Just as paging carriers look to two-way paging as a means of differentiation into the next millennium,
so do paging manufacturers.
In the past, a one-way pager was pretty much the same all over. Even the new lines of
1.5-way, or guaranteed messaging, pagers based on the ReFLEX 50 and 25 protocols show little variation among
manufacturers.
But full two-way is a vastly different field, one where differentiation is not only an asset-it’s a
requirement.
To date, only SkyTel Communications Inc. offers two-way text messaging, based on Motorola Inc.’s
ReFLEX 50 protocol. As such, only ReFLEX 50-based two-way pagers are available.
PageMart Wireless Inc. and
Conxus Communications both have facilities-based 1.5-way guaranteed messaging services with ReFLEX 25
commercially available, but cannot offer full two-way until ReFLEX 25 versions of the current two-way pagers are
offered. These are expected sometime in the second quarter.
When they do offer two-way service, carriers will have
two choices in paging devices-the PageWriter 2000 from Motorola and the AccessLink II from the Wireless Access
Group of Glenayre Technologies Inc.
While these pagers may function using the same technology, the two hardly
could be more different.
The PageWriter looks more like a miniature laptop computer than a pager, with a flip-top
screen and full Qwerty keyboard base.
Conversely, the Link II looks like what most people assume a pager should
look like. It has a smaller screen than the PageWriter and has a scrolling on-screen keyboard for composing messages.
It’s also much smaller than the Motorola device.
It is no accident the PageWriter looks like a computer while the
Link II looks like a pager. Their divergent forms reflect the different markets to which they are targeted, and executives
at both Motorola and Wireless Access are the first to point this out.
“They’re all filling different spaces,”
said Amy Kabcenell, market development and training manager at Motorola’s North American Paging Subscriber
Division. “Between the pricing and the features, they can very easily be positioned differently.”
“I
don’t look at those as competing devices,” said Gary Hermansen, president and general manager of the Wireless
Access Group, referring to the PageWriter 2000 models.
Whether customers buy the PageWriter or the Link II
depends on how they intend to use two-way messaging.
The devices
“We basically see it as a business
tool. A lot of enterprises are using it, especially with the ease with which you can add on applications,” said
Kabcenell of the PageWriter 2000. “Clearly, it’s a high-tier product.”
The PageWriter has a high-
resolution display screen for graphics, 1.25 megabytes of memory (upgraded to 3.25 in the upcoming model) and an
optional personal productivity pack with such features as calendar and scheduling applications. SkyTel prices the unit
at $360.
The Motorola unit is designed to attract users from the personal digital assistant arena as well as existing,
high-end paging users, because the device is as much a personal organizer as a pager.
Users are expected to be those
who are comfortable with composing and reading long paging and e-mail messages, as well as using other types of
computer applications.
“The PageWriter takes you a whole lot farther than paging,” Kabcenell said.
“Beyond messaging, it could be billing software or stock tracking. You’re not just talking about messaging
anymore.”
Wireless Access is targeting users who want true short messaging applications, not longer e-mail
functions. “We really believe in the dynamics of size, cost and battery life,” Hermansen said.
“ReFLEX networks are based on short messaging, not e-mail.”
Priced by SkyTel at $240, the Link II is
the smallest two-way paging device available. It measures 3.2 inches long by 2.2 inches wide by a quarter-inch deep.
To achieve this, the pager has a virtual on-screen keyboard, so the screen doubles as a display monitor and
keyboard.
While this makes it more difficult to compose messages, Wireless Access doesn’t think that is
cumbersome because the messages are short, Hermansen said. The company wants to attract paging customers who
expect much of the same properties as their current pager in terms of size and weight.
“For those looking to go
from a computer or PDA to a two-way paging mode, they will likely go to the PageWriter,” Hermansen said.
“If you’re going from a paging environment and looking to add value with two-way, you’re likely to look to the
AccessLink II.
“There’s already a large number of PDAs out there, and these people bought them for a
reason,” he continued. “It’s going to be difficult to move them from that platform to a new
device.”
The challenges
Perhaps the most significant event of last year in the two-way paging space was
the introduction of the Inter@ctive 950 from Research In Motion Ltd. and the corresponding aggressive service
offering by Mobitex carrier BellSouth Wireless Data L.P. Together, they added a third player to what was a two-player
device game and a second player to what was a one-player two-way service game.
The BellSouth service poses a
direct challenge to the market two-way operators are trying to reach with the PageWriter 2000. BellSouth placed ads in
the Wall Street Journal and other business publications showing the RIM pager side-by-side with the PageWriter 2000
and compared its service offering with SkyTel’s.
While acknowledging the emergence of such a challenger, those at
Motorola believe at this stage of the game, more voices hawking their wares only brings more attention to the entire
market. “Competition validating the category is a good thing,” Kabcenell said.
The Link II faces a
different challenge-consumer education.
Because it is marketed to paging users rather than PDA users, the Link II
also is aimed at mass consumers.
“It’s easier to penetrate the business market as there is a high base of
users,” said Cynthia Hswe, paging analyst at The Strategis Group. Business users also know how they want to
use devices, making it easier for manufacturers and application developers to design products.
“With the
personal user, you don’t know what they want to use it for,” Hswe said. “It’s more difficult to target
that.”
Additionally, when touting two-way paging, carriers explain that the technology allows users to
compose messages on the device. With a scrolling on-screen keyboard, the Link II offers a more difficult user interface
for accomplishing that.
“I think that intuitively, at first blush, if you don’t understand the value property of
two-way, a scrolling device is hard to understand,” said Wireless Access’ Hermansen. When people think of
originating messages on the keyboard, they think of actually having a keyboard to type on. Only later do they think
about the factors of size and battery life.
“I don’t think the general public understands,” Hermansen
continued. “That value is not necessarily inherent in their mind.”
The future
Will another
manufacturer try to compete in this market? That answer likely rests with the carriers. The more companies offering
two-way service, the more likely another vendor will want to take a stab at making devices. This summer’s rollout by
ReFLEX 25 carriers will be a start.
“When PageMart and PageNet come up, it’s going to make a huge impact
the industry, in terms of validating the
category,” Kabcenell said.
Strategis Group expects more than 2 million
two-way paging users by 2002. If other manufacturers join the game, analysts expect them to target international two-
way markets first.
As for upcoming models, few expect two-way pagers to lo
ok much different than current
units.
“I think the more recent models that have come around in the last six months (have) gotten down to the
more conventional size and weight and still maintained two-way capability,” said Mark Judge, senior vice
president of marketing and business development at Conxus. “I think they got the form factor right in that it very
closely approximates what the one-way pagers looked like … I don’t think we’re going to see anything drastically
different.”
Motorola said it hasn’t ruled out anything. Depending on the demand, Kabcenell said the company
could someday offer a lower-tier two-way device.
“As we add systems, then it’s likely that we’ll add to our
product portfolio,” she said. “We’ll design our products around customer insights and our technical
capabilities.”
Hermansen said Wireless Access plans to position its pager as a wireless modem device PDA
customers can use to develop two-way transmission capabilities.
“I think what you’ll see from us is a move
toward developing companion capabilities,” he said, citing several partnerships in the works expected to be
announced soon.
