Sprint to preserve Nextel Direct Connect branding for PTT
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Aug 16th 2007 10:57AM
posted Aug 16th 2007 10:57AM
Though Nextel may be long since assimilated as a company, parts of its branding look to live on thanks to an official announcement from Sprint today. As prior reports suggested, the carrier is reporting that push-to-talk services will continue to carry the treasured "Nextel Direct Connect" branding that has largely represented enterprise PTT service in the US for ages (14 years, to be exact). Furthermore, Nextel Direct Connect will be used "regardless of network platform," indicating that the name will be used even as Sprint works to transition the bulk of its PTT services from iDEN to CDMA. Speaking of CDMA, Sprint is using the same press release to tout a plethora of new Direct Connect devices in the pipe for 2008, spanning the range from "rugged phones that meet the rigors of military specifications to sleek new flip phones" -- and get this, they'll come from "Sprint's leading manufacturers," suggesting that Motorola is going to lose its stranglehold on the service. The more, the merrier, we say!
Well of course Motorola will lose the exclusive as iDEN is dead for public use in a couple years and is being replaced by Q-Chat which works on Sprints CDMA EV-DO Rev A network and has been made to be compatible with Direct Connect on iDEN but it is not a Motorola technology so any manufacturer can incorporate it into their devices.
iDEN is at it's end of life as far as technology goes. It's one great feature - Direct Connect - can be done better on new EV-DO Rev A technology.
I would imagine as time passes they will drop the 'Nextel' part entirely and just call it Direct Connect
NOT true! Sprint has promised thats The IDEN Network will be around until at least 2012! The only reason they are trying to migrate customers off is because of capacity reasons and it grew too fast! The EVDO network can handle MORE capacity for cheaper. Makes sense to me! After 2012 they will sell the IDEN network to the government.
What about IDEN blackberries? Will they make units that are dual compatiable? Will sprint offer a blackberry with direct connect?
Hybrid phones are the future! Using CDMA for voice and iDEN for Nextel PTT ... everyone that used a full Nextel iDen knows coverage is ify at times, especially when you travel the nation. That said, the PTT seems to work even in weak areas unlike the voice ... as a major solution Spring is offering CDMA Voice / iDEN PTT phones and they are great! Take the ic502, a military spec for rugged performance with CDMA and iDen.... it's killer!
Americans should always try to support Motorola over foreign firms as their patriotic duty. I do not hope to see overseas firms making iDen phones .. if they did they would be surely flimsy crap. Everyone that uses Nextel and now the Hybrid Sprint/Nextel knows that the equipment is extremely superior over the regular consumers cellular only phones.... Nextels are made tough!