Nextel getting a WiFi iDEN BlackBerry this year

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]

[CP @ Apr 4th 2008 1:04PM]

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.

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 1:04PM]

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?

[Flashpoint @ Apr 4th 2008 1:04PM]

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Motorola hasn't developed any must-have phones for the Nextel Network and even the last series - i880 was terribly outdated....and don't make me mention the i930 which was pisspoor and didn't even have bluetooth.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.

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 1:21PM]

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."

[aaron @ Apr 4th 2008 1:13PM]

Wait...Nextel is still around?

[thebreeder @ Apr 4th 2008 1:22PM]

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...

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 1:35PM]

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...

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 1:43PM]

dude! you need a wife from Rio. they're less uptight there. =)

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 2:08PM]

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.

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 2:16PM]

a nudge is as good as a wink to a blind bat, Anon

[justin @ Apr 4th 2008 3:10PM]

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...

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 4:10PM]

i'm confused. justin is thebreeder? thebreeder is justin? rock beats paper? monkey eats dog?

[Steve @ Apr 4th 2008 1:45PM]

I become slightly aroused whilst thinking of the amount of commission I am going to make off of that new blackberry.

[PHATJ @ Apr 4th 2008 1:46PM]

'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.

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 1:53PM]

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.

[Chad @ Apr 4th 2008 1:56PM]

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.

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 2:00PM]

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*

[Kenneth Meunier @ Apr 4th 2008 1:59PM]

Why? How connected is too connected?

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 2:03PM]

too-connected is doing just fine from what i hear.

[dcny @ Apr 4th 2008 2:22PM]

Damn when is Sprint gonna kill Nextel off im so sick of that damn chirp sound, I dont wanna hear someones full conversation

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 2:24PM]

word. i prefer hearing just one side of the convo. thanks, bluetooth!

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 4:09PM]

uh, back where? funkytown?

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 4:37PM]

ooh... to Rio. guess the magical reply system pwned me a little

[Anonymoose @ Apr 4th 2008 4:54PM]

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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[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 3:25PM]

i need to get back there some day!

[AwlAmericanDawg @ Apr 4th 2008 11:36PM]

Let's just hope the new phones aren't ALL rugged like the phones that they have now.

Ugly son of a beaches

[Justin @ Apr 5th 2008 12:04AM]

My i870 was in a snowbank for two days and still works. Thats a feature.

[Jeffrey Schirf @ Apr 6th 2008 10:02PM]

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.

[Adam Morrison @ Apr 17th 2008 10:45AM]

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

[Blight @ Apr 28th 2008 8:22PM]

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.

[randy @ May 11th 2008 7:36PM]

is it going to be a hybrid blackberry ?