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July 08, 2014Highly mobile people and companies inevitably find themselves disconnected — the traveling sales rep stuck in a hotel with no Wi-Fi or the oil-and-gas developer drilling wells 50 miles from the nearest cell tower. That’s where satellite phones and broadband cards really prove their worth. An Iridium sat-phone bounces calls off a satellite and can reach people in polar regions, remote deserts and empty expanses of ocean. A broadband card connects to the Internet over a
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July 02, 2014Fifth in a series When you buy that new cellphone, within weeks something familiar happens: a new generation of phones arrives on the market with more power and better features. When you're looking for push-to-talk phones for business use, that let-down feeling can be avoided when you rent push-to-talk phones rather than buy them. Another attraction is that BearCom deals with all the fine print in the service-provider contracts and handles all the complexities of getting your network up and running. Push-to-talk phones are still a popular option for businesses. No matter how much you like your two-way radio, in some situations,
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May 20, 2014Summer is fast approaching, and with it the busy season for public events. Did you know that more than 1.8 million meetings and events are held each year in the United States, resulting in $280 billion in spending? Wireless technology has impacted the events industry in a major way for years, and two-way radios remain its communications device of choice. The push-to-talk convenience of the two-way radio and its one-to-many communications capabilities make it possible for people to relay timely information. That’s especially important in an industry where everything depends on keeping to a schedule. Speaker microphones allow users to transmit without actually touching their radios while surveillance kits allow them to talk and listen discreetly by placing wires under shirts and jackets. These devices allow for necessary communication without attendees even noticing. They can be especially useful in a quiet meeting room, where a blaring walkie-talkie could distract participants.
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April 29, 2014The Internet of Things (IoT) is a topic that continues to garner media attention by the terabyte. Now the IoT is moving beyond the trade journals and industry blogs to find a place in more mainstream publications. The Huffington Post recently took a look at the IoT, and it reached out to BearCom for some perspective. Business at the Dawn of the Internet of Things by Huffington Post contributor James Moore makes the point that, "Adoption of the IoT as an inevitability also begins to create new business for technology companies as other key markets approach the slowdown caused by saturation. Consumers and the general public may not even be aware of the beginning of the IoT or consider it a potential reality, but hardware and software manufacturers are already seeing its economic
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April 16, 2014Three years ago this month, we started this blog, the BearCom Bulletin, to keep you updated on the news coming from BearCom, our partners, and the whole wireless world. In my very first post, I said, "Over the coming weeks and months, it is our intention to use this space to inform, educate, advocate, challenge, and salute. We hope to do so in a way that will enlighten and, at least occasionally, entertain you." That was three years, more than 150 posts, and an estimated 15,000 visits ago! To celebrate, we're taking a look back at our most popular posts so far—and the most popular stories of all involve people young and old who show their enthusiasm for wireless communications technology. We told you about Chester Matusek, at 91 years old the oldest Motorola Solutions employee
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February 18, 2014While the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to be the subject of mind-boggling projections, major companies—including our partner Motorola Solutions—are working to develop new mobile technologies that will solve real-world business problems. "The 'Internet of Things'—technologists' vision of a network of billions of connected devices—has attracted the attention of a number of tech giants—including Cisco, Intel, and General Electric—all of whom have internal business units dedicated to building the infrastructure for that network," The Washington Post said this month in a report on the impact IoT will have on the training
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3M Peltor Accessories Analog Apps BearCom BridgeWave Call Boxes Cambium Networks Cell Phones David Clark Digital Eventide Extranets Facebook Firetide Icom America IMPACT Radio Accessories IP Kent Huffman LDV LinkedIn Mesh Networks Mobile Broadband Mobile Command Centers Motorola MOTOTRBO NeoTerra Systems NOC OTTO Panasonic Point-to-Point Bridges Preventive Maintenance Pryme Push-to-Talk Pyramid Rent Repairs Social Media Sonetics Sony Sprint Nextel TABLETmedia Today's Wireless World TurboVUi Twisted Pair Twitter Two-Way Radio Rentals Two-Way Radios Ubiquiti Verizon Vertex Standard Video Surveillance Walkie-Talkies Wireless WLAN YouTube Analog Technologies Motorola Solutions Two-Way Radio AccessoriesJanuary 07, 2014Some companies publish catalogs filled with little more than pretty pictures and glowing product descriptions. Not BearCom. Our 2014 Wireless Products, Services & Solutions Guide, which is headed to customers early next week, is filled with detailed information about BearCom's capabilities and scope, as well as updates on the latest innovations in wireless technology. "In this issue, we explore how digital technology is transforming two-way radios," said BearCom's Chief Marketing Officer, Kent Huffman, who oversees the annual project. "That section includes information on the benefits of switching to digital and how backward-compatible equipment makes an analog-to-digital migration smoother." Huffman added, "The guide also serves as a reminder of how BearCom's strong partner relationships and our 26 branch offices nationwide keep us positioned to offer wireless communications solutions of
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September 24, 2013Sure, almost everyone has a smartphone these days, but the little jewels don't work everywhere all the time, and there are times when we don't carry them. Fortunately, other wireless technologies fill those voids. One of them is remote call boxes, which will be used to keep people in Southern California safe as they enjoy the outdoors. The Los Angeles River biking and walking path is a busy place. All day and night, riders and walkers make use of this lengthy urban path. The path is not immune to crime, and its isolation and lack of signage could make it difficult for police and paramedics to respond quickly. And of course, many joggers do not carry cell phones. The Alliance of River Communities, a coalition of neighborhood councils, is trying to focus attention on the issue. Chairman Hector Huezo, in a letter to the city council, wrote: "Currently, absent of a smartphone, persons using the path have few
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August 07, 2013Part Three Almost any discussion of cell phones eventually turns to apps. This smartphone platform has these cool applications and that platform has these others. Many people don't realize that two-way radios have apps as well, and their growth is being fueled by the same third-party ingenuity that gave us Angry Birds. In this final installment of our comparison of cell phones and two-way radios, we'll look at applications and that most paramount of concerns: cost. Applications came to two-way radios as they went digital. Just as in smartphones, software developers saw an opportunity to design apps for the most popular platform, and in digital two-way radios, that's Motorola Solutions' MOTOTRBO line. Motorola MOTOBRBO has grown from a single radio in 2007 to a line of more than 20 models
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June 26, 2013Part Two When companies weigh the relative merits of cell phones and two-way radios, there's one group that has to stay top of mind: the users. These are the people actually using the equipment, after all. This series of articles has examined communications philosophy, urgency, coverage, reliability, and security. Now we turn our discussion of cell phones and two-way radios to users' concerns, which center on durability and ease of use. How many people you know have cracked the screen on their smartphone after it fell out of their pocket or purse? Some don't even bother to get their phones repaired because they know in a few months, a new model will be available with a bigger screen and a better camera. Two-way radios last for years because they're built to higher standards. Among them are