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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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September 11, 2013Innovations can dramatically influence the logistical needs of any industry. So when technological advances helped unlock natural gas and oil from shale formations, it meant growth for the petrochemical industry and an increased need for digital wireless solutions. As a result of the boom in shale gas, ExxonMobil has made plans to expand the capacity of its petrochemical complex on the Gulf Coast. The Baytown, Texas, complex will be tasked with converting ethane, a natural gas liquid, into the chemical building block ethylene, and from that to produce the plastic polyethylene. The company estimates the plant expansion will create 10,000 area jobs during its construction and $870 million of economic activity annually. In an article for TodaysWirelessWorld.com, Motorola Solutions' Dwain Lunau wrote that, "At ExxonMobil's
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September 03, 2013Across the country, the public's safety remains a top concern of governments and citizen alike. Getting more policing while holding down costs seems to be on a lot of people's minds. Judging by several recent news accounts, governmental organizations and policing agencies appear to have found a key force multiplier in the form of IP video surveillance. The term is used in several stories describing how video surveillance systems are being used to fight crime. Newsday's report about the video surveillance system on New York's Long Island said it will eventually include thousands of cameras at shopping malls, hospitals parks, and beaches. Live footage will stream into a police communications
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August 28, 2013BearCom is getting even bigger in Florida. Today, the company announced it has acquired an Orlando-area business that for decades has served a range of customers with two-way rentals. In a news release, BearCom Executive Vice President Brent Bisnar, who directs our rental operations, said, "In A&R Radio Rentals, we have acquired a strong local and regional provider that is servicing some clients on a nationwide basis." A&R is located in Winter Garden, Florida, and it focuses on two-way radio rentals to large conventions, sporting events, tour groups, transportation companies, and production companies working on films, television shows, and commercials. Its radio inventory consists entirely of products from Motorola Solutions, which is BearCom's largest supplier. Customers Can Expect Seamless Transition "Their business is complementary to ours," Bisnar
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August 21, 2013By now, people all across the wireless industry know BearCom is different. We're the only dealer and integrator of wireless communications equipment with a nationwide presence. Our network of 26 branch locations across the country is unique in the industry. But what specifically does the BearCom branch network do for customers? "Many of our customers offer their services nationally," said BearCom Executive Vice President Brent Bisnar, who directs our rental operations. "As the only supplier with nationwide points of presence, we have the ability to service customers wherever they happen to be. So if an Orlando customer is traveling to Las Vegas, we have a local presence." So how exactly does the nationwide branch network help customers, especially those looking to us for two-way radio rentals? What capabilities
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Accessories Analog BC100 BC130 BC95 BearCom Digital Hospitality Motorola MOTOTRBO Noisy Environments Push-to-Talk Rent Retail Security Speaker-Mics Surveillance Kits Two-Way Radio Rentals Two-Way Radios Vertex Standard Walkie-Talkies Wireless Analog Technologies Motorola Solutions Two-Way Radio AccessoriesAugust 13, 2013Big news from BearCom: We are introducing of a new line of audio accessories that will carry the company name. The speaker-microphones and surveillance kits are designed for Motorola Solutions' XPR3300 and XPR3500 digital two-way radios and the EVX-531 and VX-450 Series models from Vertex Standard. BearCom works to keep a close eye on our customers' needs, and one of those needs has been audio accessories for certain popular Motorola MOTOTRBO and Vertex Standard two-way radios. This new line of accessories addresses those needs and makes these great radios even easier to use. The new line includes:
- One-wire surveillance kits with a full-size push-to-talk microphone, coiled Kevlar-reinforced cabling, and a variety of earpiece options
- Two-wire surveillance kits that give the user the ability to wear the push-to-talk microphone on
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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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July 30, 2013What do you do when you have one of the most popular two-way radios ever produced in the Motorola CP200? If you're Motorola Solutions, you make it better. And that's what happened with the introduction this week of the Motorola CP200d. By bringing a digital option to one of the most popular talk-and-listen radios on the market, Motorola continues to add to its rapidly expanding MOTOTRBO line. Introduced in 2007, it has grown to more than 20 different models. Motorola says more than 1 million MOTOTRBO units have been sold. Clearly, all kinds of organizations are making the move to digital. And why not? Digital technology brings improved audio quality and clarity, enhanced coverage, greater efficiency, and longer battery life. The CP200d retains the simplicity and durability that have helped make the
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July 24, 2013Schools function as a complex network of teachers, coaches, administrators, accountants, clerks, counselors, diagnosticians, nurses, cooks, security officers, librarians, computer technicians, janitors, bus drivers, and parent volunteers. The logistics are staggering. For any principal or college president, the biggest responsibility is the safety of the hundreds, if not thousands, of students. Maintaining proper communications among the staff and around the campus is the most proactive step an administrator can take to enhance safety, improve security, and increase overall productivity. TodaysWirelessWorld.com recently reported on a school in Plano, Texas, that relies on digital wireless technology to keep its campus safe. The children were playing during recess one day when a teacher observed a suspicious man sitting in a parked
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July 16, 2013The first wave of the Internet connected users to information found on websites. The second wave went further by connecting users to each other through social media. The third wave will go beyond interactions with personal computers to include digital wireless technology, connecting machines and systems in a vast network to benefit users. Simply stated, devices will talk to each other to optimize our daily living. According to a new report from IHS Electronics & Media, the expansion of machine-to-machine (M2M) functions found in a growing number of electronic devices will cause the market for value-added services (VAS) to also expand. The prediction is that the VAS market will rise from $1.5 billion in 2012 to $10 billion by 2017. "The next Internet wave