PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY: Pagers
popping up everywhere
Fifteen years ago, medical professionals were about the only people
who had pagers.
Back then, they were black, bulky boxes that emitted a monotone
beep. And if you heard one go off, you could almost be sure there
was a doctor in the room. Ten years ago, this still-exotic device
took root in the business world as those who were often on the road
needed to know when to check in at work.
Now, pagers are a common sight. In fact, it's not at all unusual to
see school-age youths checking their pagers for calls. Use has grown
dramatically in just a few years. In 1992, the number of pagers in
service in the United States was 15 million. By 1996, that number
was 40 million, which translates into 19 percent of the population
owning some kind of paging device, up from 8 percent just three
years earlier.
"The types of people using pagers has changed considerably,"
according to John Zahurancik, paging analyst for the Strategist
Group. People who run businesses from their homes and contractors
find them indispensable. But the market segment receiving the most
attention is teens and their families.
"There has been a massive growth of people who use pagers primarily
to stay in touch with friends and family," Zahurancik said. "That
has been the dominant trend in the past few years."
According to a recent Motorola study, 15 percent of teenagers 16-17
own a pager, while 17 percent of those ages 18-19 are equipped. The
significance of this market segment is not going unnoticed by
manufacturers. Many companies are producing pagers specifically for
young users. Adorned with dayglow colors, wild designs and energetic
names such as "Digitz" and "Sport," these pagers have proved to be a
hit with their intended audience.
"If you lose or break a pager, it's a lot cheaper to replace than a
cell phone," Zahurancik said. "And in a lot of major markets, you
can still get a pager for seven or eight dollars a month."
Also, advances in technology make it possible to pack more features
into smaller packages. Alphanumeric pagers, for example, have word
messaging capabilities. And, here in Atlanta, PageNet offers
VoiceNow, a system that uses a special Motorola pager that can
receive and play back voice messages. There are even pagers that can
get news updates from CNN, surf the Internet, and send e-mails and
faxes.
So what's the future of paging?
Zahurancik foresees the market dividing in new and specialized ways
as growth continues.
"It's a matter of tailoring service," he says. "The bigger the
market, the more opportunity to grab part of it and do something
particularly well. And as each niche becomes penetrated, companies
will have to find new ways to make paging appeal to the
nontraditional user."
Copyright 1997, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, All rights
reserved.
Malcolm X Abram STAFF WRITER, PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY: Pagers popping up
everywhere., The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 10-26-1997, pp
P05. |
