radio frequency) device that allows the pager user to receive messages broadcast on a specific frequency over a special network of radio base stations. A person with a pager can either get pages from a telephone number, text messaging on the screen or the person dials up there number and puts there code in and gets a voice message from the person that is trying to contact them.
The Detroit Police Department in 1921 used the first pager like system. The term "pager" was first used in 1959, referring to a Motorola radio communications product, a small receiver that delivered a radio message individually to those carrying the device. The first pager, as we are familiar with them today, was Motorola’s Pageboy I, introduced in 1974 (www.affordablephones.net 1). The pager at that time had no displays like today’s pagers and could not store messages, but it was portable and could notify the person that a page had been sent.
How pagers or beepers work? Pagers are a portable communication messenger device. The person sending the message uses a touch-tone phone and calls the pagers' number, then the person enter their number or voice message and within moments the pager carrier is notified by an audible "beep" or a silent vibration. The number or voice message can be read on the pagers' screen.
By the 1980’s pagers grew and more people wanted to be able to communicate with each other. In 1980, there were about 3.2 million pager users in the world. But at this time there was a limited range people could use the pagers. Also they were used for only on-site situations like for medical workers within a hospital (www.affordablephones.net 2). Hospital workers have them in case of emergencies...