The first pager-like system was used in 1921 by the Detroit Police Department. It wouldn’t be until 1949 though that the first telephone pager was patented. Al Gross’ invention was first used in New York City’s Jewish Hospital. It wasn’t until 1958 that the FCC approved pagers for public use. By 1994, there were over 61 million pagers in use. Today’s technology headlines are monopolized by newer technologies such as Apple’s iPhone or the iPad. The iPhone has come under additional spotlight as prominent media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Fortune Magazine report on the end of the iPhone’s exclusivity with AT&T. The tech blogs are run amuck with speculations of what new or existing features will be available when Verizon makes its iPhone launch in early 2011.

Regardless, long before the iPhone, there was the pager. The name “pager” was first used in 1959 by Motorola, but Motorola’s first consumer pager, the Pageboy, wasn’t released until 1974. Here we are in the era of iPhones and Facebook talking about pagers. Why? The answer is simple. Pagers still have very relevant uses today. For example, JTECH’s wireless paging solutions are used in a multitude of industries from hospitality to retail, and far beyond. In addition, JTECH’s messaging systems can be integrated for use with cell phone paging as well as the more traditional pocket pagers. New uses for pagers have continued to pop-up, for example, the use of pagers to remind memory impaired patients to take their medications. So while the technology might not be new, its function in modern day life has persisted. Sometimes the greatest innovations come from redesigning and reapplying what we already have. When was the wheel invented? Estimates date back as far as 8,000 B.C., and yet no one is claiming it needs a replacement.