

You talk, press the button and wait for them to reply. "But then from that point on, it's very slow.

"It's great when you initially press it and talk instantly," he said. He doesn't consider the technology more convenient than a cell-phone call because the walkie-talkie service does have a bit of latency. Kevin McCarthy, a purchasing manager at Meyer Sound Laboratories - a company in Berkeley, California, that makes concert speakers - is one such user. "Really, the appeal of push-to-talk over making a telephone call is being able to talk to a group instantly, without waiting for someone to answer," he said.īut one group that may not want the technology to become too popular is the business users who already have push-to-talk phones courtesy of their companies. The walkie-talkie service would help parents keep closer tabs on their children, McAteer said. The Zelos Group analyst envisions a future in which parents purchase a family plan for both cell-phone and push-to-talk service. Find great deals on Sprint push to talk cell phone no contract Cell Phones, including discounts on the BLU Tank II T193 Unlocked GSM Dual-SIM Cell Phone w/ Camera and 1900 mAh Big Battery - Unlocked Cell. Nokia, however, told Wired News recently it plans to release a walkie-talkie cell phone by next year.Īs more companies jump into this space and work to ensure that their services interact with each other, it is likely that prices for cell-phone walkie-talkie service will fall - and that more people will use push-to-talk, McAteer said. That standard has yet to receive approval by the Open Mobile Alliance standards body, though. Mobile phone manufacturers Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Siemens collaborated on a push-to-talk standard that would ensure their products worked with each other. Sprint PCS said it would roll out a walkie-talkie service by the end of the year.
Push to talk cell phones free#
The plan includes unlimited push-to-talk, free unlimited group calling, unlimited night and weekend minutes and 1,000 minutes to make phone calls anywhere in the country.īut Nextel and Verizon won't be the only providers in this space. Verizon's cheapest cell-phone service plan that includes push-to-talk costs $60 a month. But the walkie-talkie cell-phone providers are onto something: Many people - and not just businesses - want this service.
Push to talk cell phones software#
At least one company, fastmobile of Chicago, sells software to let people instantly connect with friends around the world.įor those people pushing legislation to ban cell-phone use in cars and public places, the idea of going somewhere and falling prey to someone's two-way phone conversation sounds obnoxious. It's for everyone, from men radioing their wives from the bread aisle of the supermarket to teens arranging meetings with friends in the schoolyard. All the major wireless carriers, which plan this year to join leader Nextel Communications in rolling out nationwide cell-phone walkie-talkie - or "push-to-talk" - service, have said the feature is not just for businesses.
Push to talk cell phones drivers#
The radio technology frequently used by police officers, truckers, taxi drivers and IT managers is coming to many cell phones near you. Still confused? Spot a mistake? Give us your feedback on this definition.If you think drivers yammering on their cell phones are annoying, wait until another wireless service already popular among business users becomes even more prevalent in public: instant, two-way walkie-talkie chatter. Older types - such as iDEN - used radio network technology designed primarily around PTT. Modern PTT systems introduced in 2003 and later use VoIP technology to provide PTT service digitally over standard data networks. Most PTT systems allow group calling, meaning one person can speak to everyone in their assigned or current group at once, just by pressing a PTT key. PTT makes it easy to have short interactions with one or more people throughout a day with the press of one button, skipping the dialing and answering steps required in a normal phone call. To control which person can speak and be heard, PTT requires the person speaking to push a button while talking and then release it when they are done (hence the term Push To Talk.) The listener then presses their button to respond. PTT is half-duplex, meaning communication can only travel in one direction at any given moment only one person can be heard at a time. PTT is a two-way communication service that works like a "walkie talkie".Ī normal cell phone call is full-duplex, meaning both parties can hear each other at the same time.
