Who invented beepers?
A pager is a personal radio device that allows the user to
receive messages. A pager is a dedicated RF or radio frequency
device that allows the pager user to receive messages broadcast on
a specific frequency over a special network of radio base stations.
Al Gross In 1921, the first pager-like system was in use by the
Detroit Police Department. However, it was not until 1949 that the
very first telephone pager was patented. The inventor's name was Al
Gross and his pagers were first used in New York City's Jewish
Hospital. Al Gross' pager was not a consumer device available to
everyone. The FCC did not approve the pager for public use until
1958. Motorola Pagers The name pager was first used in 1959 when
Motorola made a personal radio communications product they called a
pager. The Motorola pager was a small receiver that delivered a
radio message individually to those carrying the device. The first
successful consumer pager was Motorola's Pageboy I first introduced
in 1974. It had no display and could not store messages, however,
it was portable and notified the wearer that a message had been
sent. By 1980, there were 3.2 million pager users worldwide. At
that time pagers had a limited range and were used mostly in
on-site situations for example when medical workers communicate
with each other within a hospital. By 1990, wide-area paging had
been invented and over 22 million pagers were in use. By 1994,
there were over 61 million pagers in use and pagers became popular
for personal use. Are Pagers Heading for Extinction However, with
today's cell phones pagers are becoming an endangered species.
Pagers sales are down and few companies still make pagers. Older
one-way pagers are being replaced by more sophisticated messaging
tools, such as two-way pagers. How Do Pagers Work Pagers or beepers
are portable communication and messengering devices. One person
sends a text message using a touch-tone telephone or even an email
that gets forwarded to the pager of the person they want to talk
to. Then the person carrying the pager either gets an audible beep
or vibration that lets them know that a message is incoming. An
incoming phone number or text message is displayed on the pagers'
LCD screen. Motorola History The company was founded in 1928 by
Paul V. Galvin and began as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation of
Chicago, Illinois.