Nextel getting a WiFi iDEN BlackBerry this year
By Paul Miller 
posted Apr 4th 2008 12:57PM
posted Apr 4th 2008 12:57PM
After some serious neglect, Sprint is finally giving the Nextel iDEN network some new devices, not the least of which is a WiFi BlackBerry, says Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. The phone will hit the network "later this year," and will be accompanied by phones from Sanyo, Samsung, Motorola and LG that will rock the Sprint CDMA, but will use Nextel capabilities for push-to-talk. That old 7100i (pictured) doesn't stand a chance.[Via Boy Genius]
if they made it dual mode CDMA/widen then we'd have something, folks. iden data is way too slow, especially with rev.A all over the place.
that's good. because sprint ramping up Qchat, nextel is going to need to step up its game to keep up in the push to talk arena.
wait...they're the same company?
Sprint's poor management of Nextel has caused Nextel to not only lose customers, but, its not even fashionable anymore.
Motorola hasn't developed any must-have phones for the Nextel Network and even the last series - i880 was terribly outdated....and don't make me mention the i930 which was pisspoor and didn't even have bluetooth.
Nextel has lost all its thunder to T-MOBILE's sidekick and of course, to the iPHONE which is the biggest fashion phone out. Business users who quit NExtel have moved to Blackberry.
I'll give the new Netel phones a fair look but I'm already sure they probably aren't worth the price of admission.
uhh, when was nextel ever fashionable?
"oh jeff, that nextel phone just completes your outfit! so we going to lay down the foundation for this house now or what?"
or maybe
"Major. Here is your dress uniform. Make sure you pair it with that oh so tasteful iden handset that complements your eyes so well."
Wait...Nextel is still around?
The Nextel Iden network subleases space to several other carriers in South America and Canada and generates more revenues from those subcontracts then it does from client base in the USA. Motorola sells more Iden phones in Brazil where push to talk is hugely popular because it is the only way to have unlimited talk on a flat rate. Most cellular carriers in south America do not have unlimited plans on voice even "in network"...I use Nextel to communicate with clients and family in the region as for a mere 10$ per month I can communicate with them. Im in Canada and my wife is in Sao Paulo and we talk with the push of a button and dont pay international long distance, its quite effective and Im glad to hear Nextel will be adding a new BB, I just hope the data will work outside the US as well...
what did you do to get in the doghouse? i've heard of sleeping on the couch, but getting kicked out of the bedroom all the way to canada??? dude...
dude! you need a wife from Rio. they're less uptight there. =)
less uptight, eh? well as long as theyre downtight, i'm good with that, knaw mean?
*winks*
you know what i mean right?
*gets nervous*
you know...downtight? tight down? down there? between the legs? tight? right?
*senses impending doom*
female genitalia. that's what i'm talking about. i don't know why i typed this out.
a nudge is as good as a wink to a blind bat, Anon
Lol-
yes, yes and yes...
Rio is a very nice place with lots of wonderful sites to see, including my wife. Im here right now looking at the beach.
I only have to go to Canada for work once in a while and (we) spend most of our time between Miami and Rio...
I make a lot of side cash bring gadgets down here and usually double my money--iphones, gps, ram, gcards, etc---Im the gadget go to guy in Rio...lol
Let me know if youre ever in Rio...
i'm confused. justin is thebreeder? thebreeder is justin? rock beats paper? monkey eats dog?
I become slightly aroused whilst thinking of the amount of commission I am going to make off of that new blackberry.
'bout f-ing time.
i manage a fleet of like 60 units and some of the bigshots here ended up carrying two and sometimes 3 phones because Nextel is sooo weak. A nice hybrid-like BB smilar in design to the world edition with direct connect would be sweet in our particular set of circumstances. A camera would be a nice touch too.
actually, i might consider picking this phone up. some of the push-to-x services rolling out with iden are pretty sweet. that was probably the biggest problem with the merger: the retention of sprint employees/culture and the departure of nextel people/ideas. nextel really was a very well-managed and innovative company. had they been taken on as more than just a product/technology and been really used as managers/leaders/overlords, who knows, sprint might actually be considered "quality competitors" by at&t.
In a conversation with a Sprint rep last week about why we were switching to AT&T where I work we explained that we needed a BB and PTT and Sprint's 7100 just wasn't acceptable anymore. The rep said to hold off until "later this year" when Sprint's new BB would be out. He said it would be CDMA for voice/data and iDEN for PTT. He also implied it would be the Curve.
i doubt it would be the curve. and why is that, you ask? because your source sucks. sprint reps. my left testicle knows more than they do.
*quickly apologizes to left testicle for insulting it by comparing it to a sprint rep*
Why? How connected is too connected?
too-connected is doing just fine from what i hear.
Damn when is Sprint gonna kill Nextel off im so sick of that damn chirp sound, I dont wanna hear someones full conversation
word. i prefer hearing just one side of the convo. thanks, bluetooth!
uh, back where? funkytown?
ooh... to Rio. guess the magical reply system pwned me a little
and it keeps pwning you. it keeps pushing that reply down whenever a new one gets added. it looks like i'm crapping on your misplaced reply. see?
O
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i need to get back there some day!
Let's just hope the new phones aren't ALL rugged like the phones that they have now.
Ugly son of a beaches
My i870 was in a snowbank for two days and still works. Thats a feature.
I just want to tell you people that my 7100i works just fine. I talked to my Nextel Service dealer and he saw the new BB and said that it would be out by the end of the year. Sometimes new phones are a little slow coming out. So if its not the end of the year, it'll be early next year.
your nextel service dealer is full of crap if he says he saw the new one. i juz had a meeting with blackberry reps. the ones that sit in the sprint corp offices to provide on deck support. and they still havent seen the prototype for it. why would a "service dealer" be allowed to see it before the prototype is finished and hasnt cleared FCC yet and for the record everyone its gonna be a pure iden phone with standard PTT and its NOT gonna be the curve and no touchscreen is on the plate for years to come from RIM
I had to reply to the comment about "hearing another chirp"...the speaker on walkie talkie calls is the same as the speaker on a regular phone call...it's an OPTION.You can chirp through the earpiece like a regular phone conversation, and EVERY nextel user knows this. I've had nextel since 03, and very pleased w/ them by the way, and i've NEVER used my chirp out loud unless i wanted someone near me to hear what was being said. So the next time you hear someone chirping in public...now you'll know they're just showing off.
is it going to be a hybrid blackberry ?