Pagers Vs Cell Phones Essay, Research Paper

What Does This Message Mean? Today devices known as Pagers are over flooding the world of communication. Pagers are devices that bring confusion to their users. The most common problem would be the method of sending a message. To send a message is very simple but you cannot give the message its sense of seriousness. That is why some Pagers owners discard messages that in fact might be a serious matter. Beginning in the late seventy s when pagers started to gain popularity, more problems occurred after the necessity to add more area codes. This also affected the people who don t own Pagers. In the late eighties a solution to the problem was introduced. The Cellular Phone was to be the next generation of wireless communication. The features that the Cell Phone provides prove it is better than a pager. Therefore eliminating the pager out of the market is justified, and can be done in a few years. Since the first day pagers were available, they didn t provide many features. One negative aspect of a pager is that the receiver cannot determine if the message is important or not. Other than displaying the sender s number, it can display time and date – big deal. Some newer pagers are able to display text messages. This feature gives the owner more information about the page that he receives but he cannot determine the importance of the message. The message that a sender composes isn t as articulate a verbal conversation would be. The Positive aspects of a Pager are questionable. The popularity of pagers is most common among teenagers. Some people say that Pagers can be a good start for teenagers into their adolescent life. Some parents do not allow their children to own beepers . But later these parents notice the importance and eventually change their mind. A mother from Chicago, Kathy Nelson says We (parents) were adamantly opposed to beepers because of the drug connotations and the ban in school, they both got them without permission, then they told us. But I’ve had a complete turn around. Now I can always reach them and they always call me back. Robert Sack, psychiatrist from Virginia says, Pagers should be a privilege, like having your own phone. They shouldn’t be abused. But in a lot of cases it keeps the kid honest because they can be tracked down. The reason these two examples are questionable is because the parents aren t the users of the pagers. They know that they are sending a message to their child, and they think that their child will perceive it the way they do. Most of the time the message isn t perceived by the receiver the same way the sender does. This doesn t happen in a verbal conversation. The nineties are the decade of the Cell phone. Service providers are running out of numbers, new area codes are required, and more confusion is created. But the up of this down would be that no matter what the cell phone is better than the Pager. The cell phone has more convenient features, and is classified as the number one candidate for the exchange between a pager. The cell phone is a very unique unit. It can be used as a pager, and regular phone, with the convenience of being mobile. Cell phones may also have a feature known to most people as caller ID. This feature can be utilized as a pager. Cell phones are a very quick way to reach a person immediately when in need. The best feature of a cell phone is that the user verbally communicates with the other person. There are no numbers, no awkward codes, or twenty-second limits. On a cell phone, just like any other phone, the user can be more expressive and to the point. This function is very important because pager users don t have this function, and they aren t as reliable as phones. The most important feature every consumer is looking for is the price of operating such devices. Pagers range from $20 to $100 per unit. The service ranges from $0 (caller pays) to $40 a month. A Cell phone costs a slightly more. Price ranges from $40 to $200 per unit, and monthly service might range from $15 up to $100. The cost of owning a cell phone might seem a little higher but for the convenient features it is considered by many a better investment than a pager.