NEXTEL can go right to Hell.

I'm seeing these Nextel ads on TV now with that ubiquitous sounding blip that ends one of their 'walkee-talkee' like phones... Nobody but people who work on a construction site need these phones, but seemingly everyone has one now...

The last thing you want to hear in an emergency room (and I'm drawing from my own reference here), is that anoying blip! breaker one niner, followed by someone elses audible voice...

Before we were just stuck listening to 1/2 of a conversation, now and for no good reason, we have to hear every bullshit conversation that people choose to have in the middle of a crowded room.

And NEXTEL sells this like it's a service, where it's actually a diservice to everyone who doesn't go for the whole, "check me out! blinking chest medalion" look..

Ps. I hate NEXTEL.

Yeah, I can get down with that irrational hatred. Seems like a pointless service for most people. But I'd like to throw my displeasure down for Suncom. So they say "Truth in Wireless. You pay exactly the plan amount" or whatever. Well, my Unplan is supposed to be $50. But how much do I pay? Yeah, $70. Where is this truth, Suncom?!

i have always wondered why anyone would need the walkie-talkie function. granted, i've played with my friends' nextels and it's fun. it sorta makes you feel like you're 12 and hanging out in a treehouse or something. but necessary? no. annoying? yes! people walk around my store talking on them. and i don't know what kind of things other people talk about (oh wait! yes i do! ... now!) but i embarass my best friend on the train all the time when i'm on the other end of the phone. and that's when people can hear only half the conversation!

admittedly, i was way excited that my new phone has speakerphone, but that's so i don't have to play octupus. not so i can walk around the supermarket and have everyone listen in.

also annoying: the handsfree sets. i'm sorry, but you're not holding anything else. can't you hold a phone to your ear when you're walking around? othewise, i mistake you for someone talking to themselves.

maybe that one's just me, though. i have a lot of bitterness from years in retail.

If you don't like hearing this crap, do not come to Baltimore...I think it's becoming mandatory you speak on one of these annoying piles of shit, especially when having a conversation nobody else really wants to hear...EVER.

I swear I'm going to just snap one of these days and smash somebody's head in with their phone while it goes "BeeeeP" over and over.

All of my rage has dissapeared with just the idea of contextual GI Joe playing.

yt,
-Cobra Commander.

i hate those phones. i don't want to hear your goddamn conversation. nextel's not the only provider that has them, either.

i use mine a lot, because my company pays for it, and that's just what i'm looking for in a phone. perhaps the problem is the people you're encountering. every nextel phone has the ability to use the nextel feature like a regular cell phone, so that you don't get that annoying other end of the conversation. when i'm in a room with more than one or two other people, i just turn the speaker off. it's common courtesy.

i have a nextel, and i NEVER put it on speakerphone unless i'm home and the phone is in the other room. i don't like hearing other people's conversations on their nextels at all. to me, it's common courtesy to turn the speaker off when you're having a conversation, no matter what type of cell phone you're using. i don't mind the *brrreeep* "hey, it's me" stuff - just turn the speaker off when you've found out who it is! don't even get me started on those hands free things...

Um, I use nextel in both my jobs, one job beig as a limo driver, the other one as an EMT. Both jobs are made a LOT easier with Nextel and neither have to do with construction

I've used walkie-talkie stuff in my job (which also doesn't involve either construction or heavy labor) and it's very usefull as well.

actually, I have a Nextel as well, and I almost never use the walkie talkie feature. I did, however, like to use it when my old roommate was being too loud. I could tell her quickly. If she heard the "boop" she knew to be quieter. Unfortunately, we only notice the rude people who use the walkie-talkie feature.

That said, I hate it when people use that feature who don't need to. Just call the person!

oh, and can they please start giving us free phones like everyone else? I want a camera phone, but it's $500 if I don't sign up for 2 more years ($300 if I do). Why can't I just get a good, free, phone for being a good customer the past 3 years?

Because phones are really expensive. And if they just give it to you, you could cancel your service the next day and they'd be out 500 bucks. Which is why you have a cancel fee- it's usually somewhere around the value of the phone (or the difference that you paid versus the full retail price).

I never understand why people won't just cough up some cash and pay for a really nice phone if they want one. Do you call Apple and complain because they won't give you a free ipod even though you only ever use Apple computers? Do you go to McDonalds and demand a free lunch because you've been their customer for 23 years?

No. Cellphones nowadays are like pda's, mp3 players, digital cameras and phones all in one. All of those things are expensive.

If you want a free phone, you will get what you pay for.

We use those at work (I clean pools). They suck. The speakers are of such low quality, and people feel like they need to shout into them, that it's a pain in the ass to hear what anyone says to you. I don't understand why we don't just use them like regular cellphones. . .I guess that would make too much sense.
Their only real use is if you have to say just some little thing real quick.
Or make rude noises through it at coworkers. That's always good for a laugh. . .

The absolute worst is when people actually use these in movie theatres. Usually before the movie starts, but still you are in a confined space with a bunch of people and the fucking beep makes me want to hurt people.

Actual overheard nextel conversation, with things I've heard in many different calls:

beep
"So where are you?" (seems like this is the most common thing asked)
beep
"At the movie theatre"
beep
"Is it good?" (notice no asking what movie, just is it good)
beep
"Dunno hasn't started yet, you should come down."
beep
"Yeah cool man but right now I'm at (garbled). When does the movie start?" (another thing I notice is that the person on the other end is always somewhere doing something and you can't quite make out where)
beep
"I don't know like 2 minutes."
beep
"Alright well wait outside for me"
beep
"OK" (note this person is walking to their seat at this point then turns around and walks out)
beep beep

I found that very funny

They still see wide use here, and as listed above in the older messages, they're almost always for personal conversations.

*Beep beep*

"Hey, whassup?"

*Beep beep*

"Nuttin'. Whatchoo doin'?"

*Beep beep*

"Nuttin. Where you at?"

*Beep beep*

"Wal- Mart, gettin' some condoms an' some Sour Patch Kids..."

etc.

I would guess approximately 10% of the people I see in my store using cell phones for private conversations use the walkie-talkie feature. IIRC from the last time I stupidly shopped for phones, quite a few plans give you unlimited walkie-talkie usage, so I believe people are just using it to save on minutes. Makes sense, especially if the conversation isn't important, but that loud-crappy-answering-machine-sounding speaker that allows me to hear the phone from a few hundred feet away drives me up a wall.

The beep annoys me as well, but I'm not sure if it's the sound that's annoying, or some kind of Pavlovian reaction because I begin to anticipate the coming conversation.

I own REAL walkie-talkie's...but I hardly use them.