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Fwd: Re: Latest Review (Hopefully more readable)
From: stork (stork@flash.net)
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 17:10:34 -0600
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>X-Sender: stork@pop.flash.net
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>Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 17:00:13 -0600
>To: stork@flash.net
>From: stork <stork@flash.net>
>Subject: Re: Latest Review (Hopefully more readable)
>
>At 04:51 PM 11/13/98 -0600, you wrote:
>> The RIM Inter@ctive™ Pager 950
>>And BellSouth Interactive Paging Service:
>>
>> A Better Connection!
>>
>>I am always searching for new technologies that will aid physicians in their
>>daily lives. All of us are “married” to our pagers, cell phones, fax, and
>>answering machines. As much as we may resist, our careers demand
accessibility >>and accountability when we are working--and times when we are not. About a
>>year ago, I looked at two paging services: the SkyWriter™ service from SkyTel
>>using a Motorola pager (http://www.motorola.com//), and the RIM Inter@ctive
Pager 900 >>(http://www.rim.net) using the BellSouth Interactive Paging Service. I was not very
>>impressed at the time by either technology. I felt that the SkyWriter
service >>was cost prohibitive, the pager was rather bulky to carry, and difficult to
>>use.
>>(see review:
>> http://www.obgyn.net/english/pubs/features/Q-Phone_zab.htm)
>>I did not mention the RIM (a.k.a. Research In Motion Limited) Inter@ctive
>Pager
>>900 in that review because I did not personally feel that it was ready
for our >>market yet. (It lacked a backlight; an essential feature for any
>physician who
>>must answer his pager any time, day or night.) When I mentioned what I felt
>>were some of the shortcomings of the RIM 900 to the company, they asked
me not >>to write them off just yet because they were working on a new and improved
>>model. They were unable to tell me much more than that. I assured them
>that I
>>would be anxiously awaiting the next version, and reserve judgment until that
>>time. (Note: RIM, is a small, innovative company from Ontario, Canada, who
>>has been an industry leader in wireless technologies.)
>>
>>About a month ago, I noticed some “mini” reviews of the RIM Inter@ctive
Pager™ >>950 in the “new products” sections of several consumer PC magazines. The
>>preliminary reviews were good, and it appeared that the 950 was indeed the
>>product that would set Research in Motion and BellSouth Wireless Data apart
>>from Motorola and SkyTel.
>>(You may have spotted some BellSouth ads in various magazines recently.) I
>>contacted the RIM folks, and asked if I could try out their new, improved
>>device. They were all too willing, and sent out two Inter@ctive Pager
>950s for
>>trial. Why two, you ask? With two (or more) 950’s, you can have the added
>>convenience of “pager to pager” dialogues, with all of the convenience and
>ease
>>of a chat room. You also have the potential savings over long distance
and/or >>cellular charges. You even get a delivery confirmation next to your message
>>after sending to another Inter@ctive Pager 950 as well as read confirmation
>>once
>>the message is ready by the recipient. If you are out of range of the
coverage >>area (as indicated on the LCD’s lower right corner), you message(s) will be
>>held and delivered (guaranteed) as soon as you are back in range. (Go to
>>http://www.bellsouthwd.com/covapp/ for the BellSouth coverage map.)
>>
>>PAGER SPECS:
>>
>>The pager is no larger than your average pager. It is 3.5”long by 2.5”
>wide by
>>.93” thick. It weighs less than 5 ozs. including the battery. It uses a
>386 PC
>>chip, and sports a whopping 1meg of flash memory and 304 kbytes of SRAM
>>(unheard of in a stand-alone pager). It comes with a belt clip that protects
>>the screen from damage while wearing it. (When in the belt clip, the display
>>is not visible.) When out of the belt clip, the LCD screen is extremely
>>readable, and has an almost holographic appearance. There is an excellent
>>backlight for no or low light conditions. The screen (in its normal state)
>>gives you the time in double sized numerals, with the day and date on the
left >>side of the screen. The bottom of the screen shows the remaining battery
>life,
>>and strength of the signal as either a bar graph or percentage. The user can
>>set the 950 to beep or vibrate. There is even a choice of vibrate when
in the >>belt clip, and beep when out of the clip.
>>
>>To the right of the LCD screen is a tactile thumb wheel that acts very much
>>like a combination special function key/mouse. When used in conjunction with
>>specialized buttons, users can navigate through messages with simple roll and
>>click motions. The keyboard is a 31 key “QWERTY”, so touch typists will not
>>have to hunt and search. While the “keys” are small, I found message typing
>>simple messages on the RIM surprisingly easy, intuitive, and relatively error
>>free. A programmable AutoText feature enhances this functioning. It
will not >>only automatically correct common typos and capitalizations, it can be
>>programmed by the user for shortcuts to commonly used words and phrases. For
>>example, with a few easy steps, I was able to have the 950 spell out
>“Edward M.
>>Zabrek, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.” every time I typed “emz”. The Inter@ctive Pager 950
>>uses a single AA battery. Under normal conditions, (according to
BellSouth) a >>typical user should get about three weeks (500 hours) of operating time.
>>BellSouth touts this as the longest battery life in the industry. The price
>>for the Inter@ctive 950 is $249.00 with certain promotional contracts.
>>(go to http://www.bellsouthwd.com/ips/inf/promo1.html for details)
>>More specific details about the 950 can be found at:
>>http://www.rim.net/products/IP950/about.html
>>
>>BELLSOUTH--THE DATA SERVICE PROVIDER:
>>
>>As you may have already guessed, I am enamored with the RIM Iner@ctive Pager
>>950™ and all of its unique features. Of course, this is only half of the
>>story. Any communications device is only as good as the wireless data
company >>providing the transmission services. BellSouth launched the Interactive
>Paging
>>Service in late August 1998 (http://www.bellsouthwd.com). I have been extremely
>>impressed with all aspects of this company. The 24 hour/day, toll free
>>customer service line provides you with a friendly, patient, helpful voice
>more
>>than willing to go the extra mile to answer your questions. This service
gives >>users the ability to read, edit, and forward Internet e-mail anywhere in the
>>world. Messages as long as 16,000 characters (2700 words) can be received on
>>the pager. The message header preview feature allows the user to view the
>>subject and size of a message before it is sent to the pager; the user may
>>choose either to download and read the message on the pager, or forward it to
>>another e-mail address or fax machine for later viewing. BellSouth claims
>that
>>this service delivers (guaranteed “ungarbled”) alpha messages nationwide
>within
>>10 - 60 seconds. When you send to another paging subscriber, you will be
>>notified that the subscriber has received and read the message.
>>
>>Service plans for purchasing the pager are as follows:
>>
>>COST/MONTH CHARACTERS/MONTH
> $24.95 25,000
> 29.95 50,000
>> 39.95 100,000
>> 49.95 150,000
>> 59.95 200,000
>> 99.95 UNLIMTED
>>
>>Service plans for renting the pager are as follows:
>>
>>COST/MONTH CHARACTERS/MONTH
>>
>> $44.95 25,000
>> 54.95 50,000
>> 64.95 75,000
>> 74.95 100,000
>>
>>GET OneConnectTM!
>>
>>While the base plan service is good if you have more than one Inter@ctive
>>Pager, most physicians will require a simple service that the rest of the
>world
>>can easily use as well. (I found the basic service was not adequate for my
>>patients and allied health personnel to use.)
>>This brings me to the “OneConnectTM” service offered by BellSouth.
>>OneConnectTM is an additional service that gives you a personal,
>nationwide toll-free
>>number. There is a one-time activation charge of $25.00 and a $8.95/month
>>additional fee over your monthly plan charge. The caller will hear
prompts in >>your voice, which instructs them to press the following numbers:
>>
>> (1) Send a text message to you through a Message
>> Center Operator (cost-$.50 per each 80
>character
>> Message. These messages do NOT count against
>
>> your prepaid character count.
>>
>> (2) Leave a voice mail message
>> (with or without numeric page)
>>
>> (3) Send numeric page (free, unlimited)
>>
>> (4) Send a fax with a voice message
>>
>> (5) Call Connect to Your Party:
>> This feature will simultaneously ring you two
>phone numbers that you program as needed.
>> (Cost-$.25/min.)
>>
>> (note: the cost of options 2 and 4 is $.25/min)
>>
>>If your caller does not elect to choose any option, and does not hang up, a
>>message asks the caller to “please hold while you are transferred to our text
>>messaging center.” The operator will come and answer using your real name
>(just
>>like your current, “live” answering service).
>>
>>OTHER FEATURES:
>>
>>The RIM Inter@ctiveTM Pager 950 can function as an address book that will
hold >>around 1000 entries. These entries can include fields for last and first
name, >>e-mail addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, 1-way pager address,
Inter@ctive >>pager address, company name and Notes. When you compose a message on the
950, >>you are directed to you address book to choose a name, and mode of delivery.
>>If the recipient has an Inter@ctive pager, you can send a message directly to
>>their unit. You can also fax, phone, or e-mail them. The phone feature will
>>convert a text message to an electronic voice and read it to the answering
>>party over the telephone. (cost-$.25/min)
>>
>>You can also set up computer workstations as “internet dispatch” centers.
This >>will allow you interact with those workstations and send/receive messages
>>between pager and dispatch center (just as you would between two Inter@ctive
>>Pager 950s. The software for the dispatch center is $149.00.
>>
>>In summary, this new, improved technology from RIM and BellSouth has the
>>potential to revolutionize communications in our practices. At first glance,
>>the costs may appear to be a bit more than your average pager. If used
to its >>fullest potential, however, you can actually save money. You would replace
>>your current answering service. (Cost savings: $60-100.00/month.) You also
>>would replace your current pager. (Savings average: $20/mo). Large,
>>multi-physician groups and their allied health personnel could use a
system of >>Inter@ctive Pagers to save on their cellular charges. Your front office
>>personnel could use the dispatch software to send and receive messages to the
>>entire staff. If you are looking for tomorrows technology, today, I highly
>>recommend the RIM Inter@active Pager 950 and the BellSouth Interactive
>PagingSM
>>Service using OneConnect.
>>
>>For more information, you can reach BellSouth at 1-888-4BEYOND,
>>
>
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