A PHONE IN YOUR POCKET AND NOW A PAGER ON YOUR WRIST
By Adnews Staff
Now all you need is a hidden microphone and camera and you can be a secret agent. Bell Canada in cooperation with Beepware Paging Products has introduced to the Canadian market the first pager/wristwatch. Bell’s smallest pager yet is fully integrated into the sports wristwatch. The same watch was first introduced into the California market, as a joint venture between Motorola and Timex. It will only be available in Ontario and Quebec for the time being. It was officially launched yesterday, but has been available in stores since Monday. Ads targeted at young adults aged 18 to 24 and technophiles will be seen in bars, university and college campuses and in the subway in Toronto. Quebec will be seeing heavy promotion at the Formula One race this summer with extensive on-site promotion. Both provinces will also see a lot of point-of-purchase advertising. Unlike earlier pager-watches which were larger, the Beepware runs on a hearing aid battery. The batteries should last three months before needing replacing and can be found for a few dollars in variety stores. However, because of the type of battery used, the watches will only have a tone alert and a visual alert - consumers will have to wait in order to have their wrist vibrate.