Word: nextel
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TECH: Sprint and Verizon join Nextel in "push to talk" service, instant messaging out loud...
...someone you love carries a Nextel mobile phone, you know the chirp. For years Nextel has been the only national carrier with "push to talk" service. Rather than place calls and having to dial all those numbers, users can chat with each other walkie-talkie style, coast to coast. To initiate a conversation, you press a button on the side of your phone, which sends an attention-getting chirp to your buddy's phone. In recent weeks, Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless have introduced their own push-to-talk phones...
Even though Nextel developed push to talk for business use, it's the off-peak appeal that makes it hot. People are using it at supermarkets and ski lodges, anywhere that a short burst of chatter from a speaker works better than a drawn-out conversation, phone to ear. You can even talk in a group, like a voice chat room...
Each carrier's system is different, and there's no operability between them. In our tests, Nextel's Direct Connect started up more quickly and relayed messages faster than the two newcomers. Though measured in split seconds, the lags between bursts of talk can make a conversation feel painfully slow. Nextel's 10 push-to-talk phones include a BlackBerry PDA ($350) and the new Motorola i730 ($300), which is chunky but sports a 65,000-color screen and a great-sounding speakerphone...
Sprint and Verizon have improved on Nextel's design in at least one way. Both separate push-to-talk contacts from regular phone-book entries. To start a chat on Nextel's service, you need to sort through your phone book until you find your push-to-talk buddy. With Sprint and Verizon, a tap of the side talk button brings up your push-to-talk buddies and groups...