Speaking of cellphones....Nextel anyone?

[TurboJim]

My wifes cell contract is up next month, and mine is way over. My pal has a nextel for work, and bought one for his wife (along with an account of course) and I think it is way cool. Can talk to his work, wife, or anyone with a Nextel.

So, since I am a gadget freak, I am considering getting 2 Nextels and getting one of those share plans w/500 minutes. Its like 59.95/month, but I pay that now and use a whole 5-10 minutes a month. Wifey uses ~100-150 minutes. The particular plan is 500 minutes, unlimited direct connect, and long distance is included.

Who all uses the service. How does it stack up against say cingular, verizon, at&t (who I despise) and sprint? How is the service from region to region, are there lots of isolated dropout area like any other cell service?

Just curious if I will like this setup after the wow factor wears out.

 

[turbot2112]

well jim, i can tell you that a few people i do work for have nextel and there from west milford area. i can never reach them cause t here always out of area. i would try and find out how there signal is in your area,home and work. i have verizon and every were i go the signal is awsome. i also think that the whole communication thing is pretty cool with nextel ,i guess they just need more cell towers in our area.

 

[Dan K]

Jim,
I've had my Nextel for about 6 weeks. There are quite a few areas around me where the signal gets very weak. Sometimes I drop calls in my garage for no apparrent reason. They don't work well if you're near computers either. Sometimes you'll hit a pocket in a rural area and just completely lose signal only to have it come back 500ft down the road.
Since I don't use my Nextel as my primary phone, it's not a big deal. If I were using it as my primary phone Nextel and I would be having a talk.
You might want to talk to some people in your area and see how the reception is before jumping in feet first.

*Also, I've heard that Nextel is losing it's patent on the direct connect feature shortly and that Sprint (I think) already has there version of it ready to go in October or November. Not sure how accurate that info is though. Might want to check into that.

 

[WakkoSS]

I love my NEXTEL and use the DC feature constantly. There are times when it won't work, but most of the time it's good. 1/2 the guys I work with have em, so it works out well.

I'd never go back to regular cell.

 

[gndreamn]

Verizon wireless was suposed to lauch their "push to talk" aka "direct connect" on the 1st of august. The new launch date will be the 1st of sept. I have seen this already and used it, pretty cool phone too. The only down from this is there's about a two second delay. Still Verizon is one of the only wireless company's that continue to spend BILLIONS on improving network.
Now with local number portability (wich means you own your wireless number) all of these company's stand to loose alot. expecially nextell, now that someone else has the same feature that made there whole company. Nextel will have to do something to save all those biz accounts.

 

[Turtle TR]

I like Nextel. My plan is for unlimited direct connect, unlimited incoming, and 200 outgoing. I dont make verymuch outgoing calls anyways, if I do..im at home or at work. sometimes when I make an outgoing call..i tell the guy to call me back $80.00 is pretty good, I hope they lower it or find something that'll suite my calling needs. I also have Verizon for work. My boss gave us all new cell phones to use between company workers. Verizon sucks big time here. not enough antenna sites. I give Nextel a big up!

 

[mydesigner]

I have a Nextel from work. I love it, the reception is great, i had another cell phone when i first go it and it would always go in and out of reception, very very rarely does it not get a signal. Plus the direct connect is SWEET. and incoming calls are free. If i ever quit i guess I'll have to start paying for a cell phone again.

 

[Ironlung]

I've had mine for 2-3 years now and love it. It's not the best cell phone in the world, but the direct connect makes up for it. I've traveled with mine quite a bit, and as long as your around a big city your fine. When you get out in the rural areas, you have signal trouble. The guys at work have them, my wife has one, and it's our primary line of communication in the Fire Dept. I couldn't imagine not having one now.