Buyer's Guide: Cell Phones and Pagers

Star Date: 2000. Planet: Earth.

If the wandering crew of the starship Enterprise could travel back to our time, they’d probably want to trade in their communicators for one of today’s models--something you’ll want to consider, too, if you’ve been carrying the same cell phone or pager for a few years.

What you’ll find when you start shopping is a drive by both phone and pager manufacturers to integrate communications solutions.

Today’s top-of-the-line phones let you send and receive calls as well as faxes, pages, and e-mail. With a two-way pager, you can communicate by e-mail as well as keep abreast of the latest news headlines.

Your cell phone may someday double as a palmtop computer. Some phones--the Kyocera Wireless (formerly Qualcomm) pdQ smart phone, Nokia 9000, and NeoPoint 1000--already blur the line. They’re phones first, but they include miniscreens, processors, memory, and software that serves as a contact manager and connects you with the Web.

The downside to all the new features is that the digital services empowering them are still not universally available. So if you work in a rural area, it could be a while before you can consider the merits of these marvels.

Ultimately, your cell phone options will be dictated by which models and features your local service provider supports.

Today you’ll hear terms like AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM, PCS, WAP, dual-band, and tri-mode used to tout the advantages of different models.

“The underlying technology is something the average real estate practitioner doesn’t need to understand,” says Art Mollengarden, technology consultant with Star Business Development Seminars and residential specialist with RE/MAX Realty Associates, Milford, Conn. “What’s important is knowing what will work where you do and what it’ll allow you to do.”

Mollengarden suggests you talk with a number of local service providers to find out what kind of packages they offer. “And ask other users how satisfied they are with the service,” he says.

Although you don’t need to be a technogeek to talk to service providers, you do need to know the basics. Analog, the original cellular technology, sends and receives voice through radio waves. Its primary appeal, still, is blanket coverage throughout the United States. Digital cellular technology transmits voice and data as zeros and ones, allowing for options such as e-mail, Web browsing, caller ID, and voice mail.

Digital service can be cheaper than analog, but coverage is spotty, even nonexistent in some areas. To be sure calls will get through, consider a dual-band phone, which automatically switches between analog and digital service, depending on local availability. Then there are dual-mode phones, which allow you to operate at different frequencies, widening your chance of uninterrupted service, and tri-mode phones, which also enable you to send data.

Those who work within a well-defined area, such as Dino Ciccotti of Century 21 Ron Sharpe Realty, Springfield, N.J., can choose a dedicated analog or digital phone. Ciccotti carries a Nokia 6162 digital phone, backed by a prepaid calling plan that gives him 1,400 minutes per month.

He uses his cell phone as an extension of his home office. The cell phone number is featured in promotions and advertising, and his home phone automatically forwards calls to his cell phone after three rings. “My cell phone has caller ID and voice mail, so I know who’s calling,” he says. “When I can’t take the call, people can still leave me a message.”

He continues to carry a Motorola FLEX pager as well, though it’s not the vital link it once was. “I had the pager before the cell phone, so there are still a few people who reach me that way,” he says. Today, though, he uses it primarily to access the latest headlines and stock reports.

Ciccotti recognizes the appeal of having a cell phone that doubles as a palmtop computer, but the technology has a way to go before he’ll trade up. “I’ve looked at [Kyocera] pdQ smart phone [which has wireless e-mail and Web browsing]. I thought it was a bit bulky as a phone, and too basic for a PDA,” he explains. “I don’t think all-in-one cell phones are quite there yet.”

Mollengarden questions whether they’ll ever be practical. “There’s a potential problem whenever you put all your eggs in one basket and tie everything to one service provider,” he cautions.

In Denver, Alisa Hagner, associate broker, RE/MAX Metro Properties, looks forward to adding e-mail capability next time she upgrades her cell phone. She currently carries a compact Qualcomm (Kyocera) digital thin phone and an alphanumeric pager. “I bought the pager years ago, and the service costs only $4.95 a month,” she reasons.

Paging is a function that’s being folded into other communications products, such as cell phones and palmtop computers. But pagers will always appeal to users who need to know only who’s trying to reach them and when.

“When I’m on my phone, it’s set to forward calls to my pager,” says Hagner. “That way, I don’t have to retrieve voice mail. I just look at my pager to see who’s called.”

Earlier this year, Hagner carried a third piece of cellular equipment, a Mitsubishi dataphone to retrieve MLS data off the Internet. “All you had to do was punch in the address on the keypad, and you had the information,” she says. “It was slow, but it beat going back to the office.”

Unfortunately, the provider couldn’t attract enough subscribers to continue offering the service. But the three-month experience convinced Hagner that her cell phone will do more for her in the future.

“I’ll use anything that enables me to respond to prospects as quickly as possible, because the quicker you get back to them, the better your chances [of turning them into clients].”

No technology can improve your follow-up skills. But one thing’s certain: The latest cell phones and pagers will enable important messages to reach you, wherever in the galaxy you roam.

Cell phones and pagers

For more information from any manufacturer, visit the company’s Web site or circle the Reader Service number for the manufacturer on the bound-in, preaddressed REALTOR® Magazine Reader Service Card and mail the card in. Note: Prices don’t include the cost of monthly service, which varies, depending on the provider and service package.

This list isn’t comprehensive; NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in company information.

Safety first

Is cellular technology unsafe? Some studies suggest that cell phone users suffer higher incidences of certain cancers. There’s also the concern that talking on a phone while driving can lead to automobile accidents.

There’s a simple solution that silences concerns on both fronts: a headset, which distances the phone from your brain and keeps both hands on the wheel.

Art Mollengarden, a practitioner with RE/MAX Realty Associates, Milford, Conn., has been conversing by headset since he first became concerned about health risks. “One reason I traded in my old phone for a Motorola StarTac was the fact that it provides for use of a headset,” he says.

Mollengarden uses a pair of Jabra gel headphones that cost about $40. What he especially likes is that the microphone is built into the earpiece, so it’s never obvious that he’s on the phone.

“Now when I’m driving, my hands are always on the wheel, where they should be,” he says.

That thinking could work its way into the mainstream as more vendors include jacks and headsets as a basic option for cellular users.

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of the products in this category. NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in product info. Prices are the vendors’ suggested retail prices and are subject to change.