Remember When Phones Were Walkie Talkies?

You know what’s terrible? Phone calls. They take a lot of time, they meander, they make your ear sweaty … and if you miss one, you have to deal with the only thing worse than a phone call: voicemail! The cure for phone calls was supposed to be messaging - but admit it: that’s also getting kind of terrible.
There used to be something in between these two extremes. It was called Push To Talk. (You remember: it’s that feature you probably hated.) But I miss push-to-talk dearly ... Because the whole idea behind it was getting. things. done. Join MrMobile for a look back at walkie-talkie phones, PTT phones, or whatever other name you had for your old Nextel ... and stick around to learn how AT&T and others are keeping the push to talk dream alive today!
[SUBSCRIBE]
/ @themrmobile
[LOCATION CREDIT]
Shot on location at Spaces Newbury Street, Boston MA. Further information available here: bit.ly/2lsc5Rc
[PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO]
Kyocera DuraXE:
mrmobile.tech/sz
HTC U Ultra:
mrmobile.tech/ro
[MUSIC]
"The Ballad of MrMobile." Mobile Nations, 2016
"Overflowing" by Score Squad, available at Premium Beat: www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_f...
[IMAGE AND ARTICLE SOURCES]
“The 5 Worst Mergers in History” via The Richest:
www.therichest.com/business/co...
“Two Way Radio Etiquette” via Quality Two Way Radios:
quality2wayradios.com/store/t...
Nextel Poll at Howard Forums:
www.howardforums.com/showthrea...
ATT E-PTT:
www.wireless.att.com/business...
Nextel VP Interview at RCR Wireless:
www.rcrwireless.com/20030915/c...
Nextel Print Campaign:
www.behance.net/gallery/18087...
[SOCIALIZE]
/ themrmobile
/ themrmobile
/ themrmobile
/ mrmobilesnaps
mrmobile.tech
[THUMBNAIL]
Custom thumbnail by Jose Negron, Mobile Nations
[DISCLOSURE]
This post may contain affiliate links. See Mobile Nations' disclosure policy for more details: www.mobilenations.com/external...

[@Arturito2017]

in those days having a camera on a flip phone and mp3 playback were extra features.

[@TheMrMobile]

True nuff. When I started working for Nextel in January of 2004, none of the phones in the lineup had a camera ... and only two had color screens!

[@awmawy]

MrMobile [Michael Fisher] In 2001 I had a Sprint phone with MP3 playback. People would stop me in the streets and ask, "Are you listening to music on your phone?!?!" I would reply, "Yes! It's a n MP3 player as well." Then they would say, "What's an MP3?!?!"

[@GedNEUK]

arturo fuentes actually on the really earlier models "texting/SMS " was an extra lol .. unfortunately in old enough to remember these odd things called "pagers" 😊

[@BillAnt]

It's a little known fact that a lot Nextel and other phones used in government and other sensitives business prohibited having a camera on the phone. Many consumer phones on the other hand had both front and rear cameras.

[@sirg6465]

Arturo Fuentes wish it was still like that. People wouldn’t be in they’re phones so much.

[@MCA_Lives]

My dad equipped all 26 of his construction employees with Nextel ptt phones, that chirp is basically my childhood I’d hear it during the whole car ride to school, if I had a day off and went into the office I’d hear it basically all day. Definitely helped get things done in the early 2000s

[@kennygough114]

Lmao same dude. Beep beep dang ol *incomprehensible jibberish* tell you hwhat man beep beep

[@TheScientificBackpac]

@@kennygough114 same exact thing here bois. “talkin bout god dang ole roofers mang”

[@RaymondRobinsonJr]

I had a Nextel Walkie Talkie phone and I loved that thing. Ahhh the good ole days! I would still use it but the problem is that I won't have any chirp partners lol.

[@bulbasaurcup9151]

Ray same sadly

[@EudesRJ]

Try Zello

[@andrewqs103]

*bdlinq*

[@hoyoungwon]

Today's smartphones can do much more, but man, those flip phones were instantaneously fast because of their super simple OS. Kinda miss that about a phone.

[@lopez882007]

Didn't have a Nextel, but had a Boost Mobile phone which still had the same functionality. Love the slogan, "Where u at!?"

[@OfficialEnzoEdoggYT]

lopez882007 love the old boost slogan too

[@flaboi404]

lopez882007 i'm about blah blah blah blah

[@BSTRONG6485]

Nextel and Boost were the same company

[@entity9118]

The whole city behind ya!

[@tyeshiataylor]

Yes, me too. I was young. And remember you had to be on a contract to have Nextel/Sprint. Boost was prepaid and you had to get cards to reload mins.

[@TLink9]

When I was younger ptt was used in my school by the faculty. In the hallways you could always hear the little chirp. It seemed so cool at the time. Thanks for covering the history of mobile technology. Always love the quality of your videos.

[@ben9895]

Mr Mobile I really loved the early 2000's Nextel true pice of technology history

[@TheMrMobile]

i95cl forever

[@OfficialEnzoEdoggYT]

MrMobile [Michael Fisher] my parents used to have nextel and they used direct connect

[@flaboi404]

ben roberts i850 i had

[@Lovin_NY93]

Nextel i560 was my phone in middle and high school.

[@cameronlovesevolve]

@@TheMrMobile That Copper Motorola i830 tho..

[@shauron2569]

I still miss my old Nextel and will continue till the end of time, it was by far my favorite way to talk to my friends. I want Nextel back!

[@elindigeno1215]

The chirp phone needs to come back. That was an amazing phone. I used to chirp just to talk to someone instead of texting, waiting for their reply even though my phone can tell me of they read it or not. PTT was amazing they were forced to answer

[@fonsoback2back]

sprint has one called direct connect plus works just like the NEXTEL

[@zachsmith1731]

I mean there's an app for it now

[@Ramonafloyd]

@@zachsmith1731 what's the app?

[@narke-y]

@@Ramonafloyd not sure what app Zach was talking about, but apple watch has a PTT function, which works pretty well. The only problem - it requires you and whoever you want to talk to to have the apple watch and an iphone with facetime enabled

[@chrisblacksr]

@@narke-y I sell a product that is a Smartphone with a PTT button. It falls under business critical communications. We sell a ton of these devices and customer activate them on their favorite cellular provider and talk to their entire team. It work as well if not better than the origianl.

[@MatthewRine]

Oh man! I remember my dad using one of these for work back in the day! That chirp brought back memories! Thanks Michael!

[@Rx330lexuslover]

LETS BRING BACK BOOST MOBLIE WALKIE TALKIE!

[@josealberto-be6ds]

I would use it if they bring it back 👌

[@O_DUBBZ_YUH]

Just got the Zello app n Already having fun 😂😂😂 Thanks!

[@BeniRoseMusic]

WHERE U AT?

[@stevenjackson6383]

Just download zello best push to talk app on Android/ios

[@DabblelyDiddly]

that only worked on iDEN. which has been dead for years. the network doesn't exist.

[@SSteelification]

I used to be on Nextel myself and I loved my Push to talk. still using the chirp as my message tone to this day.

[@TechLineHD]

It was a good idea back in a day although I didn't really use this feature. I used some $10 walkie talkies with my friend when I was like 5 years old. The range was like 50 meters.

[@spruceevergreen5665]

@Kylo Alexis Stop scamming people, shitbag.

[@BonchegoBonchego]

these are my favorite kind of videos. not the run-of-the-mill phone reviews... thanks Mr Mobile.

[@josephkingsley8708]

I am feeling really nostalgic right now. I remember the Nextel ads during football games. Back when my life was simpler, I had hope for the future and my brother was alive. I’d give anything to go back to do those days.

[@thataznguy34]

Had a Nextel i90 in high school but eventually had to stop using it when I realized the "doot doot" sound was just announcing that a douchebag was about to enter the room.

[@TheMrMobile]

Ha - yeah, I used to call 'em "Nextel dirtbags" until I started working for the company and got my entire family on Nextel. Was damn convenient if your personal userbase grew to critical mass.

[@andrewbolivar3040]

I had that phone too and it was completely embarrassing using that feature when not being a contractor or professional that actually needed it that loud. I was usually traveling on a quiet train when my phone blew up with incoming call chirps. All the annoying kids had them and used them incessantly. The same people who always have a need to be heard and seen...like you said, a douchebag

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

You couldn't change the sound with settings or anything

[@euphie2]

This video gave me a case of nostalgia. My first phone was a Nextel and I miss the immediacy of the PTT. My PTT friends have since moved on to bigger and better things, so apps will have to suffice. They are nice but just don't feel the same.

[@TheMrMobile]

Yup. Sometimes, even superior tech falls by the wayside.

[@AllWriteSoft]

I used to be an Engineer for Nextel. What a great company that was. I miss PTT!

[@efp722]

I've watched your work for years and you're still my go to for reviews. Didn't realized how much I missed DC till this video. Great job!

[@turksandwich7538]

I had all three of those Nextel phones, and I miss them all. I used to love chirping my friends while they were in class, and then just screaming through the speaker. Oh the memories.

[@mOOOp42]

PTT was the only required feature you needed to be in the Construction field at that time. I remember my dad's phone always beeping with jobsite updates but now I work in construction as well and many of the older guys still miss their old PTT type phones.

[@mahfuzurchowdhury2765]

Michael is a Fisher-Man for nostalgic phones... I'll walk myself out.

[@khaldounal-nuaimi3594]

I really love the way you present your content. One of the few KZbin channels I never skip a second of their video.

[@chriswoolley7076]

Towing in the early 00’s we lived on these things. Everyone had them and only talked over them. Miss these days a lot more simple.

[@gertis7420]

For some reason, old school technology was a beauty.

[@suicidesilence4444]

lol this phone reminds me strongly of drug dealers. they all used to have these PTT.

[@andrewqs103]

besides construction, the next one I remember was drug dealers. So useful, "i'm in the parking lot" or "i'll be out in a sec". No call was ever made, no paper trail, and only quick words.

[@solomonterrance2676]

Andrew Qs yes but you had to smell the drug dealer funky booty.

[@Msantor1605]

And no triangulation.

[@jdmac8584]

They could never track us. We just put in new SIM cards 😂

[@refaulk]

I too worked for Nextel, during it's heyday, and I gotta say, I miss the PTT option as well, and knew sprint was gonna F**** them up, but they didn't ask my opinion so I was stuck. Love the videos, keep up the good work, Live long and prosper, and for those old enough to remember, to paraphrase a classic song "I want my, I want my, I want my PTT"

[@dylanchadderton1]

I thought i was one of the only ones who truly missed and LOVED PPT. I had Nextel from 2002 up until 2009. i60, i90c, i730, i830, i870, i880 were all the NEXTELs i owned. I not only loved them for everything you mentioned but one more thing...controlled conversation! There was no awkward pauses, or when do we say goodbye, etc You knew exactly when the person was done talking by a "beep" then it was your turn to talk, no interrupting, no awkwardness, just fluid...FAST conversations. I absolutely loved NEXTEL and miss it dearly. Thanks for this awesome video of nostalgia! I'm 31 btw, guessing you're about the same age.

[@MethylHydrazine]

I use to geek out with the Sonar Ping you could make if you had two phones close by....those were the days...

[@TheMrMobile]

Oh man that sound is seared into my brain.

[@Salazar824]

2006...... ME: ABOUT TO TAKE THE ENGLISH REGENT EXAM... MY BROTHER: 🤳 YERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! TEACHER: GET OUT!

[@tyeshiataylor]

🤣

[@mxc0bbn]

Oh my Goodness! It has been such a long time (in tech years at least) since I've thought about my old Nextel phones. During the years of 2000-20005 I had three models: i90c, i730, i860 I used them both for work and personal use and they were equally invaluable at both. Even with the single line display of the i90c and the 733 I had the exact information I needed throughout the day. Although I'm not a product reviewer I can say I've had about 15 non-nextel phones and not-a-one has felt as fully usable as my old nextels....in spite of all the "smartness" of today's phones. Thanks for this one Michael...it certainly brought back a lot of memories. And yes, there were a lot of rude people on nextels back then (I was even one of them at first -- till I realized what the etiquette was) But overall, it was a simpler time where even a speakerphone conversation on a nextel didn't make me grate my teeth as I do today when I overhear conversations in line at Starbucks or Chipotle... Great review Mike!

[@adamnazifi]

I cant help but Appreciate how you make videos every time i watch, you really are dedicated to your work

[@javiermeza5086]

this when you used to ask your friend for your beep beep number!!! lol..boost mobile...Where you at"....!!!! best memories of 2000s

[@grantk932]

Oh I loved PTT! Unfortunately I had too much fun with them, I used to random prank people with the PTT feature or just chirp a friend and just yell out something inappropriate 🤣

[@lateshagiddings8970]

Me too lol

[@rodolisestrella03]

The nostalgia is real on this one hahaha.... these where the good old days having all the motorala/nextel phones i think they use to call the push to talk ('shirp") (shirping") ..good lord i feel so old right now and im only 27 .. seems like these phones where in the palm of our hands yesterday time truly flys by in a blink of an eye .. Good vid cheers and thanks for bringing back the memories :)

[@danielsalm6410]

that was a fun video Michael. glad to see that you switch it up from time to time and that's what makes your channel fun as well

[@rodrigo956able]

I am still using PTT here on mexico, in a smartphone, with prip, that service you can use it if you pay with at&t mexico, and it's nice

[@FlugPoP]

We called it " The Chirp" or just "chrip" , we had a group of friends with the original iDEN 800 mhz Nextel phones. They put a LOT of power out.

[@jamesbean3088]

Still love this video Michael! Thank goodness that Zello exists in 2021 and performs even better that Nextel ever did!

[@m1rchegfn]

I love these videos. Love the new channel. Keep up with the good work!

[@LewysC]

You know your obsessed when you stop everything you're doing just to watch Michael Fishers video XD

[@Concretefarm]

i still miss it

[@MikeSmith-cx2dj]

Nextel rugged phone was my go to on construction sites- waterproof and drive over proof- I miss it so much!!!! We had the big brick yellow ones! I miss the early 2000s man!

[@Dwilsonmusic145]

Wow dude you brought me wayyyyyyy back with this one

[@sagarbasnet3938]

Remember when people would kill for theses things?

[@TheMrMobile]

Yup! I used to try to sign people up all the time, but back in 2004 Nextel's credit requirements were extreme. Most folks in my market could only get a phone if they were willing to put down a $500 deposit. Per line.

[@JamarD421]

MrMobile [Michael Fisher] Yikes.....

[@troy5568]

Sagar Basnet Now the phones are killing us if you know what I mean :D

[@Eduard000F]

I remember back in school when owning a Nextel made you cool, I wanted one so bad lol

[@JustWill99]

I had a Nextel at an internship in South Carolina the same summer my buddy interning in California did. We were totally those obnoxious guys that ruined push to talk... but it was so awesome 🤣

[@mattdonlan7198]

Nice flashback to those days man. I remember that fad I wanted one really bad then like all of sudden it just went away. It's still a great idea, iOS and android should have just made it a standard feature for an option for people. It's great to have in a lot of situations, nice video

[@wuliangye]

I used to work between 2004-2009 for a push to talk operator here in Jordan called XPress. It used the same Motorola iDEN technology that Nextel used. XPress shut down the business in 2011. This video brought so many dear memories!

[@texasT6]

Ughhh, we used to use nextels at one of my jobs back in the day. It was awesome until someone would not chirp you but send that god awful loud alert chirp!!!

[@MrV902]

Apple: Look, our new watch has a built in walkie-talkie. *Nextel:...*

[@platinum758]

omh lol. those were the days. i barely used ptt but those were when mobile use was just so easy and straight to the point. thanks for the flashback!!

[@ed10523]

When I worked in the City.. My Nextel phone was ideal for the messenger work i did. It Was Instant Communication while others were stuck in a payphone..This is circa 1999. Mr Mobile you Rock Sir!

[@TheMoises1213]

i remember it omgg whyy they have to get rid of it😭😭😭

[@702luxor]

I miss my chirps, I only started texting when I couldn't chirp anymore. Progress right?

[@muhammadshairazi6087]

The earliest i have been for a mr mobile video yaaaay

[@Tom-Bomb]

Dude.. I miss direct connect so fn much!!! Back in the good ol’ days of 03-05 it seemed like literally everyone in my town had Nextel! (Prob bc it was the only network w coverage in my small CT town lol). It was so awesome tho and it fit perfectly w my 14-16 year old high school self/social life! So much easier than bulky texting or calling- it was perfect! Just had to push a button to say “hey wyd?” and didn’t need to hold up a convo the way u do w a call- it was so nice! But then for some reason all of a sudden everyone stopped using PTT and moved towards texting as the future… and I’m still so disappointed by it and prey DC/PTT comes back even better someday as it was FAR SUPERIOR!!! Btw thx for the vid!

[@dylanchadderton1]

Oh and i STILL remember my Nextel Direct Connect number to this day... 174*144334*1...hmu, but i doubt it will work ;)

[@EudesRJ]

Download prip 😝

[@robertvanderbush737]

yeah they (sprint) killed the iDen network that ran nextel phones years ago in favor of their bullshit CDMA crap network

[@cg391]

Same here 82917*2

[@cyrustaylor9687]

Check out Southern Linc. They still operate an iDEN (Nextel-like) network today. I have been working for one of their dealers since 2014. The phone selection has gone down to nothing since Motorola was bought by Lenovo but we actually had quite a few when I started work there. Now if you check out the website it's just one phone to choose from now and also note it's only regional coverage but it happens to work where I live and many people (mostly business and government) still use it. They are building a LTE network that will launch in 2018 so you should check it out if you are within the coverage area this year before it goes away if you really want that Nextel feeling again!

[@TheMrMobile]

Thanks for chiming in! Yeah, you LINC guys were the envy of many of us in the Nextel footprint because you got some handsets we didn't (the intrinsically safe version of an i3xx series comes to mind) and SoLINC could roam on Nextel but not vice versa! Sorry to hear about the handset selection going to pot but it was inevitable.

[@santimanoantonio]

Oh how I miss flip phones. My Motorola Razr is still Gold. Quality of your videos make them interesting to watch. Keep up the good work.

[@hyedefinition1080]

The acting in this is top notch! Loved it when Mr. Mobile called the other Mr. Mobile while he was playing with Lego's. :)

[@padre443]

First time I've heard of this.

[@techpassion4126]

Padre Same, good to learn something new though ^^

[@maethorechannen]

Padre Same here. I don't think anyone offered this where I live (and still don't get why anyone would want this in the first place).

[@herrxerex8484]

I have my exam today preboard wish me luck and get the s8

[@bmpink]

Arnav Banerjee Good luck stranger!

[@adityadeshbandhu6001]

Red X Lol...

[@VarunSarathy]

LOL!

[@Poebat]

Nice

[@rainZSlayer]

All the best buddy :)

[@ITpanda]

Nextel was awesome when everyone had one. Every contractor I knew had one. Good times!

[@jjeff2209]

I miss it. How do i bring PTT back to life, main stream?

[@Forflies]

What about pagers?

[@JamarD421]

Forflies LOL what's that?

[@Forflies]

Khanin the Uhnahkian They're basically the same thing tbh

[@JamarD421]

***** I know, I was joking

[@Forflies]

Khanin the Uhnahkian Oh my bad xD

[@bookmark1335]

Lol

[@DabblingIn]

Good memories. I like these kinds of videos. Keep them coming.

[@KPS_04]

You are such a nice man 😁 I love the quality of your videos

[@coolstuff668]

How about Whatsapp? There is a push to talk integrated.

[@armuk]

is it the voice msgs on whatsapp

[@coolstuff668]

Yes, There is a mic near the send button where you can record and send your messages.

[@MazwiZwane]

what Whatsapp has is not really the traditional push to talk but it serves the same purpose

[@hellodarknessmyoldfriend5910]

used PTT a lot on my Nokia N73

[@abhishek8243]

Jatin Sharma missing that phone badly.. my first phone and that was stolen..

[@hellodarknessmyoldfriend5910]

Abhishek Chindaluri sad to hear that bro :( that phone was solid...when I got mine in 2006 the 3.2 megapixel sensor it had was like top drawer back then

[@cdlelondon]

Michael you are the only person I know who ever liked Push To Talk and I'm putting that down to you being such a big Trekkie LOL, live long and prosper m8ty

[@VinceMiniscalco]

WHERE YOU AT?!?! PTT brings back such nostalgia. Great video

[@kanetikk]

PTT was the 💣

[@CyGuy47]

Can't forget riding in the car with my dad's phone clipped to the visor, and you would hear **chirp chirp** all ride. Nostalgia man.

[@zackshannon834]

We had Nextel for, 2-3 years before spring bought them. I used to love it all the time. We had it for awhile after sprint as well, just fantastic.

[@v1d300]

I always wondered what PTT did in my old Nokia or Moto phone. Wish it was that widespread globally. Thanks for this.

[@Jaimesgaming]

The good old days. I missed Nextel. I used to have one of then push to talk phone And I loved it. Nostalgia 😭

[@6644pmr]

Discourteous user is the nicest way to describe the guy on the bus that pushed to talk a family member in his outdoor voice making sure they knew that they took his underwear that morning instead of their own. Yea.... Sadly that actually happened. Love these kinds of videos though, excellent work.

[@JohnTindale]

Worked as an HVAC guy in those days. Had the "rugged" yellow nextel. Loved it.

[@ltchugacast131]

Oooooo that noise brings me back. The beep beep was how you checked in with family and got everybody together quickly at amusement parks or beach days or camping trips. Anybody that grew up in my town probably still has a pause reflex to that distinctive beep. You heard that sound and you all stop and figure out who needs to be home ASAP.

[@kingzach74]

Voxer and Zello still have the feature. They are free apps on both android and apple.

[@BlkMagik]

Everyone who was anyone in high school had the Nextel chirp on their hip 😂 I really miss using PTT though. Not only was it convenient when you wanted to relay a message quickly, but it was just fun as hell.

[@JeepBoiFL]

I jumped right in with this when Nextel offered it. Unfortunately only one of my friends did also. However, we LOVED IT!

[@bulbasaurcup9151]

I had one and LOVED it!! I miss it dearly.

[@TimmyHD]

I have actually deployed some older Nextel phones at work for our IT department! The offline walkie talkie feature still works surprisingly well! About a mile of range through buildings too!

[@splewy]

That Nextel chirp gives me Vietnam flashbacks. I remember virtually everyone with those phones always used them in the most obnoxious way possible. Kids today don't know. They weren't there mannnnn!

[@SergeantExtreme]

You think that was bad, you should travel back to the heyday of CB radio. Now THAT was obnoxious!

[@lawea957]

Both my parents worked for a Motorola subsidiary back in the 90's and early 2000's and the they also moved on to Nextel, this brings back memories

[@DaltonTk423]

I actually still have 4 old Nextel i355's. I use them to talk to my group of trucks when we go off roading in the middle of nowhere and there isn't any cell coverage. Some old Nextel phones will make their own cell network when one isn't available (Nextel shut down all the towers). They work perfectly and you can even talk to a single phone in the group if you want or talk to the whole group at once! The network the phones make is fully digital and is in a frequency range that no other walkie talkie type radio uses, so no interference to worry about! Pretty cool!

[@ethanj.dewicki5330]

I remembered those! When I was in kindergarten I carried a walkie talkie around school and screwed with the playground supervisors who had walkie talkies too. I didn't use a phone at age 5, but my parents bought walkie talkies because at the time they were cheaper than using a phone on vacation. I brought a walkie talkie with me to school and every kid thought I was the coolest, and we always heard the playground supervisors talking so we knew when to put away our gameboys at recess.

[@Big_Sierra]

I miss these so much, bro. We had it too good. I remember the DAY that Sprint ruined it. What a shame

[@Pr0phetless]

I had a nextel PTT phone, and loved it. So fast and simple

[@kimliao8774]

I was amazed back in late 90s when I got on an airport pick up van and the driver started using Nextel phone to talk to the headquarters, I can still remember the crispy tone when he pressed the PTT button as well as the crystal clear audio. That's how I was tracked to digital mode of HAM years later.:)

[@scottishfanta]

Love the stereotypical Boston accent! you need to do that more haha!! :D Great video!

[@charminbaer2323]

I used it back in the Nextel and Boost Mobile days. It was fun modding/customizing them too with custom color/clear cases, custom ringtones. Many people used them because they could talk to friends/family in Mexico just like if they were in the States. No long distance charges.

[@willmatic84]

I miss the chirp days I want it back

[@romemcdaniel2434]

Me too I've been looking all over for them

[@BBC600]

My stepfather was a truck driver and gave my mum a "Motorola Mike i205" phone. Having PTT capability was great way of communication.

[@itxofficial8281]

oh my lord, PTT!!! I almost totally forgot about it ;) When I started working for ONE (an austrian phone carrier) back in 2006, that feature was still very hip, but ONE didn't really like it, so in the end, they started banning it completely by deactivating the feature on their newer branded phones. But yes, I faintly remember it! Those were the days :P

[@macemoneta]

We used Nextel and loved PTT. The service was outstanding. What killed it for us was Nextel's billing. Not a single invoice was correct. When we called to complain, they'd promise to fix it and offered some compensation. Not only didn't they fix it, the compensation was never provided (and they had no record of it, of course). When we finally had enough and tried to cancel service, they offered to "meet us half way" - that is, only *overcharge* us *half as much* as they were going to! It was so infuriating we literally went to the next cellular service we saw. I honestly wasn't surprised to see them cease to exist.

[@TrippingThru]

Love the subtle "The Voyage Home" nod!

[@TheMrMobile]

"I like the way she fights!"

[@2002altima]

I dearly miss it... I'm still with boost Mobile now since 2008 with the same phone number 😭

[@guadalupemontero902]

When I was younger, I remember working for a guy in construction( yeah I know, but he was a friend of a family members church so I decided to help) and saw him using this feature to communicate with the rest of his crew almost instantly. I also remember the phone being built tough.

[@chucknorriss5452]

Yea they had the black n yellow construction version of the phone... All the models started with the letter "i" before the numbers. The one you're talking about is the i700plus

[@georgespeck2289]

I used to work for a private protection service, had the Nextel Phones for communicatios. Hearing the chirp chirp sounds, Brings back memories.