When Phones Were Fun: NEXTEL

[@vote4jellodk]

There was nothing like being a 20 year old in the early 00’s with terrible friends all with Nextels, standing in line at a store, hearing your phone go beep beep and then a loud rant filled with every curse word you can imagine. I’ll never forget the looks.

[@15Kilo]

I use to do the “doctor just called and said your std is contagious” thing lmao

[@eazyeazy5186]

Your dam right 👍

[@J3loodT4lon]

This is why my dad and all his friends with Nextels had a rule: Chirp twice and wait for a response. If you don't get one, the person isn't available.

[@SLOBeachboy]

When I first went to work for Nextel back in 2000 I did not understand the point of the Direct Connect feature at all and I found it annoying at first when people from work would contact me this way. But then I quickly came to realize just how useful it could be to the types of customers we typical had, such as construction workers and the like. The film industry was another huge customer and not only were these phones used on the studio lots by everyone but if you watch pretty much any TV shows from back then, like Law and Order, etc. you will see that the characters are all using Nextel phones. And some actors used them off set as well. For example, Josh Brolins would come in at least 3 or 4 times a year to have a broken flip replaced. By the way, since Michael seems to have been working at Nextel during the same time period as me I’m surprised that he does not have an i836 in his collection, which in my opinion was the best looking Nextel phone that Motorola made, and also the smallest aside from the i830. As for those annoying chirps in public I think this pretty much paled in comparison to all the other obnoxious cell phone behavior people exhibited back then. For example, one thing that really annoyed me back then was the fact that people would always talk on a cell phone when in public at a MUCH higher decibel level than they would if they were talking to the person face to face. It was a really weird phenomenon, particularly when you conceded that the phones at the time could easily pick up whispers. But I suspect this behavior was a carryover from the late 90 when almost nobody had a cell phone and so the people who did felt the need to advertise this fact by being very obvious about the fact that they had one. Everything about their body language would scream “hey, look at me! I’m important enough to be carrying a cell phone around so that I can talk about important business on the go”. It was kind of like those guys who would always hang out in the coffee shop on their laptops. Sure some of these people really had so much work to do on the computer that they had to do it wherever they could. But a large percentage of them did not really have anything important that needed to get done, but rather they just liked the way it made them look and feel. Back to cell phones though, I remember once I was standing in a long line at McDonalds and this guy was standing right at the counter at the front of the line blabbing away very loudly on his cell phone. I naturally assumed he was waiting there for his food to come - weird enough on its own - but then after I finally got up to order myself I realized that he had already received his order some time ago. Apparently he had just chosen to stand there at the very busy counter for ten minutes having a very loud conversation on his phone. Of all the places to just settle in and have a lengthy and overly loud conversation with someone. But thankfully today, due to the decades old texting craze in which people will text even when a phone call would be much more practical, you just don’t hear as many obnoxiously loud people on their cell phones as you used to.

[@davidh4374]

​@@SLOBeachboydo you still work for them and/or what happened go them? Does push‑to‑talk still exist?

[@Simon_Electric]

I almost cried at the end of this video. I just started college at the time that Nextel went under. Those were some of the best years of my life. Having to come to grips with reality and acknowledging that those days are now "obsolete". It hurts, kinda. But as with all things, we move on and we evolve.

[@ks2924]

Exactly bro. Greatest era ever. #1985 babies man

[@bradenfitzpatrick8352]

As someone who's oldest phone was a random LG messaging phone from the early 2010s this series has been an incredible look into a technological landscape I never experienced

[@Yodah97]

Same here! And as a Brazilian I hadn't even heard of these cellular networks until I found this channel. My first phone was an Nokia messaging phone, the X2-01, which we got about ten years ago. It still works, I even got books to work on the damn thing, and my brother was using it as an ebook reader as late as last year.

[@ryebread8063]

Man my first phone was a galaxy s3! Can't believe this was what the past phone landscape looked like.

[@humbertogonzalez7505]

@@Yodah97 we used to be able to direct connect from the USA to Brazil and Argentina!

[@ryebread8063]

@@FlameOnTheBeat Eyy nice I'm on the note 10+. Tbh I'm not looking to change phones for another year, Samsung did well with their 10 series phones.

[@Yodah97]

@@ryebread8063 I'm currently using the LG K50s, bought it a few months before they closed their phone division. Although I think they are still releasing new budget models with the LG brand here. Must be a licensing deal.

[@wetoolow8750]

I loved Nextel up until the end. I remember working at AT&T Wireless and my manager asking me why I still carried my i930 Nextel phone. I told him the Direct Connect was faster than a phone call and faster than a text message. I then Direct Connected from Los Angeles, California, USA, to my brother-in-law in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in less than one second and for free. Then, I intentionally chucked my phone on to the break room floor to show him how durable the phone was. He just looked at me in disbelief. He told me that I needed to get onboard (drink the Kool-Aid), but I had made my point.

[@ayol1011]

This is one of most compelling video in this series. While Nextel is not as well known worldwide, this video highlights the downfall of a company that fails to adapt to new technologies fast enough.

[@mcm4088]

Actually not it was popular only in USA.

[@JaredVonBaren]

This is absolutely true. I’m so glad T-Mo USA is now the #2 wireless carrier, or maybe #3 - the numbers keep flip flopping in between spot 1, 2 & 3 but yeah, Verizon has fallen due to lack of 5G, AT&T is making a comeback, & T-Mobile has been killing it for 4+ years now. They finally cover my parents hometown in BFE - after 13 years of asking for a tower, we got one.

[@Matias-cx3wg]

@@mcm4088 nope. I live in Argentina and it was really popular for workers in latin america as well. Specially for construction or transportation. Wasn't popular for the general public of course.

[@georgeklimes7604]

@@Infinite08 Exactly. I have one goes back almost 20 years. I still use one, but it's an Android one with the keyboard.

[@georgeklimes7604]

@@Infinite08 I have the Key2 LE. I had to back up the phone and wipe it in order to get rid of the memory creep. I was having to delete apps all the time. I am holding out hope for another one, but that's been delayed for a year almost at this point. Also use an iPhone 12 for other things. But the BlackBerry, in my opinion, is the best mail and text phone in the business, and I love using their keyboards.

[@Tsepz]

This “When phones were fun” has easily become my favourite series on tech KZbin 👌🏾 I’m from South Africa so this part of it was fascinating as I remember looking at US forums (I was a Symbian user) like HoFo back in the mid 2000s and seeing people talk about PTT and Direct Connect, but never fully understood what it was all about, this video greatly explained it. Amazing the different journeys that were taken in different countries and regions to lead us where we all are now. In South Africa we are still dealing with high call and data costs though, so a lot of people prefer using WhatsApp Calls to consolidate the cost to data. Will you at any point be covering mobile phone OSs in the series E.g. Symbian and all it’s variants (S60, S80, S90 and UIQ) looking into each manufacturers take on it? And same with Windows Mobile? Awesome work Michael! Keep em coming!

[@JaredVonBaren]

MTN in South Africa is gouging the prices on you and others because the LANDLINE infrastructure is crumbling so badly…so wireless is now suffering outages, which means more technical people needed to fix & source. MTN is a crazy expensive network though…insanely.

[@SIPEROTH]

@@JaredVonBaren MTN? Those guys still exist? They used to be in my country but another company bought their Network and they left some years ago.

[@CrashloveXO]

My pops was a dedicated Nextel customer. I remember the countless afternoons when his phone would chirp and on the other end it was my uncle seeking to have a quick walkie-talkie chat 😂 good times.

[@ImAraMirage]

@Mike Mainer shut up

[@hillaryclinton1558]

My dad And Uncle too they're both truckers and I remember the same thing

[@Mrcaffinebean]

That Nextel walkie talkie feature worked so well and so easy. Every contractor had them. I can’t believe it didn’t stick around as a mainstream feature.

[@Mrcaffinebean]

@@Michael.Barlow oh yeah, terrible for anyone outside of work. But the work applications are numerous

[@timotheatae]

I didn't expect a video about a network I've never used from a country I've never been to, to nearly bring me to tears with the passion and panache it was presented with. Stellar video.

[@dv9239]

@corey Babcock it brings back so many memories I've never had

[@Vlad2319]

Nextel was pretty much the only thing that rural companies and people were able to talk reliably. I used Cingular south when my parents finally got me a phone (free razor with it) but my dad was tempted at the time to get me and him a Nextel phone just for the radio. People where I'm from didn't know if Nextel would let you use it just as a radio.

[@Wingspan_5]

I remember when direct connect came out, my neighbors owned a paving company and I was amazed to see them "walkie-talky-ing" to each other across town using cell phones.

[@sunnaricurt]

My first time to Brazil in 2016 i was shocked to see Nextel as one of the 4 big cellular carriers in the country, so of course I brought my old Nextel phone with me the following year and activated it here with no problems! Everything still works even though I don't use the phone that much it was a lifesaver when my smartphone was stolen and i needed a backup.

[@kurarisu_]

It was bought out and incorporated into a different company in 2020, unfortunately

[@EudesRJ]

@@kurarisu_ It became Claro in 2020, Nextel beside having a smaller network in Rio de Janeiro it had a better coverage than Claro (most popular carrier in Rio de Janeiro by line numbers). They remote reprogrammed my Nextel SIMCard to switch to Claro, at least I got Wi-Fi Calling (beside being unreliable on Claro) but when they turnoff Nextel Network the coverage dropped but the data speed goes from up to 30Mbps (best Nextel 4G/3G speeds) to over 300Mbps on Claro network. But Claro voice calls have worse quality than Nextel 😥 2022 voice calls on Claro are getting less compressed, almost usable.

[@JaredVonBaren]

Nextel BR still functioning? That’s wild… wow.

[@EudesRJ]

@@JaredVonBaren iDen died in 2017~2018 and in 2020 4G/3G becomes Claro

[@JaredVonBaren]

@@EudesRJ Ahhh. They have Claro in Puerto Rico & it’s garbage, minus the Metro San Juan area, & even then, not really that great. Liberty PR is better, for most people, or they use T-Mobile 5G.

[@dreamscape9295]

This is one of my favorite KZbin series ever. We've basically won the game right now with smartphones, but it got boring because of that. Seeing novel designs and solutions to issues we've mostly conquered is a lot of fun, and that's a kind of fun I miss a bit. It just keeps it interesting.

[@georgekontogiannis4091]

It's like when you get cheat codes for a video game, and you can one hit kill every enemy. It ruins the fun.

[@DavidKen878]

Between Nextel's walkie-talkie and Sidekicks, kids today have no idea what they missed out on.

[@JaredVonBaren]

No kidding.

[@IngwiePhoenix]

I was born '93 but with a severe visual impairment. Sadly, I could never use a Sidekiq or BlackBerry. But have you ever used a screen reader (TALX) on a Symbian 60 phone - a Nokia N-Gage QD, no less - to slam out facebook posts via SMS? :D I miss the old days - but, I still do have that very N-Gage QD right here. I just can't bring myself to throwing it away...

[@loganmacgyver2625]

this series makes me wish i was born earlier

[@JaredVonBaren]

@@IngwiePhoenix I loved my N-Gage QD - best T-Mobile phone that was also a Taco 🌮 to ever exist lol 😂 I do miss it though, seriously. Tony Hawks Pro-Skater, bro 😎

[@jm036]

But did you share APKs of pirated Minecraft PE to your classmate's HTC Desire thing over Bluetooth?

[@thunderbolt10031]

I absolutely loved this video. I've always been so fascinated with Nextel. My parents were very early subscribers and they stayed with them all the way to 2012 when they finally had enough and swapped to Verizon with iPhones. I still have my mother's Motorola i776 and it still powers up and works like a charm. I agree that walkie talkie functions fell out of favor with pop culture, but I must say that the convenience of pressing a button and instantly talking to anyone is still unmatched by any other method of communication.

[@flickdakobold]

The storytelling in this video was top-tier

[@weatheronthe8s895]

My dad had Nextel when I was a kid. The coverage I remember being not very good in my more rural city. The coverage seemed to fade out quicker than most other carriers (at least quicker than US Cellular in a lot of places as that’s what I mostly used otherwise at the time), especially when my dad inevitably broke the antennas on his phones. My dad said he liked the push to talk features though, so there’s that. I also remember the basic mobile Internet and being blown away by being able to check the weather forecast on a phone. Nextel was an interesting part of my childhood.

[@JaredVonBaren]

Way more like how Japan was using their phone technologies, but just…in a different way. It was so cool. The QUALITY of the Walkie Talkie voice was amazing too - much better than a voice call over the same network.

[@TheCathleen10]

My dad had Nextel too. He used it for his business, and I was on his plan so I had one too! I loved it.

[@Enthrox]

Hey Michael! This is random, but as someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression for over 20 years now, and who is having a particularly bad episode as we speak, you, your videos, and especially this series does help to allieviate it all a little bit, so thank you. Take care!

[@TheMrMobile]

I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad to hear this series is a bit of a help. Thanks for sharing that, and I hope your current episode passes swiftly. Be well!

[@IrenMasot]

Gosh, I was about to mention that MrMobile still having his nametag and other keepsakes after all these years has put some weirdness of mine in perspective. I've thrown away tons of keepsakes over the years because I'm ashamed of some part or other of my life, and I think it puts things in perspective seeing somebody else do the opposite. Really, I think no matter how bad a year has been for you, being able to remember it in later years of your life is really important. Just something to hold onto, and remind yourself how far you've come. McDonald's nametag not included, of course.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

@@TheMrMobile you are a solid human.

[@EndTheFed1933]

Oh the nostalgia! I graduated high-school in 2005 and I absolutely loved my nextel that I had at that time. Thank you for this great video and a trip down memory lane!

[@ProperScottishWelcome]

I’m sure the “whatever this is” is a carrier bag carrier. It allows you to carry multiple carrier bags in the one hand by hanging them on and holding the handle. Great video as always Michael 👍🏻

[@TheMrMobile]

Wish I'd had these back when I was constantly playing "how many bags can I carry in one trip" during my grocery shopping days at the walk-up apartment. Thanks!

[@ProperScottishWelcome]

@@TheMrMobile it’s a genius contraption and stops the bags cutting into your fingers.

[@axiriemery8099]

@@TheMrMobile MrMobile, you did an amazing job on this video. You to me back to that awesome Era. Have you ever did a video on the palm pre phones. Those phones was awesome as well 😎

[@tristanflynn4014]

@@TheMrMobile We men don't need such fancy technology... we would rather risk cutting off all blood flow to our arms than make two trips.

[@chicagobernie2061]

8:06 "Whatever this is" LOL

[@marioalfonsoarreolaa.flore2882]

Here in México having a Nextel was a symbol of status and wealth. If you we're a business man, or dealt with them you needed a Nextel... Or if you wanted to look like you had money and power. One time a friend and I went to a bar to have a couple of beers. My Friends father was the owner of a small engineering firm, so he gave him a Nextel in case he needed something. So long story short, My friend was trying to get a hold of her sister, but Nextel network was down for some reason. A couple minutes pass and we see a teenage girl across the bar pretending to speak with someone (loudly) on her Nextel. We started laughing, and I said: "maybe she has access to a super VIP network and thats why she has service and you don't".

[@miguelr3135]

I remember my dad had a Nextel, I was like 13 years old at the time and my dad barely got his US Green card. we went to visit our family members in Puebla and the people there were all concerned at my dad for having a Nextel, they tought he was a rich guy or something.😂 He was able to contact our neighbor from Mexico all the way to Houston.

[@Tipman2OOO]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@samsteff6396]

I went travelling around america in 2008 and saw a couple use this feature whilst at Disney World, i hadn't seen anything like this before and couldn't get my head around it! Thanks for adding some meat to the bones!

[@JaredVonBaren]

Nextel’s Chirp was a sound that, if you were a child of the era, YOU CAN NEVER not recognize it. They still use the Chirp in so much music, it’s crazy.

[@larryfuentes9404]

thank you so much for the time, energy, and effort into makin this nostalgic phone video. i appreciate the love into compiling this video together. i didn't know how the fall of Nextel happened, but, i wasn't into phones back then, but i remember this company being a big company.

[@DominickRuocco]

I honestly miss the days of NEXTEL. It was so convenient to get in touch with someone with the two way radio. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. I love when Michael Fisher releases nostalgia videos on tech. "Stay mobile my friends."

[@RS7RV]

Me too

[@jasonnorton3217]

What a great video! Thanks for the nostalgia. As a former truck driver, we relied on these. Often used to call them No-Tell. Always had issues with that service however

[@startedtech]

While I've got nostalgia from them being with Sprint, (grew up near the campus) I certainly don't have nostalgia for the people that would obnoxiously use the walkie talkie in public at full volume.

[@TheMrMobile]

Craziest thing about that: the phones gave you the option to take a PTT call over the earpiece (instead of the speaker). So people never *had* to blast their business out to all and sundry on the speakerphone, but they either didn't know or didn't care that the earpiece option existed. 😆

[@acchaladka]

This. This. A million times this. Now I understand - from Mr Mobile video - why it was always an obviously poor person showing off using these on the subway.

[@nimoy007]

@@acchaladka I don't think it's necessary to paint someone as "obviously poor." People buy flashy things for many reasons, but stereotypes like that are a great way to get into trouble.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@TheMrMobile people still do it today! I’ve gone past so many people on the street holding their smartphone in front of their face talking loudly at it, and I can hear what the other person is saying. And that’s not the default behaviour, they have to enable it manually! So I guess some people just love to do that.

[@FunkatronicDingus]

@@acchaladka ?? I remember hearing blue collar workers using these things out loud in public as a kid too, they sure as hell weren't poor.

[@something.with.m]

That flip-phone from 12:40 - 12:57 looks SO COOL! I love how sleek it looks for a flip, and those buttons look so clicky. It's easily one of the best looking flip-phones in this video!

[@KendallSeabury]

6:48 I hereby petition to bring back the retro Michael Fisher 'stache.

[@siamahmed7936]

i love how mr. fisher has all of his memories from THAT era saved! i mean these photos fascinates me a lot! I'd give everything in this world to get back my clicked photos of those early 2000's which all of them i lost! digital camera photos are still with me but we used digital cameras back then for occasions or not just very randomly.. but we did use our phones to take that random shot, that forgotten moment, that maybe it's not the best photo but it's what I've got to freeze this memory forever. hey man you are very lucky and wise to still being able to keep all these and me? not so much as my oldest phone photo collection just dates back to 2012 and by that time many used a cellphone camera very often. thank you Mr. Fisher for still through your photos and this series, taking me down to a nostalgia supernova that i still adore and miss.

[@Shimkusnik]

Fun fact: "Aina" means "Always" in Finnish, and the company seems to be originating from there. The product lives up to its name!

[@Darkest_matter]

Aina also means something in Arabic. I think it means "why" or "who"

[@jalabi99]

"Aina" is also a fairly common Nigerian surname e.g., the Nigerian-American fashion/makeup KZbinr Jackie Aina.

[@slickrick2420]

"Aina" is a also a Finnish female name meaning "the only one". "Aina" is also a Swedish slang of originally Turkish origin meaning "police"

[@arthurcamara4010]

“Aina” the simple meaning in Hawaiian is “Land” but it’s used more of a spiritual relationship one has with their home and their ancestors.

[@JamboP26]

As a someone from outside the US, I only know Nextel from their sponsorship of the NASCAR cup series, and your videos where you talk about working for them. A fascinating video tbh. Many old carriers from the UK that no longer exist, and I miss too tbh

[@carriefernandez8705]

As someone who's moved a million times and doesn't have much from my life before about 2016 or so, I very much appreciate that you still have this time capsule of old cell phones and nametags for shitty retail jobs. Ephemera is a much more interesting form of history than the textbook stuff, in my opinion.

[@danm2203]

That funky Nextel ringtone is so nostalgic my dad worked in construction and had one of these phones, I can remember hearing it go off like as if it was yesterday

[@ReverendNaughty]

Nextel phones were unbelievable… my stepdad had one that got run over by a concrete truck. It still worked.

[@DJHALFRO]

Great video! This brought back some memories. I worked for Sprint from 2009-2014 as a Tech Support Supervisor, and I remember how much the Nextel acquisition whooped our butt in the call center lol. I'd love to see a video about 4G, and how all the other carriers were going with LTE while Sprint decided on WiMAX. It'd be cool to see the differences between the 2 networks.

[@yournamehere23435]

We had Nextel in my country for some years (i think till 2014-15). I distinctly remember a friend having one and using it to call her family in another country. It was nuts to me, specially when a minute of international calls was the equivalent of least half a dollar per minute.

[@Zuno79]

I absolutely loves this video, it was a walk down memory lane for me. I worked for Nextel and then Sprint from 05 to 13 and just seeing the old legacy Nextel stores, the old business cards, hearing that PTT, man that took me back. Those were fun phones for fun times for me. Thank you for making this.

[@michellem86]

I loved my Nextel and was definitely top 2 of my most fun phones. I remember the walkie talkie and going to the phone store and paying $1 a ringtone. They would upload whatever song you wanted so you could use it as a ringtone. All of my friends had one. Good Times 🤙🏽

[@ks2924]

The best of times

[@bigblackearl6852]

I had one back in the day I remember working construction with my dad and constantly hearing that Nextel chirp I mostly used mine to talk to gym grandpa

[@kathiecollins9606]

I would give ANYTHING to have my Nextel back! I had the checkered flag Nextel for eight years! That thing got run over by a racecar, and was still kicking! I loved that phone so much!!!! I still have it, actually.

[@volcomintality8638]

I never was a Nextel customer, but I STILL think the walkie-talkie feature is one of the coolest features I wish I could've participated in. This series really reminds me just how cool phones were.

[@tuugestein96]

Your videos are the only ones on youtube that make me emotional at the end. Just absolutely top-notch storytelling. I don't even really care about old phones but i'm about to go on a binge just because i enjoy your videos so much.

[@jaysondilao2129]

Another great video Michael! Awesome you kept the name plates or tags or whatever you call those things LOL, I too worked at a dealer for some time and watched how things changed over time. I still have my Nokia flip phone and my iPhone 3gs my first real smartphone. In the past decades it's mind blowing how fast technology has advanced. Thank you for this series, it really is a great one, keep it coming my friend, a big fan from the Philippines here!

[@lorinfink6127]

Just saw your video on Nextel. It was nostalgic as it brought back memories of using the Motorola i90 for business and casual communication. I remember that cell phone talk time was not unlimited either local or nationwide so PTT came in very handy and saved me from over usage charges. (I hated when the ‘meter’ was running and used PTT whenever I could. I was extremely upset when Sprint Mobile acquired Nextel as the service was patchy at best in my area (Cleveland, Ohio). Ironically, prior to my using Nextel, I had a Sprint dealership for a short period of time. I was losing money, because at the time (2000) every phone I sold, I had to buy back because of poor building penetration and unreliable cell service. Anyway, you brought back some good memories of PTT. Thanks.

[@NotEcons]

I miss Nextel, I really do. I had an i875 Boost Mobile "Where u at" chirp phone for work. The system was dope. I know walkie talkie over cellular is still around but its not the same

[@danielpindell1267]

I subbed to your channel thanks to this video all a few others before it. I'm 38 and man I remember everything of cell phones from 2001 and up. I love it and wish the younger generation would watch and learn life wadnt always easy as it is today

[@HabiburRahman-xs9gb]

07:41 I thought about this family guy clip in every other 'When phones were fun' episode...finally

[@sonofage]

i love this video series. this is what makes me come back to mrmobile constantly.

[@RyanHaynieWX]

At the end of the video, I saw those Harris XL-200P units and because of that, I need to put my $0.02 in as the average Joe/Jane wouldn’t have any idea of what those devices are, or how they even relate to cellular data technology. For those willing to get a crash course in the subject, strap in and hang on for the ride! Two way radio systems today mainly consist of Family Radio Service (FRS) sets and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). These types of radios can be bought off the shelf at most big box retailers, but they really don’t have much range; a lot less than what is advertised on the packaging. These types of radios have a limited range due to the amount of power they use to transmit. FRS devices especially are restricted 0.5 Watts, and can only use a fixed length antenna which is non removable or modifiable by FCC Part 95 rules. GMRS devices have a little more leeway in the Part 95 rules, BUT you must pay the FCC for a license to use those frequencies, in which you are given a callsign that you must identify with on the air. There are also repeaters that can be accessed in the GMRS service, which can take a signal that ordinarily would only go a mile on its own, and rebroadcast it out with much higher power over a much larger coverage area. Similar technology exists in the amateur radio service (FCC Part 97) and in the commercial radio service (FCC Part 90) that allow for much wider communications coverage. Some of these communications are rebroadcast on other linked repeaters over internet protocol (IP) links so as if you talk on one, you can talk on all linked repeaters, further increasing coverage range from a local level to as far out as regional, national, or global. This bit is outside of the scope of this conversation but if you want more info on that, look up DMR-MARC and Brandmeister Networks on Google. Also Motorola MotoTRBO IP Site Connect. Digital radio communications have evolved significantly over the last 20 years in the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) sector. We now have digital modulation technologies such as DMR, P25, NXDN, and TETRA. I will be focusing mainly on P25 though, as that relates to the radios I will be discussing in detail about. Project 25 (P25) is a digital modulation technology that was developed by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) as a means to unify public safety communications technologies around the world and within the United States. At the time, various law enforcement agencies and emergency services were using a wide variety of communications systems on different services that would not always work with a neighboring agencies systems. So if mutual aid assistance was needed from a nearby district, they wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other without getting additional communications equipment from the other district. P25 set a unified set of standards that would be met to enable any agency in the country to be able to communicate with anyone else using the same equipment, and a set of dedicated frequencies for each device. Sections of the 700MHz and 800MHz band were repurposed from cellular use to be dedicated for public safety communications nationwide in the United States. As the technology continued to advance, regional trunked radio systems became commonplace to facilitate unified communications across district lines. Trunked radio systems are a bit too advanced for the scope of this discussion, but if you are interested can look up the means of operations on Google. However there are sometimes dead zones where the trunked frequencies cannot penetrate inside of a building or if a user is outside of the radio system coverage area, the user could not contact anyone. Now enters LTE technology. L3Harris and Motorola Solutions have made their own solutions to this common problem. On Harris’ XL-200 Mobile and Portable platforms, they have a feature called BeOn LTE that has a SIM card installed for a mobile carrier (Certified on Verizon, AT&T, and FirstNet). If the radio determines that the radio is out of range of the system and cannot communicate with any other nearby sites, it will revert to an LTE data backup channel and all voice and data info from the associated talkgroup that is currently selected on the radio will be sent to the radio and from the radio over an LTE IP link to an IP node which then sends it back into the trunked radio system to other users and dispatch. Motorola Solutions also has the exact same technology for their APX and APX NEXT series of radios, just that it is called SmartConnect. It also has certification for use on Verizon, AT&T, and FirstNet. These technologies allow our front line first responders to always have a line of communication with any resources needed to ensure the public’s safety and security. Feel free to drop a reply if you want more specific details on this or if you liked this nugget of information give me a like.

[@alexleonard1852]

I haven't watched Mr. Mobile in over a year, this video was amazing. So glad I clicked on it.

[@michaellavelle7354]

In the late 90s I started a company to provide dispatch to contractors (HVAC, plumbers...). One day I got a call from the marketing person at Unwired Planet wanting to know more about how well our software was received by the contractor community. The next day they were meeting with Nextel people to push their HDML markup language. I would characterize the experience during the late 90s as the Wild West of early cell phone days. Push to talk was hot - unless you weren't ready for the loud interruption they caused. Our focus was to leverage the HDML language and providing "quiet" communications. I attended what was probably the last Unwired Planet conference. It was jammed with wannabe's - including our company. Very interesting times. We dropped out by 2000. The primary reasons were (a) too complicated for one-finger responses (yes, even though our software provided simple menus), and (b) overall too klutzy for ham-handed field techs. It was easier to call for instructions than use HDML menus, which were necessarily limited. For sure this was an exciting technology time. Then, on the last day of the UP conference, I talked to a former AT&T sales rep who said, "CDPD (the technology used for HDML data) would never be successful. Cell tower coverage was too limited." By then it was too late to for us.

[@CCWSig]

They were amazing for everything from convoy road trips, to reaching the other guys in the shop at work. Man I miss my Nextel, it's one feature I wish cell phone companies would have kept around.

[@jamesbean3088]

My first phone was the i500 and got my wife an i550. I still remember when international direct connect launched, and couldn't believe I could walkie-talkie my boss in another country! Now I just install that Zello app on all my family phones, which does the same thing for free. Great video Michael and RIP Nextel!

[@J-PRO757]

Wow! I can't believe you kept all of our Nextel stuff! The only thing I have left is a box of old phone. Lol I can't believe I'm just seeing this now. You really brought the nostalgia on this one! Good work!

[@FKAS8410]

Your continued success is well-deserved Michael, outstanding videos. Well done.

[@amagee0818]

The “hit me on my Nextel chirp” plug earned you a subscriber out of me because maaaaannnnnn is that deep cut throwback!!!!! 🤣😂

[@AndrewMackoul]

I have fond memories growing up with my dad using a NEXTEL phone and his work buddies hopping in whenever to update him. He had several Motorola i1 series phones (many of the ones featured in this video). It ended with the Motorola i1, an Android phone on the iDEN network. At that point (the early 2010s), data services were so slow on it that it was almost unusable. Roaming was definitely a thing though. When we traveled he was able to roam on iDEN networks used internationally.

[@AustinGubala]

This video was incredibly nostalgic for me. My dad used to own a Nextel i730 when was younger and I remember my dad would always use the walkie-talkie feature with his co-workers. Not to mention, on the front of the phone, there was this LED ring that if you set your ringtone to a specific track, the LED ring would light up to the music. Thanks for taking me down memory lane, Michael! A great video as always!

[@fitness_with_duane]

Greetings from India 🇮🇳 Thanks Michael, as a former Telecom professional (1999 to 2013) I recall Nextel in the US and always wondered what happened to its IDEN network. You made it clear and simple 🙏

[@SrinivasanSampathvenkatSV]

The level of research and effort that must have gone in to make this video... wow. Respect, Mr. Mobile!

[@BrianHazardVideos]

"When Phones Were Fun" is by far my favorite tech series on KZbin.

[@briankerosene22]

Sprint turned TMO employee here. On the spectrum way of thinking, Nextels beautiful network led way to TMobile low band and a fantastic 5g network. It's amazing how things worked out in the long run

[@briankerosene22]

Also it's amazing seeing the old school Sprint name tag. I still remember making them for all my new reps with that wacky perferated paper and plastic shell 🥲 good times

[@NicWoods88]

Great video, Mr. Fisher. I had a handful of different Nextel phones back in the day. I enjoyed some light software modding of the i860, and being a fan of Windows Mobile really liked the i930 too. Many a chirp from friends and family back then.

[@obsidian....]

Myself and everyone else on my college campus had a Nextel. From 2000-2004 there was nothing better than chirping good friends to your random hook-ups

[@gardenia5311]

Wooow. The I95 CL. I had completely forgotten about that thing. It was my first cellphone in high school, and I was the first person in my friend group to have a cell phone, so it was a pretty big deal. Always thought it looked like the hood of the Toyota Celica at the time.

[@JaredVonBaren]

Omg it so did. The last model Celica they made, which was a bad ass little car. So much better than stuff that had more popularity like the Mitsubishi Eclipse at the time.

[@close2u2000]

I worked for the company from 99 until 2009. 1st as a phone tech then network engineer. Loved it. Miss it.

[@mickywinters8451]

Same. 2001-2007 as a corporate sales rep. Company was king. I made more money there still to this day than I have ever.

[@BGuggz]

I've been waiting for a Nextel episode!! I worked in a legacy Nextel store during the merger!

[@BGuggz]

Customers coming in saying "I want that beep beep boop boop" lol

[@BGuggz]

Wow, was that a serious trip down memory lane. Thanks so much!

[@TheMrMobile]

@@BGuggz I was legacy Nextel as well; glad I could spark some memories for ya!

[@itsvaughnprada]

I love NEXTEL! I am a Nextel phone collector myself and I have quite an extensive collection of vintage Nextel phones including brand new never activated Nextel phones still in the box! This era phones can never be beat and this is definitely when phones were fun!

[@itsvaughnprada]

I always have fun when I am at Disneyland and I bring out the old Nextel phones and use them as walkie-talkies on direct talk mode. :)

[@ModricoTV]

Can an i870 (the music one) load stuff from Windows 10? I have a bunch of stuff from Bandcamp on my Windows Media library on my Windows 10 laptop.

[@joepisciottajr]

I still have 6 Nextel phones on my used phone timeline shelf in my ManCave. The i1000 Plus is still in great condition after years of abuse. I have the i95c, first color screen Nextel phone. My i860 exploded in my pants pocket while voting for President in 2004. When Sprint killed off Nextel walkie phones, our circle was crushed. In 2005 I switched to Sprint and the MM-7400 with their ReadyLink walkie talkie. Wow, what a huge flop. By Day 2 our circle abandoned ReadyLink and we were just regular GSM phone owners. The fun had ended until…..PPC-6700 Windows smartphone was released. That’s another story.

[@scottcol23]

Everyone I knew had a Nextel back in 1999. It was great being able to direct connect, send alerts and even group alerts and chats. Looking back, it was kind of obnoxious walking around in public places blaring the chirp sounds and speakerphone at full volume. And I remember having no minutes left for the month but still being able to chirp away for the last week or so. It was great. And yes you could always get a chirp out even when the network was too busy for voice calls. I completely forgot about how annoying it was to have to keep trying and trying to get a call to go through. Oh how far we have come.

[@jpeyc]

I freaking loved my Nextel. They were ubiquitous here in Mexico. Then out of the blue less and less people had them so they kind of positive feedback looped into oblivion. Wish they made a comeback.

[@AmericanMaking]

Soooo much nostalgia here. That chirp brings back a lot of memories from high school.

[@blackleague212]

This dude: " the whole networks out maybe I should call and ask if I should close the store" The Boss on Walkie Talkie: BEEP " Keep yo ass in the store" BEEP

[@onemat2000]

Enjoyed this one and discovered why so many companies and regular people jumped on Nextel back then. As usual you had some entertaining shots like the two phones on your belt. This "when phones were fun" series of videos is really different and educational.

[@syamal2007]

Wow so much nostalgia! I use to have these. Thought I was super cool 🤣. Had the i730 with the color ring in the front. At that time it was such a flex 💪

[@mechlabz2586]

So good that you showing vintage phones which showed what was before iphone that no one knew..#bestvintagephonereviewonyoutube...thank you Mr mobile...

[@Lovin_NY93]

I always think about my first cell phone, a Nextel i560. It was amazing. I loved the push to talk feature. My parents had the i580 which looked a little cooler. thanks for the video! My family was about to go with the palm pre but it was too expensive at the time and we switched to AT&T and all got iphone 3GS' which was cheaper on a 2 year contract

[@SmallLegacy]

This video, was pure magic. Thank you again MrMobile

[@pathtologos1]

I was one of those huge Nextel elitists 😂. I’ll never get that awesome chirp out of my memory. Great video. I’m wondering how you got them working now?

[@JaredVonBaren]

I feel this. Also, I won’t ever forget the Sidekick button sounds, & the hinge swivel open & shut sounds, & etc - I legit was just wondering if there were sidekick ringtones on iTunes lol 😂

[@jenkenj]

Same!!! Nextel was my first phone back when I was in 9th grade I think (graduated high school in 2006). My dad is a general contactor so my whole family, his crews, a good number of my friends all had them. Being able to beep everyone was the best! I used various Nextels, including that awesome blue one he showed, just about until their demise in 08-09. My freshman year of college I strut around campus with that thing attached to my hip w/ a hip clip and pushing the button to flip it open like I was the shiz lol

[@JaredVonBaren]

@@jenkenj Girl you were. Who you are kidding. Boss B!

[@jenkenj]

@@JaredVonBaren Baha thank you

[@Jthall1990]

I don't know how you don't have 10 million subscribers yet. Your videos and reviews are always on point. Keep up the amazing work!

[@buhrrito]

I had boost mobile "chirp" as a teen in the 2000's. It was awesome to just be able to reach out to someone instantly, instead of waiting for a text message or waiting for the person to pick up. Kudos on the topic. 👍

[@lordseptomus441]

I always finish Mr Mobile videos with a smile on my face. thank you

[@FreaKinApe]

Love these videos . Very Well produced .

[@hansolo989]

NEXTEL is such a huge part of my childhood because my grandfather was always talking to his friends on the push-to-talk, and I have followed NASCAR all my life

[@chisreginaldo8873]

Michael’s videos are always amazingly produced, not to mention the narration/voice-over. You should be nominated and get an award for that 👍

[@TechDove]

This video makes me yearn for a Time I can never go back to. Excellent video as always, if you'll excuse me I'm off to have an existential crisis

[@sham_wow_guy]

My dad's first IT job was Nextel. He was there for 15 years before he was laid off 6 months after the merger. Between the severance package and all the vacation he saved up since he didn't use a single day in those 15 years, he got something like 3 years worth of pay when he left.

[@angelodominicavelino2891]

This video made me reminisce about my days as a Trainer for a Call Center for Sprint|Nextel back in 2008-2012. Keep 'em fun videos comin'!

[@filip8461]

Every time I hear about Motorola's old phones I have huge nostalgia. My first phone ever was Motorola 120T, after I remember I got RAZR V3 as a teenager and after I abandoned the brand for over a decade of every other brand until now when I got RAZR 40 Ultra. Back to the roots

[@SpaceG95]

This is a video that just makes me smile. I remember using my company issued Nextel as a truck driver.

[@ryanravencaller]

My dad used to have sprint/nextel for the direct connect because he was a private investigator and also a tow/ repo agent, It made connecting with other drivers/agents and police buddies whom had it so much quicker, easier and safer for that field, they used to talk like truckers with the 10-4 and such too! Oh thanks for the throwback of these old technologies i only thought we who used them would remember!

[@Nonvido]

I loved having the Two-Way radio capability. Years later I became a ham radio operator and now I talk on Two-way radios all the time and love it!

[@MrSchimpf]

Using a Nextel at work to communicate with drivers from our dispatch office was such a pleasure, and the Motorola phones just had a nice form factor and thick, hardy batteries you could use for days (and they had the BEST ringtones), along with a solid network for both PTT and regular cell calls. It was very rare when a device completely broke, and that was always because of age. I was so sad when Sprint shut them down, and we had to switch to Zello on weak Android tablets that broke when you looked at them wrong, because my company just never found another proper solution.

[@UndyingSilentm]

As someone who works in telecommunications as a Tower Technician I still regularly see old Nextel shelters that use to house all there equipment. Today we have actually been converting some of them to hold Tmobile now

[@emmanuel_]

I had my main phone with Cingular and a Boost Mobile for work! Those were the days. Awesome video as always my dude. I always get nostalgic with these.

[@NeoDana]

Nextel was around until 2019 here in Argentina, what a difference it would've been if it was the same in the US! Great video as always.

[@DougFNJ]

That Nextel 7520 was one of the best Smartphones I ever had. Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Emails, Texts, The Nextel Walkie Talkie, Incredible Speakerphone that I clipped to my Window Visor and was a perfect carphone, and eventually got a car cradle so I was able to use it for the GPS directions Mr Mobile discussed. I dropped that phone on concrete, asphalt, hard floors, and nothing would kill or break it. Ahhh the good ol days.

[@isakohman5105]

As someone that is kinda in that space, I can tell you that outside of dedicated hardware shown, there are also many other 3rd party services that also provide this support using people's normal phones through apps that provide connectivity in the same method, and with certain other platforms can talk with more traditional radios

[@soufwoensel9668]

Keep this series going, ur videos about the phones back in the days are amazingly good en makes me wish this period never ended. Good work!

[@ms.kalico4489]

I LOVED this! I miss my Nextel "chirp" phone. Even my military dad liked his. It cold fall a hundred times and never broke, the chirp function was a timesaver. And even when the cell towers were down, the chirp function would work. I was told because it was on an analog system, or something like that. I miss it!

[@KARSONJAE56]

My parents and grandpa had a Nextel. I've done so much research on them and I would love a Nextel. I still remember the chirp. Amazing video

[@SliceofFilips]

Those Nextel Motorolas we're INDESTRUCTIBLE!!! My dad lost his in a canoe crash we had at the base of a tiny dam... It was down there churning in the currents for 2 years! A scuba diving enthusiast happened upon it, took it home, dried it out, tracked down a charger, charged it and powered it on, and upon poking though the address book found family contacts and returned it to us 😂 He found it on the bottom of the river, no more than 30 ft from where it was lost!