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The push to talk

Saturday, October 25, 2003

By THÉODEN K. JANES
STAFF WRITER

Kssssht. "Hello?"

Kssssht. "Hello?"

Kssssht. "Hello?"

Ahhhh, the sounds of modern technology. Or should we say pre-modern?

The "next big thing" being touted in cellphone features, the two-way walkie-talkie, was invented more than 60 years ago. Yet Americans are flocking to Nextel and Verizon Wireless to snap up the new units, and AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS plan to introduce walkie-talkie features soon.

The two-way radio function is undoubtedly convenient: Just push one button and talk immediately, rather than dial 10 digits, press "send," and maybe get a busy signal or an answering machine.

It's certainly profitable. Nextel, the nation's fifth-largest wireless company, raked in $8.7 billion last year on the strength of its Direct Connect service.

And it can be really, really annoying: When the guy at the table next to you is talking on his cellphone, you're subjected to only his blabbering. When he's using push-to-talk, you have to hear his friend's blabbering, too.

"As technology gets more and more into the hands of the mainstream, the more stupid people it reaches," says Peter Shankman, president of The Geek Factory, a New York-based public relations firm. "You're going to have people who are shouting on it every two seconds - you know, 'At the store! You wanted frozen peas or regular peas? Over!'"

But it's an annoyance consumers seem willing to overlook.

Almost 1,300 wireless subscribers recently surveyed by Zelos Group, a market research company, ranked photo messaging and push-to-talk as their most desired handset features.

Of the more than 1,200 respondents who subscribed to carriers other than Nextel, the only push-to-talk provider at the time of the survey, 40 percent expressed an interest in the service.

"The idea of instant communications has intuitive appeal," says Seamus McAteer, principal analyst at Zelos Group and the report's author.

Still, it's a bit puzzling. Despite its immediacy, push-to-talk forces a linear, inflexible conversation - you can't talk until the other person allows you to (by releasing the talk button), and vice-versa.

"We played with walkie-talkies as kids," says Patrick Houston, a columnist for San Francisco-based CNET Networks. "Now we have these wonderful, slick new cellphones that allow us to conduct a very natural conversation with people, and yet there's this fascination with this 'Push-a-button, talk, let-the-button-go, listen. Push-the-button, talk, let-the-button-go, listen.'"

Push-to-talk has been primarily a business tool since Nextel introduced its rugged walkie-talkie-enabled phones more than a decade ago. The feature has helped the company attract 12 million customers, and its phones are fixtures at many construction sites and Wall Street trading desks.

As a business tool, push-to-talk has proved to be invaluable: Talk groups can be pre-programmed into the handset, allowing professionals to communicate collaboratively and instantly with individuals in different locations.

Somewhere along the line, though, the average cellphone user got envious.

"These folks who have them for business [are saying], 'If I can manage my workload, I can manage some of my personal life with this, too,'" says Diane Rainey, public affairs manager for Nextel. "That's why they'll get the phones for their kids, or their spouse."

"It's a cool service," says Howard Waterman, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. "The young adult market ... finds this type of service especially enticing."

More important, during cataclysmic events that can paralyze cellphone networks, push-to-talk often still works.

"We did have some problems with the [Northeast-Midwest] blackout," Rainey says. "But during [Hurricane Isabel] we were fine, and during 9/11, our Direct Connect was fine."

This seems ironic, considering the walkie-talkie easily could be the stuff of museums by now. But the technology has come a long way - the two-way-enabled cellphones of today are like CB radios on steroids.

"With the old walkie-talkie type of instruments, you had to be within a certain range or number of feet to use it," says Janice Baugh of Dietrich Lockard Group, a St. Louis management consulting firm specializing in telecommunications. "Now, you can use it nationwide."

Nextel completed the rollout of its national network in late July; Verizon launched its cross-country service three weeks later.

Meanwhile, push-to-talk "groups" are shrinking, sometimes consisting of as few as two people - say, a couple who just want to figure out who's picking up the dry cleaning.

In a way, it all makes sense. If you want to meet Joe at 7, it's easier to tell him via push-to-talk than it is to tap out an e-mail or a text message to him on your phone. It also dispenses the pleasantries involved with a telephone call, forcing callers to get to the point, and thereby saving time.

"It is instant messaging for voice," Houston says.

Is it more expensive than regular cellphone service? Somewhat.

Verizon offers only one push-to-talk-enabled handset - the $200 Motorola V60p - and monthly plans start at $59.99 for 400 minutes.

Nextel, for now, is the more affordable option. All eight of the company's phones, which start at $65, feature Direct Connect, and all plans include walkie-talkie minutes. The least: $30 a month for 300 anytime minutes, 250 night and weekend minutes, and 100 Direct Connect minutes.

Families can use it to keep track of everyone at the amusement park. Friends across town can chatter away about everything and nothing, often simultaneously. A business traveler in Hawaii can relay firsthand weather reports to loved ones in Maine.

Just make sure that if you have Verizon service, they have Verizon service; if you have Nextel, they must have Nextel - he networks are not compatible.

Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Siemens last month unveiled specifications for cellular networks that will put the industry one step closer to a standard for push-to-talk services.

However, many more signs of discord than impending harmony have been popping up.

Nextel is suing Verizon over an advertising campaign boasting it operates on the "best, most reliable network." In another suit, Nextel claims Verizon's use of "Push to Talk" infringes on its trademark. In a third, Verizon claims Nextel obtained prototype Verizon push-to-talk handsets and illegally tested its competitor's service.

In other words, it's getting ugly - and not just in court.

When a reporter queried Nextel about push-to-talk's potential to annoy those within earshot, the company responded with a full page of tips on cellphone etiquette. But after Verizon was asked to offer similar advice, Waterman e-mailed back that courteous use of a cellphone should be a matter of common sense: "We would not waste your time putting out a news release on etiquette."

Ouch. Can you hear him now, Nextel?

Eventually, though, the rivals may agree on standards that would allow customers to make walkie-talkie calls across carriers, just like they can with cellular.

If that happens, everyone will be happy - everyone but those stuck next to the guy who won't stop yapping on his two-way.

"Walkie-talkie users are going to become the bane of cellphone users," predicts Shankman, the New York PR executive. "Considering how hated cellphone users are to begin with, you're talking about the worst of the worst about to breed."

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