Verizon PTT (Push To Talk) vs Nextel's Direct Connect?

Amp300 asks: "I am currently a Verizon Wireless customer in the Detroit area. I am thinking about getting a Motorola v60p and upgrading to the Verizon's new PTT (Push To Talk) service. Is anyone familiar with the v60p? I have heard the battery life leaves a little to be desired. I am familiar with Nextel's Direct Connect, but I have been told that the two services are slightly different. I was wondering if someone could make an educated comparison of the two services?"

Comments

I hate these things

[SoCalChris]

Am I the only one who hates these things? I can't even go to a restraunt without some idiot sitting on the other side of the place talking into one of these and broadcasting thier conversation across the whole room.

And besides, what is the point? If you are talking to someone on one of these things, you both obviously have a cell phone that is getting service, why not just call? Will the extra few seconds of ring time and saying "Hello?" really take that much longer?

Re:I hate these things

[Zack]

I was on Nextel using an i85s which has "Direct Connect" until I switched to a Treo on Sprint.

Anyway, PTT is one thing I miss terribly. A good number of my friends and family are on Nextel. The ability to be able to buzz someone and speak and then turn off is very convienent. It's sorta like IM in that respect. You can say something and not have to wait on the line until the other person responds. My brother and I used this feature when we were setting up a wifi run that was two miles long. We could have sat there with the phone on all the time, but instead we just got to push give the information we needed and wait without keeping the phone up to our ears.

Oh, and Direct Connect doesn't HAVE to be on a speaker system.... I never had mine do that unless I was by myself (apartment, car, etc)

--Z

Re:The difference is this ...

[David F.]

The iDEN service itself runs over an IP network, so Verizon (plus AT&T and Sprint, who are also working on their own PTT services) are basically duplicating Nextel's setup.

Just because they both run IP doesn't mean they're anything alike. In Nextel's network, the dispatch calls are carried around between base stations and controllers on an IP network, yes. On Verizon's, the calls are carried on their wireless data IP network, which itself is carried on top of another, existing infrastructure network - basically like IP over IP. It's that extra layer that makes it so much more difficult for Verizon to be competitive in regards to call setup time versus Nextel.

My understanding is that there's a 3-5 second delay when you first try to connect to another user with Verizon. I'm sure most people don't think that's a big deal, but if you've used Nextel's, I'm sure you'd notice a big difference. On Nextel, it's less than a second, which is short enough to feel instantaneous.