Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993 TAG: 9311190296
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PAGE: HGG-40 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BECKY HEPLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Pagers used to be the domain only of doctors or someone who was never near a telephone. But now, the industry is seeing a rising personal use for the devices. Those same people who didn't want to miss a business call also don't want to miss the calls from family members or caretakers. If you're a parent who doesn't work close to a telephone, you know all about the need to be in touch with the child-care center or the baby-sitter.
Bob Stephenson, of Paging, Inc., in Christiansburg said students are buying them as a way to be sure they get all their telephone messages - hall phones and roommates being an iffy proposition. The husbands of pregnant wives are also big on them. Perhaps it's overkill, but Roy O'Hanley, New River rep for The Beeper Company, said he has heard of people with cellular phones using the beeper as a way to control the cost of incoming calls.
While beepers have gained cachet among high school students, many schools have outlawed them, so check before you buy if you are considering investing for a young person.
Beeper signals are digital numeric and alphanumeric. With a touch-tone telephone, the caller can punch in up to 20 characters for a digital numeric beeper, or write an entire message for the alphanumeric. The Motorola Bravo model, the numeric pager starts around $129, while the alphanumeric ones range from $229-$269. All models come in neon colors of hot pink, fluorescent yellow/green and blue as well as the basic black.
Another business communications staple that's finding its way into the home is faxing capability. So many of the new personal computers either come with a fax board and modem or these items can purchased for the computer as part of the on-line package. They allow you to both send and receive faxes, plus the call will go to the screen or into a special file to be accessed later.
Bill Turner of Premier Computing in Blacksburg said one of the newest models acts as a fax, an answering machine and voice mail. The Tyin 2000 sells for $179.
If you don't have a personal computer or don't want to tie it up with fax services, you can buy a fax phone. David Layne of New River Office Supply said that the latest development is for laser fax, much like the technology of a copier, so your faxes will be crisp and clear. As befits new technology, these are at the high end of the price range, $1,500, but you can find a basic fax phone for as low as $300.
For the ultimate in staying in touch, it's cellular phones. "We're the phone company of the future," Jane Baker, Contel Cellular, said. "Wireless communications is the way to go."
As with the other technologies, this is a business item that is being snapped up by the public at large for personal purposes. One of the biggest selling points for a cellular phone in the car is the ability to call for help if the car should have problems and leave the driver stranded. In addition, the convenience of always being able to call out or to be reached by telephone is a big selling point.
There are three choices in the kinds of phones. Mobile phones are those permanently mounted in the car and powered by the car's electrical system, the transportables can be moved from car to car and are powered by an adapter that fits into the cigarette lighter and hand-held or portable phones are those that are battery operated and can be used nearly everywhere.
The advantage of the hand-held is its portability, but the trade-off is a reduced power supply (.6 watt as opposed to 3 watts for the transportable and mobile phones) that can make it difficult to call.
Still, if you're in town and you need a handheld, Shirley Collins of Blue Ridge Cellular said a portable will serve your needs just fine. Portables start at $99 and go to approximately $600.
The transportables are the most popular selling phone now because of reasonable price ($99-$270) and good service. Because so many customers are multi-car families, the fact that the phone can be moved from car to car is an important selling point. Baker did point out, however, that someone who uses the cellular phone a great deal might be more comfortable with a mobile one because it's not sliding all over the seat or floor but fixed in one spot.
Because Christmas has become a hot season for them, both Blue Ridge and Contel have created gift certificates and specials to lure the customers and make it easier to give the service. Buyers can purchase the equipment and service in advance, but not have it activated until Christmas day or later. For those who already have a phone, the gift certificate can be for additional services.
by CNB