A Computer Disguised as a Pager

They aren't just beepers anymore. There are plain old beepers... (sound) and then there are interactive pagers that can sound like...

"Hello. This is Fred Fishkin. I won't be able to make the meeting at twelve."

The Research in Motion 950 pager can not only receive messages and email, it can send text to speech messages over phones, faxes, text and email. RIM Co-CEO Jim Balfillie the pager is actually a mini-computer...

"First of all, technically, it's got a very useful and very tactile but small keyboard. It's got a very high resolution six line display that's backlit. Inside, is a very, very high powerful radio. We have a full 386 engine, microprocessor inside that executes applications and it's also got a full megabyte of memory."

BellSouth is offering interactive pager service starting at about twenty five dollars a month. The Interactive 950 pager can be leased or purchased for about two hundred fifty dollars. ...

"On the cost side, quite frankly these are considerably less expensive than cell phones because there's no long distance and no roaming charges."

The service is available in most urban regions around the country. You can find more information on the web at bellsouthwd.com.