REVIEW: The chirp is back with Verizon Wireless’ push to talk service
September 3 2008 - 12:53 pm ET | Dan Meyer | RCR Wireless News
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Verizon Wireless Push to Talk service.
Running on: Motorola Adventure 750 on Verizon Wireless network.
Yay: Speedy PTT service with broad coverage. Feature-packed handset.
Nay: EV-DO Rev. A speeds needed for rapid service. Handset a bit bulky.
We say: Verizon Wireless’ new PTT offering is a compelling competitor to segment stalwart Sprint Nextel and a vast improvement over previous CDMA-based efforts.
Review: The recent rush of push-to-talk offerings has brought a bit of nostalgia to the RCR Wireless News offices as it seems not so long ago that carriers were trumpeting new PTT services to combat Nextel Communications Inc.’s dominance in the market. Considering the low churn and high average revenue per user Nextel was posting based on its PTT service, those first-generation competitors seemed justified, though in practice they failed to match the performance benchmarks established by Nextel’s iDEN network.
Fast-forward several years and the PTT playing field is vastly different. Sprint initially boosted its PTT presence by acquiring Nextel and more recently has begun to roll out its QChat-based PTT service, which allows its customers to talk between its CDMA and iDEN network. AT&T Mobility and Alltel continue to offer circuit-switch-based PTT services from Kodiak. Of the initial PTT services, Kodiak’s came closest to matching the iDEN standard. And from the nation’s No. 2 carrier, Verizon Wireless, a drastic upgrade of network speeds has seen the carrier relaunch its PTT service backed by superior network coverage claims.
With a pair of Motorola Adventure V750 handsets in hand and a trip to the hinterlands of Colorado on the docket, we felt prepared to put such claims to a test. The addition of a pair of iDEN-based Sprint Nextel devices would provide a barometer for just how far Verizon Wireless had come with its PTT offering.
The results? Pretty far, and in some cases, farther.
In the network-saturated areas around Denver where both devices were feasting on healthy doses of their native networks, the Verizon Wireless PTT service nearly matched the initial call set-up and intra-call latency performance of the iDEN phones. In fact, without a stopwatch and a steady hand, it was nearly impossible to discern any difference in performance.
But, once we hit the road, differences emerged as network reach diverged. Sprint Nextel’s iDEN network became nearly non-existent once off the comfortable confines of the major highways running though Colorado’s mountains. By contrast, it took extreme canyon ventures to shake Verizon Wireless’ network, and not just its basic 1x network, which the carrier said would continue to support the PTT service, just at a slower speed, but its Rev. A network. In fact, everywhere the Verizon Wireless phones had a hint of coverage, it was EV-DO coverage, meaning that not only was I still able to use the PTT service, but I was able to do so with the minimalist of lag.
Another nice feature of the service, though not exclusive, is the presence functionality that lets you know which of your contacts is capable of receiving a PTT call.
The reliance on the carrier’s Rev. A network also has the side benefit of allowing Verizon Wireless to include many of its data-intensive features, including access to it Vcast Video service, Vcast Music with Rhapsody and Vcast Navigator services. The phone also includes a 2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth and a memory-card expansion slot that supports up to 8 gigabytes of memory. Such features lend to a somewhat large device, which may be a drawback for those looking to keep a slim profile.
September 15, 2008 04:08 pm
Sprint Nextel is losing a million customers a quarter. They have no plan. Their customer service is horrible. They lack direction. Nextel never should have agreed to the merger. Their B2B focus is what made them great. They led in every metrix in the industry...thats history. Verizons PTT service is good and will get better including more features, handsets etc. Time for management at Sprint to make some bold moves, or get out of the way.
September 15, 2008 04:08 pm
Hey Get A Life! - - Get a Clue!! Guess what? Telling me what to say and think is call censorship. So, don't tell me what to say - got it? And as for the next President of our Country, why don't you go worry about it on another forum. This is a wireless forum.
September 15, 2008 04:08 pm
Hey Get A Life! - - Get a Clue!! Guess what? Telling me what to say and think is call censorship. So, don't tell me what to say - got it? And as for the next President of our Country, why don't you go worry about it on another forum. This is a wireless forum.
September 15, 2008 04:08 pm
Hey Get A Life! - - Get a Clue!! Guess what? Telling me what to say and think is call censorship. So, don't tell me what to say - got it? And as for the next President of our Country, why don't you go worry about it on another forum. This is a wireless forum.
September 4, 2008 06:00 am
It's fine for people to express their opinions. If you don't like what they have to say, ignore it. Add value, don't pick on other's opinions. We have more important matters to worry about. For example, the next President for our Country.
September 4, 2008 05:59 am
@Mr. Neutral: You must be going to a retail store for your Customer Service if you think VZW has worse C/S then Sprint. Take my advice: NEVER go to a retail store unless someone at *611 tells you to. The over-the-phone people are WAY better then the retail folks!As for the folks complaining about the limited testing- He tried one urban area (Denver) and a handful of Colorado hinterland locations. Do you expect the man to buy plane tickets to 4 other states and rent a car everywhere just to give a review of a phone product? Gimme a break!All phone purchase decisions should be made by YOU after YOU test the service in YOUR home area. His tests merely show that the service works as designed anywhere that service exists on the network. THAT is what needed to be said. If you live in Nebraska, don't get VZW PTT service because coverage doesn't exist there yet. Everyone else, at least try it IF you need PTT.
September 3, 2008 01:56 pm
For the Sprint Haters, you must first educate yourself on the history of the IDEN platform to understands its relevance in society. Secondly, the Verizon network is a fallacy as pertains to those who build networks rather than test them. One thing we must give Verizon credit for is to be the first to Geurilla market a network with a pure ideation of that fact that "if we are perceived as the first, consumers will believe that we are the best". Based on this assumption alone, is the reason why Verizon will remain inferior with its Moto POC services where Motorola was apart of the creation of Qchat along with Nextel and Qualcomm. Sprint Nextel owns the North American license to use and market this service that is not a fallacy based on ones who builds networks to only test them. So in a consumers mind who deliberately excavated commonsense while commenting on this piece. Because believe it or not "Verizon will be only the first to compete" against Sprint Nextel and they will fail. The Sprint Nextel feet has been coined, construed, condensed, and redefined to manipulate assets that Verizon will never have. Apples were not made to be compared to oranges. They are there to give us choices within fruits.
September 3, 2008 01:56 pm
I've actually had the opportunity to compare the two services (VZW PTT and Sprint Nextel Q-Chat) side by side. While I admit that my comparison was "unscientific", I can tell you that in every one of the 20 comparison calls I made, the VZW PTT service appeared to connect faster. Now that may have many reasons (proximity of back-end platforms, network coverage etc...) but it definatel illustrates that the VZW PTT service is now at least indestinguishable from Sprint Nextels Q-Chat.
September 3, 2008 01:56 pm
Why is it hard for people to believe that the Verizon PTT can be as good as the Sprint Nextel QChat PTT (iDen is going away anyhow)? They both use the data for PTT. I am glad to see that Verizon got it right this time. And most people seem to agree that Verizon has much better coverage than Sprint, which is a huge factor for subscribers. Verizon PTT has great features that Sprint Nextel does not have like server based buddy lists too. The only short coming I see is that Verizon does not have NextMail (push to email) service. I could not live without NextMail!
September 3, 2008 01:56 pm
Mr. Neutral - you've gotta be kidding me. This is an infomercial for Verizon. This guy didn't even bother testing the Verizon service on anything but a mountain road in Colorado - so much for a comparison. And if you're going to compare Verizon's service against Nextel's sub-second service - maybe you should have AT LEAST a stop watch. This article would be more suited on Verizon's Press Release website than in a supposedly 'un-biased' wireless magazine.