Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The reception is great for two-way radios

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 14:20:51 -0500

The reception is great for two-way radios

(10/27/02)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/

It was blue and it was cool, and Benjamin Pokorny had one. He was
carrying it as he carried on a quarter-mile conversation with his wife,
Doris, across the noisy, cavernous Woodfield mall in Schaumburg,
without resorting to yelling or using a cell phone (although, actually,
those two usually go together, don't they?).

What he had in his hand was a two-way radio, a gadget that's light-
years beyond the muffled static of the walkie-talkies you had as a kid.
No "Mmmphorph-nnn-frzzle-pop." As clear as day, Doris was saying,
"Where are you?"

Pokorny, 32, of Schaumburg was hustling his kids toward the Cheesecake
Factory, where Doris was waiting, but he had taken a wrong turn. Buying
the two-way radios, though, was a bull's-eye, he said.

"They're the handiest things around, as far as I'm concerned," Pokorny
declared.

In a society dominated by cell phones, two-way radios might seem like
an antiquated novelty, a fad like the CB radio boom and bust of the
late '70s. But the popularity of the radios keeps building, with an
estimated 15 million radios sold in the U.S. in 2001, an increase of 3
million over 2000 sales. And, although he wouldn't divulge sales
figures, Cobra vice president of marketing John Pohl said
his own company (the No. 2 radiomaker after Motorola) expects its 2002
sales to be up 10 percent.

Beyond shopping malls, two-way radios are increasingly popular on ski
slopes and at amusement parks and sporting events as families arrange
meeting places or keep tabs on growing children looking for a little
independence. And although the Pokorny children--Brandon, 3, and Dylan,
7 months--are years away from telling their parents that they need a
little personal space, Pokorny finds the radios infinitely more
convenient than the cell phone hooked onto his belt.

"Sure, we could be in touch with cellular phones; it's pretty cheap to
call. But let's face it--if you just want to say two words, it's kind
of a hassle to ring the phone, wait 5 seconds for them to pick up, hold
the phone to your ear and struggle to hear them," he said.

Manufacturers have been giving the radios a sportier look and brighter
colors to fit the fashion needs of teens and young families.

And the radios have come a long way in the last few years--quality is
going up and prices are coming down ($29.95 for a basic set).

Better yet, there's no service fee or subscription package, and the
only roaming charge might be kids getting grounded if they wander out
of the signal's range.

And though some may wonder whether two-way radio features on cell
phones (like Nextel's popular Direct Connect) might be harbingers of
decline for lines like the Motorola Talkabout or the Cobra microTALK,
Pohl thinks it's a different market entirely--and he's glad that actor
Dennis Franz is doing those commercials for Nextel.

"If anything, it might help us. We see it as familiarizing a lot of
people with the benefits of two-way communication," he said.

But will it be enough to silence the two-way radios? Not unless the
prices come way down. Even then, the phones probably won't make you
feel like you're on a cool search-and-rescue mission.

 http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/q/chi-0210270298oct27.story

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From: "wirelessintegrator" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:30:47 -0000

uh, excuse me, but I hope readers understand that the "two-way" 
radios being discussed in this article are consumer type radios - 
actually "walkie-talkies" - which are just-a-bit-better-than-toys 
but certainly NOT professional or commercial quality communications 
units. Wonder if the author of the article even knows the difference?

Wireless Integrator

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