Verizon Push To Talk - poor experiences - 15 seconds to hear PTT

I went to the verizon store to sample the push to talk phones. First
of all, the stores in the mall did not have any to try. They had some
behind their display in a separate case but they were not activated.
Some sales people said it was just about as good as Nextel now. Some
did not know because they didn't try it yet. Several of the sales
reps asked "Why do you want push to talk?" and they said you can get
the same thing with in network calling. So I got the feeling they they
were not excited about the feature.

The larger type Verizon store had some on display but the sales rep
said that they were not activated. Apparently she was wrong because
they were indeed activated and working. I started playing with one
because it had power. There was one contact number in the list so
pressed the PTT button and said "hello". I didn't hear anything so we
started to walk away. Fifteen seconds later I was suprised to hear
"hello" come from a different phone adjacent to it.

I walked back and tried it again. It pretty much had no delay AFTER
the first connection. It was responsive. I ended the session and
tried it again several times. It consistently took a long time to get
the initial contact. I timed it and it took 15 SECONDS!!!! Yes 15. I
could dial someone on the phone just as fast.

It is obvious that Verizon simply makes a normal cell phone call for
the PTT.
The PTT button simply creates and interface that makes it appear as a
walkie talkie. All it seems to do is dial the person on the other end.
The other end automatically answers and throws on the speaker phone.
Not rocket science. I don't see any significant improvements. One is
better off dialing a person.

Something else to beware of... The Verizon PTT phones will 'seem' like
they are fast. You really need two to see what I mean. You can press
the PTT button on one phone and it will immediately beep letting you
think that the system is ready for you to speak. However, you won't
hear it on the other end until 15 seconds later. This long 15 seconds
delay is only on the initial contact. After that it's fast so its
essentially like dialing someone on the phone.

People that want PTT want it to act like a walkie talkie. They don't
want to wait 15 seconds.

Bottom line is that Verizon's PTT feature is terrible. However, their
coverage is still unbeatable.

So as of today, Nextel is the clear choice if you want fast responsive
PTT. I don't like how it was so difficult to get sample Verizon's PTT
feature and I did not like how uninformed the sales reps were. I got
so many stories from different people.



If you want push to talk - go with NEXTEL.
If you want premier coverage - go with Verizon.

---

› See More: Verizon Push To Talk - poor experiences - 15 seconds to hear PTT

What about Sprint? How is their PTT? Their coverage is as good as Verizon.

-mij

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I went to the verizon store to sample the push to talk phones. First
> of all, the stores in the mall did not have any to try. They had some
> behind their display in a separate case but they were not activated.
> Some sales people said it was just about as good as Nextel now. Some
> did not know because they didn't try it yet. Several of the sales
> reps asked "Why do you want push to talk?" and they said you can get
> the same thing with in network calling. So I got the feeling they they
> were not excited about the feature.
>
> The larger type Verizon store had some on display but the sales rep
> said that they were not activated. Apparently she was wrong because
> they were indeed activated and working. I started playing with one
> because it had power. There was one contact number in the list so
> pressed the PTT button and said "hello". I didn't hear anything so we
> started to walk away. Fifteen seconds later I was suprised to hear
> "hello" come from a different phone adjacent to it.
>
> I walked back and tried it again. It pretty much had no delay AFTER
> the first connection. It was responsive. I ended the session and
> tried it again several times. It consistently took a long time to get
> the initial contact. I timed it and it took 15 SECONDS!!!! Yes 15. I
> could dial someone on the phone just as fast.
>
> It is obvious that Verizon simply makes a normal cell phone call for
> the PTT.
> The PTT button simply creates and interface that makes it appear as a
> walkie talkie. All it seems to do is dial the person on the other end.
> The other end automatically answers and throws on the speaker phone.
> Not rocket science. I don't see any significant improvements. One is
> better off dialing a person.
>
> Something else to beware of... The Verizon PTT phones will 'seem' like
> they are fast. You really need two to see what I mean. You can press
> the PTT button on one phone and it will immediately beep letting you
> think that the system is ready for you to speak. However, you won't
> hear it on the other end until 15 seconds later. This long 15 seconds
> delay is only on the initial contact. After that it's fast so its
> essentially like dialing someone on the phone.
>
> People that want PTT want it to act like a walkie talkie. They don't
> want to wait 15 seconds.
>
> Bottom line is that Verizon's PTT feature is terrible. However, their
> coverage is still unbeatable.
>
> So as of today, Nextel is the clear choice if you want fast responsive
> PTT. I don't like how it was so difficult to get sample Verizon's PTT
> feature and I did not like how uninformed the sales reps were. I got
> so many stories from different people.
>
>
>
> If you want push to talk - go with NEXTEL.
> If you want premier coverage - go with Verizon.
>

I haven't tried it yet.

In article <sfkbe.84264$A31.81337@fed1read03>, Mij Adyaw
<[email protected]> wrote:

> What about Sprint? How is their PTT? Their coverage is as good as Verizon.

Uhhhh...no, it isn't. It's good, and it's much better than it was just
a few years ago, but it's not as good as Verizon's. Whether that
outweighs Verizon's negatives is a decision we must each make, but
they're still comfortably ahead in the coverage department.

It actually depends on what area that you live in. In Southern California
Verizon and Sprint have comparable coverage. In Colorado, Verizon has better
coverage than Sprint. In Minnesota, Sprint blows away Verizon. No cell
company has the best coverage in "EVERY" area. You need to purchase the cell
service that works well in the area where you live, work and travel. Every
cell phone company has advantages in certain areas of the US.

Regards,

-mij

"beavis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:260420050853294087%[email protected]...
> In article <sfkbe.84264$A31.81337@fed1read03>, Mij Adyaw
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> What about Sprint? How is their PTT? Their coverage is as good as
>> Verizon.
>
> Uhhhh...no, it isn't. It's good, and it's much better than it was just
> a few years ago, but it's not as good as Verizon's. Whether that
> outweighs Verizon's negatives is a decision we must each make, but
> they're still comfortably ahead in the coverage department.

beavis wrote:
> In article <sfkbe.84264$A31.81337@fed1read03>, Mij Adyaw
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>What about Sprint? How is their PTT? Their coverage is as good as Verizon.
>
>
> Uhhhh...no, it isn't.

Uhhhh, yes it is, in some places.

Depends where you're talking about.

Minneapolis and Milwaukee, for example, have traditionally had crappy VZW
coverage while the Sprint coverage there has always been strong.

In other places, VZW is better than Sprint.

In still other places, they're pretty close to each other.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

In Southern California here they are about the same. I have Sprint service
in some rural areas around here when my friends with Verizon do not have
service and vice versa. The cool thing is that if I need to make a phone
call, I can force my Sprint phone to roam on Verizon but they cannot force
their Verizon phone to roam on Sprint.


"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> beavis wrote:
>> In article <sfkbe.84264$A31.81337@fed1read03>, Mij Adyaw
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>What about Sprint? How is their PTT? Their coverage is as good as
>>>Verizon.
>>
>>
>> Uhhhh...no, it isn't.
>
> Uhhhh, yes it is, in some places.
>
> Depends where you're talking about.
>
> Minneapolis and Milwaukee, for example, have traditionally had crappy VZW
> coverage while the Sprint coverage there has always been strong.
>
> In other places, VZW is better than Sprint.
>
> In still other places, they're pretty close to each other.
>
> --
> JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
> Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
>
> "The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
> --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

Mij Adyaw wrote:
> In Southern California here they are about the same. I have Sprint service
> in some rural areas around here when my friends with Verizon do not have
> service and vice versa. The cool thing is that if I need to make a phone
> call, I can force my Sprint phone to roam on Verizon but they cannot force
> their Verizon phone to roam on Sprint.

Yeah, Verizon no longer lets people roam on Sprint in places where other
coverage is available but may be spotty. As I understand it, Verizon didn't
want to pay Sprint's roaming rates.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

Yup, Years ago when I had Verizon, I could enter a code (*22802 I believe)
to force the V60i to roam on Sprint. They eliminated that feature with the
new Verizon PRLs.

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mij Adyaw wrote:
>> In Southern California here they are about the same. I have Sprint
>> service in some rural areas around here when my friends with Verizon do
>> not have service and vice versa. The cool thing is that if I need to make
>> a phone call, I can force my Sprint phone to roam on Verizon but they
>> cannot force their Verizon phone to roam on Sprint.
>
> Yeah, Verizon no longer lets people roam on Sprint in places where other
> coverage is available but may be spotty. As I understand it, Verizon
> didn't want to pay Sprint's roaming rates.
>
> --
> JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
> Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
>
> "The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
> --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"