LILYGO’s T-LoRa Pager dares to bring back the simple pager of the 1980s and 1990s, reimagined as a tiny, tech-packed device for makers and off-grid communicators. This is basically a pocket-sized development platform that includes modern wireless tech, like LoRa, NFC, GPS and a thumb-friendly QWERTY keyboard.
Start with the design, which is reminiscent of early BlackBerrys. The T-LoRa Pager features a curved, rubberized QWERTY keyboard beneath a 2.33-inch IPS LCD screen with 480×222 pixels. It’s adequate for text and simple UIs, while some users have noted intermittent illumination in bright locations. A rotary encoder on the right allows for tactile menu navigation, while a speaker grille on the left provides audio. When you turn it over, you’ll discover two folding antennas (one for sub-gigahertz LoRa and one for 2.4GHz), a tripod mount, and a 16-pin extension socket for more gear.
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This thing is powered by an ESP32-S3 dual-core processor at 240 MHz, a reliable workhorse for DIY projects that supports WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5. It comes with 8MB of PSRAM and 16MB of flash storage which can be expanded with a microSD card slot. The chip can do everything from basic comms to complex operations if you’re willing to learn to code with Arduino-IDE, VS Code or ESP-IDF. LILYGO has a demo UI to get you started and you can interact with the rotary encoder while you build your own apps.
What sets this pager apart is its wireless arsenal, which includes the Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver for long-range, low-power comms, perfect for transferring small bursts of data like text messages over long distances without cell towers. This makes it great for off-grid use cases like rural gatherings and disaster recovery networks. NFC courtesy of an STMicroelectronics ST25R3916 chip for contactless interactions, u-blox MIA-M10Q GPS for location monitoring and a Bosch BHI260AP inertial measurement unit with built-in AI for motion sensing. When you add an RCH RC01812 codec for audio compatibility up to 24-bit sound at 8-96kHz with microphone, speaker and 3.5mm headphone jack you get a device that can do everything from geofencing to gesture-based commands.
But the battery life is a concern as the 500 mAh cell charged via USB-C seems small for a device of this capability. Early adopters compare it to LILYGO’s T-Watch series where small batteries struggled to keep up with power-hungry electronics.
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