jwilde@barney.bgsu.edu (jane wilde) (11/18/90)
I think these phones are a great idea - calling the person, not the
place. But the price will keep them off the market to the general
public. According to an article in {USA Today}, Motorola has a phone
which will cost approx. $1,500. Another article I read says that an
Ohio based company will be able to put them on the market for about
$100. There's a big difference in price. How so? If this is true,
maybe it won't be long before everyone has a "pocket phone". And if
that's the case, won't this be a major distraction to others. How
would you like to be at the movies and have someone talking on the
phone? Also, what about frequencies? Will everyone be able to listen
in on your conversation? Or will it be publicly broadcast?
jwilde@barney.bgsu.edu.jrallen@devildog.att.com (Jon Allen) (11/20/90)
In article <14765@accuvax.nwu.edu> jwilde@barney.bgsu.edu (jane wilde) writes: >I think these phones are a great idea - calling the person, not the >place. But the price will keep them off the market to the general >that's the case, won't this be a major distraction to others. How >would you like to be at the movies and have someone talking on the Actually, I recently experienced this. In Hong Kong it seems like almost everyone carries small cellular telephones (seems to be some sort of status symbol these days). While returning to Hong Kong from Macau on a Jetfoil, I as sitting near a young lady. Three times on the 55 minute journey her purse beeped and she proceeded to have conversations, which were interesting to listen to, since there is not much else to do on such a journey. While standing in the customs line, two other people right behind me got phone calls and were talking. This is indeed very distracting. I guess this is what the future holds. As a side note, I would think that in cities of the future, small/cheap phones would be the death of the pager business (although I see people in Hong Kong carrying both a phone AND a pager on the street). Once your reachable anywhere anytime by phone whats the point of the pager? (Now if we could just get caller-id on these small/cheap phones... :-)) Jon jrallen@devildog.att.com
dave@westmark.westmark.com (Dave Levenson) (11/20/90)
In article <14765@accuvax.nwu.edu>, jwilde@barney.bgsu.edu (jane wilde) writes: > maybe it won't be long before everyone has a "pocket phone". And if > that's the case, won't this be a major distraction to others. How If everyone has one, who are the 'others'? Why do you think people will talk on the phone in a theatre if they don't talk to each other in the theatre? What you'll need is either a pocket answering machine, or a voicemail system integrated with the service provided to the pocket-phone users. When the current generation of cellular telephones arrived on the market, they were priced at $2,500 - $3,500. Now they're down to about $100 if you shop around a bit. Even at the higher prices of five or six years ago, there was no lack of buyers for them. It was the sales volume those buyers generated that brought the cost down for the rest of us. Why don't you think the same thing will happen with the next generation? Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Warren, NJ, USA AT&T Mail: !westmark!dave Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (11/21/90)
Jon Allen <jrallen@devildog.att.com> writes: > As a side note, I would think that in cities of the future, > small/cheap phones would be the death of the pager business (although > I see people in Hong Kong carrying both a phone AND a pager on the > street). The key word in your comment is "cheap". Until personal phones have truly inexpensive service (as opposed to the current rip-off cellular pricing schemes), it probably would not be uncommon to see people with both a pager and pocket phone. I sometimes feel like the consumate dweeb with my MicroTac on one side and my Cue pager on the other. I am on twenty-four hour call, but at the price of cellular service, I'll decide who I talk to and when. A very small handful of people know the cell phone number; all others use the pager and then I make the judgement concerning the importance of the call. And once again, as I am about to leave for SoCal, I contemplate the $0.70/min charged (whether there is an answer or not) by PacTel for the privelege of staying in touch. > Once your reachable anywhere anytime by phone whats the > point of the pager? (Now if we could just get caller-id on these > small/cheap phones... :-)) Well, you said it. The pager provides a poor man's convoluted form of Caller-ID. Many people, regardless of cost, may not enjoy or be able to tolerate being 100% accessable 100% of the time. A pager provides a buffer to that availability. I know many people who carry both. I would, even if my cellular service was free. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
CRW@icf.hrb.com (Craig R. Watkins) (11/23/90)
In article <14860@accuvax.nwu.edu>, john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: > Many people, regardless of cost, may not enjoy or be able > to tolerate being 100% accessable 100% of the time. A pager provides a > buffer to that availability. I know many people who carry both. I > would, even if my cellular service was free. People sometimes ask me why I have a handheld AND a pager. I just tell them that my (display) pager is my "answering machine." They tend to understand that and believe me. I think I believe me, too. Craig R. Watkins Internet: CRW@ICF.HRB.COM HRB Systems, Inc. Bitnet: CRW%HRB@PSUECL.Bitnet +1 814 238-4311 UUCP: ...!psuvax1!hrbicf!crw