Sprint, Verizon Race on "Push To Talk"

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2100-1033-984780.html?tag=fd_nbs_comm' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2100-1033-98478...tag=fd_nbs_comm</a><br /><br /></div>Have you ever been annoyed by the uncourteous Nextel user (or a Telus Mike user in Canada) using their walkie-talkie feature in conspicuous environments? Well, the situation might get worse, not better.<br /><br />"Verizon Wireless plans to offer a "push to talk" service for cell phones in the next few months, Verizon Chief Executive Officer Dennis Strigl said this week. Nextel Communications is, so far, the only U.S. carrier to offer the service, which lets subscribers reach others by pushing a button on the side of the phone, rather than dialing a telephone number."<br /><br />I think the capability is great; it's just that people don't know the right time and place to use it discreetly. Let's hope Verizon and Sprint make it easier to radio without annoying everyone else on the train.

[jet8810]

yes Janak. The problem with Nextel phones currently though, is that they are VERY loud when used on open walkie talkie form. You *can* silence them so they only work like a phone, but the problem is that EVEN ON THE INITAL RADIOING, it is phone-like. Stupid...eh? SO...you *can* set the radio on, get an initial message then "phone-like" it, but most people are just too lazy to do this or don't know how. Maybe then could make your phone vibrate or even ring, and when you open it the radio becomes live? That might help a LOT...

[rud56789]

I have had a Nextel for over five years. Even the original models which were larger than a brick had a button to switch the direct connect onto the earpiece. Our company has a policy that you beep the person first and wait for a response before talking. This solves the problem of annoying everyone on the train or in the store. Just like cell phones ringing in the theater because the user doesn't know how to switch it to vibrate or doesn't bother. Can't blaim the manufacturer for the users ignorance.

It will be good to have some competition in pricing, Dell sure helped Pocket PC pricing. Nextel has some of the worst customer service (though it has gotten better) and lots of dead zones.

Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? :D

I can't wait!

[Gremmie]

God forbid that someone doesn't know how to change the Queue sound on there phone. Personally I don't queue, I will press the PTT button so it either chips once or vibrates on the other side. On the other hand, I think the first majority of people who used these were warehouse or construction workers who weren't near an office phone. It would be nice if its compatible with Nextel.

[DrtyBlvd]

Related Topic -

Why on earth can people who use mobiles never seem able to turn the ring volume down? I am SO tired of peoples' phones ringing at the "I'm Deaf and want to announce it to the world" volume setting - There's this continual desire to have the latest funkiest mobile and then the owners never bother learning how to turn it down! Don't get me wrong; I appreciate that at 90mph on a motorway you need to hear it ring [perhaps - let us pray an earpiece is in use], but in the office? Mcdonalds? The street??

I'm sooo tempted to splash the cash for one of the disrupters that are available - too expensive though unfortunately...

Seems the 'push to talk' is about to add to my woes, huh? :roll:

[Janak Parekh]

Why on earth can people who use mobiles never seem able to turn the ring volume down?
Well, note my post about the $50 fine to hit NYC venues... BTW, I agree with you. I keep my cell on vibrate 100% of the time.

BTW, re the disruptor: the biggest problem is that it's illegal, at least in the US.

--janak

[Pony99CA]

Have you ever been annoyed by the uncourteous Nextel user (or a Telus Mike user in Canada) using their walkie-talkie feature in conspicuous environments? Well, the situation might get worse, not better.

I've never used a Nextel, so I didn't get your objection at first. I wondered how this was worse than anybody just using their cell phone in public.

However, if I read between the lines, what you're saying is that people can use these like speakerphones so you don't need to have your ear next to the earpiece, right? If so, that doesn't sound synonymous with "push-to-talk". Push-to-talk just implies half-duplex communications.

Am I missing something?

Steve

[Gremmie]

Well, to first understand the phones, Nextel phones have the best speaker phone, bar none. During PTT convo's, the conversation occurs through the speaker typically, and with their speakers, you can hear it far away.

[rooks308]

I don't get it. Some people just don't seem to understand that the speaker volume on the 2-way can be turned down. It doesn't suddenly jump to obscene levels when your not looking. I find it to be very frustrating that SO MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO OPERATE THIER #$#$@ing PHONE!!! I have nextel now and I have had great reliablility and service from them, but because of thier lack of bluetooth I plan to switch in the near future. I have a friend though who is planning to design a bluetooth module for the I8x I9x and I5x series phones that is similar in appearance to the headset piece available for the I1000's. I understand how people blaring the direct connect at max volume in some public places can get annoying but if I'm in the parking lot or out for a run I could care less how loud other people percive my speaker volume to be. However if I were say in a library then I would set the phoen to vibrate w/ the speaker off and use the 2-way in the regular cell volume mode. Competition for Nextel PLEASE PLEASE come quickly....

[ledowning]

We have been trying the Mike (Nextel) phones at our office for the past few months. They are nice phones, but cell coverage is not nearly as good as the normal PCS phones. I even took mine to the U.S. and coverage was horrible. The speaker phone portion works really well, though and the volume and ring tones can be set up by the user. There is no reason to have volume settings so loud that it disturbs everyone in a half block radius.

A PCS speakerphone system would be great in our neck of the woods, as we would have better coverage than the 'Mike' phone and keep all the benefits of PCS. BTW, a speaker phone works wonders when you are commissioning equipment, etc. with someone a hundred miles away, both hands are free to handle any problems.

[Janak Parekh]

However, if I read between the lines, what you're saying is that people can use these like speakerphones so you don't need to have your ear next to the earpiece, right? If so, that doesn't sound synonymous with "push-to-talk". Push-to-talk just implies half-duplex communications.
Not really. Nextel's PTT mirrors walkie-talkie style communication. If you've ever experienced someone with a Nextel phone using PTT with the volume turned up, the remote party literally blares throughout the venue, generally much louder than the speaker himself. Moreover, a short bleep is played before each communication, much like walkie-talkies. It sounds like you've never been near a Nextel user before. :)

rooks, I agree with you -- this is all controllable, but the defaults are incredibly rude. It would be nice if they defaulted to low volume. I've seen clueful Nextel users do two things: (a) turn down the speaker volume; and (b) switch to cell mode if the conversation is anything extended. That is, unless they're construction workers -- but then it doesn't matter in the first place.

Additionally, on a traditional cell phone, no matter how high you turn the volume, you don't get similar speakerphone effects.

--janak

[Bob Anderson]

I guess I'm stupid.

If I want to talk to someone, I'll just use voice activated dialing and next thing you know.. they are there.

Why is this "walkie-talkie" feature so popular. Seems a little gimicky to me.

[Janak Parekh]

Why is this "walkie-talkie" feature so popular. Seems a little gimicky to me.
It's instantaneous/always-on, and it doesn't use your minutes (there's a separate, much larger pool of minutes). Think literally of a walkie-talkie. Cell phones take time to call, the cell tower might be busy, the other party might be busy, etc.

For team coordination stuff, like on construction sites, it's extremely useful. In fact, those are the kinds of groups Nextel specially caters to.

--janak

[Steven Cedrone]

I have a few friends (construction, environmental, and printing businesses) and the "walkie-talkie" feature of these phones fits in well with their line of work. They don't even answer their phones, they just use them for the radio - they issue them to their employees...

I would say it's much more than a gimmick...IMHO

Steve

[jimski]

Well, I already dislike cell phones and would dislike this even more. Don't get me wrong, I know that cell phones are essential and I use mine regularly, but if I am having a conversation with someone (face to face) and my cell phone rings (or vibrates) let voice mail handle it.

Nothing is that important that it can't wait for a convenient time for me as well as the caller. Much like telemarketers calling at dinner time. What I don't need is someone blaring over a cellphone at the most inconvenient times, expecting me to reply immediately.

[Gremmie]

What I don't need is someone blaring over a cellphone at the most inconvenient times, expecting me to reply immediately.

Thus, mute.

[Pony99CA]

Not really. Nextel's PTT mirrors walkie-talkie style communication. If you've ever experienced someone with a Nextel phone using PTT with the volume turned up, the remote party literally blares throughout the venue, generally much louder than the speaker himself. Moreover, a short bleep is played before each communication, much like walkie-talkies. It sounds like you've never been near a Nextel user before. :)

I probably have been near one; I think the IT guys at my last job used Nextel phones, but I didn't seem to find them annoying.

What I'm saying is that "push-to-talk" doesn't have anything to do with speakerphones (unless Nextel has trademarked it or something).

When I used walkie-talkies growing up (and FRS radios nowadays), you had to push a talk button to speak (hence, push-to-talk). In the old days, you'd say "Over" when you were done talking and about to release the talk button. The FRS radios (and apparently Nextel) beep when you release the button, avoiding the need to say "Over", which I think is a good thing. This means the communication is half-duplex.

However, it seems like you could easily implement a walkie-talkie (or direct connect) system without making it a speakerphone (or even without making it half-duplex). You could just require speaking into the phone's microphone and listening using the phone's earpiece (or a headset). Furthermore, as you mentioned, even if you have a speakerphone, there's no reason you couldn't set the default volume to a low setting.

Given all of that, I don't think Verizon or Sprint having a direct connect feature is a bad thing. Having a speakerphone setup with a ridiculously loud volume default would be.

Steve

[rooks308]

Well, I guess the real question is how the users use/abuse these features, I mean ther should be nobody here in these forums who complains about an excellent new feature being added to a competitors phones. Competition makes products better and I thought that everyone here was eager for any new technology bliss available. That's why we use pocket pc's over (most) palms. We are hard core tech people who want serious technology at our fingertips. If the adopters of the technology abuse its usefulness then it is the fault of the user not the company for providing us the new features. I agress that a user should be able to set thier default settings for the 2-way and that the default being quite loud is sometimes a bother. I just hope that when somebody announces a new pocket pc with 256mb of memory and a 800mhz chip that people don't cry "O good grief, who needs all that, what a waste!" I think that will be the day that I stop grazing these forums. Until then I firmly believe that you all are here to gather and discuss technology at its finest. At least... I hope so.

-Rooks

[Janak Parekh]

However, it seems like you could easily implement a walkie-talkie (or direct connect) system without making it a speakerphone (or even without making it half-duplex).
This is true, although most commercial portable radio/walkie-talkie devices, even today, are half-duplex. I do hope Verizon/Sprint find a way to implement full-duplex PTT; that's what I implied in my post.

--janak

[DrtyBlvd]

Until then I firmly believe that you all are here to gather and discuss technology at its finest. At least... I hope so.

-Rooks

I think you're berating the obvious Rooks - Otherwise we wouldn't be here - however, if they bring out the Cray PPC, it better have a mute function 8)

[WindWalker]

I can understand the general dislike for rude cellular phone usage: there are certainly times the cell phone just shouldn't be part of the equation (as a sometime opera singer, I am keenly aware of the rogue ringer).

However, there are times and situations that require that I be available. On the side, I am starting to do commercial voice acting, and in that business, it is all about availability. Every call that goes to voicemail is potentially a lost job. So I let people know what is going on and try to be considerate (low/no volume ringer), but when it comes down to it, I'm going to answer it if there is any possible way to do so.

[Pony99CA]

However, there are times and situations that require that I be available. On the side, I am starting to do commercial voice acting, and in that business, it is all about availability. Every call that goes to voicemail is potentially a lost job. So I let people know what is going on and try to be considerate (low/no volume ringer), but when it comes down to it, I'm going to answer it if there is any possible way to do so.
I understand that. However, if you have to be available, then you have to make a choice -- see the opera with the ringer off or don't go to the opera. Why is somebody's job so important that they get to ruin an event for others?

Lots of professions need to be available -- IT staff, doctors, etc. When they need to be available, though, they shouldn't plan on attending events where their phone ringing or their talking will interrupt others. Go to a sporting event or a dance club, not a movie or the opera.

Steve