Push to Talk

[Holy Roller]

Just wondering if these new push 2 talk phones would be any good as a bike 2 bike communication. Any one else thought along these lines?

[thehollowmen]

I thought about that...
The buttons look awefully fiddley though.. and it is a bit pricey.
Somewhere down here sold two CB radios and headphones for $75 so... I dunno if I'd want to shell out that much for an intercom system

[The Pastor]

Yeah, I think its bit of a ripp off, charging for walkie-talkie type service. Is it limited by distance? i.e. could I talk from Auckland to Wellington on the push to talk service?

[Monsterbishi]

I have push to talk - I push the wife, and she talks...

albiet not in a pleasant manner...

[Sniper]

LOL, Monster.
I still dont agree with them charging for the push to talk but I suppose it stops people like me pissing truckies off. :lol:

[Jonty]

Push to talk is a bit of a joke. It is effectivily 3 way calling with a speaker phone. The call still goes uses the normal cell tower so yes you can PTT wellignton from Auckland and pay for it!!

[Wolf]

Off topic, I know, but it sounds like a pointless idea when phones can do full duplex transmission even on conference calls, why "downgrade" to half-duplex PTT?

What next? Phones that imitate the sound quality of a pair of tin cans and a length of string? Oh, that's right, that's what Telecom's phones sound like anyway.

I note they're pushing the "trucker" image in the ads - sure sign its nothing but a gimmick - if it had any practical use they'd be plugging that, not saying "look, you can pretend to be a CBer".

[outlawtorn]

these bloody cell phone companies will try and push anything to make them more money...

[SpankMe]

Walkie-talkie bollocks!! It's just promotional bullshit name for conference calling.

[Lou Girardin]

Just wondering if these new push 2 talk phones would be any good as a bike 2 bike communication. Any one else thought along these lines?

3 cents a call. How many are you going to make, or worse still, your pillion make?

[Wolf]

3 cents a call. How many are you going to make, or worse still, your pillion make?
Argh! Now that's scary! Best argument against 'em I've heard so far (aside from the logistics of ringing your pillion/buddy then frigging about with the little button whilst wearing motorcycle gloves)

[Blakamin]

Its aimed at taking money of teenagers.... they keep the $10txt thing but know that if a teen had the chance, ptt would be easier...thats why they make the price look tiny and then rob them blind....
now, if ptt is 3 cents, why are txts so expensive???

If I wanna talk to someone I ring them...I hate texts, so I wont do that unless neccesary... and I dont ring people unless its off-peak or urgent and I dont answer blocked ID calls... sometimes I'd prefer not to have a phone at all, but I'm addicted to gadgets...
I have a work phone that I hate but have to use

PTT is just another gimmick

[SPORK]

Resident Teenager Says:

Yeah, texting is grood. Well, Boost Monster Text is. PTT just pisses me off, I can't see anyone using it. And the ad pisses me off, so I'll boycott it (not as though I'd think about it anyway) Ringing isn't really cost effective if you can text fast enough, and it has the added bonus of discretion.

Just my point of view.

[Sniper]

It sounds like fun, but I can go home and push buttons on my microwave rather than spend 3c to push a button on a cellphone

[Coyote]

Resident Teenager Says:

Yeah, texting is grood. Well, Boost Monster Text is. PTT just pisses me off, I can't see anyone using it. And the ad pisses me off, so I'll boycott it (not as though I'd think about it anyway) Ringing isn't really cost effective if you can text fast enough, and it has the added bonus of discretion.

Just my point of view.
Also as a resident teenager, I agree with him. PTT is just another gimick to force people to upgrade their phones

BTW, brough one of those stupid nokia phones for 150, cheapest in the store, Cryhavoc here goes and buys one far better and at the same bloody price, ARGH!

Also, Vodafone work on paying for each push of the button, whilst telecom you pay for a certain amount of minutes, so telecom looks the best at the moment

[bugjuice]

PTT phones are a tad of a gimmick, but it will have it's place on the market. I obviously don't agree with Telecom doing anything, cos I work for someone else, but I can see the use and have played with these toys.

If you've got 4 or 5 guys, say IT peeps, and they're all out on location fixing stuff, then something new comes up, or a problem arises and you need them all, and their feedback. Best thing would be to contact all of them at the same time. Yeah, a CB does this, but it's another piece of equipment to purchase/loose/break/maintain/etc, so a phone with this capability would be handy. This would be roughly it's market.

Now for anyone else, bikers, teens etc, it's a big gimmick. Some will, some won't. Until it's actually out there properly, no one will really know. And for what company makes what charges, well that will never be the same..

[Blakamin]

If you've got 4 or 5 guys, say IT peeps, and they're all out on location fixing stuff, then something new comes up, or a problem arises and you need them all, and their feedback. Best thing would be to contact all of them at the same time. Yeah, a CB does this, but it's another piece of equipment to purchase/loose/break/maintain/etc, so a phone with this capability would be handy. This would be roughly it's market.

I can text multiple people on my phone.... can't see the point in PTT:spudwhat: and a lot of companies that have that particular need also have radio networks... cant see too many managers (and accountants) forking out for PTT in the off-chance it might be needed one day...
I see its market being teens... and so do telecom... why do you think there is $10 txt and all that shit...

[MacD]

I though PTT was developed in the US as their systems couldn't cope with text messages? It does seem pretty gimmicky to me, but maybe that's just 'cause I'm old! I'm sure the marketing people have worked out that they'll make heaps of money at 3c a push though!

[Fenix]

It's a decent idea for communicating with a small group. From memory, it's 5-way on Telecom. They're just looking for ideas to use the massive unused bandwidth that's available with 3G. It's a decent idea for organising a small group.

As for pricing, it'll be a ripoff for a while.

[Holy Roller]

It's a decent idea for communicating with a small group. From memory, it's 5-way on Telecom. They're just looking for ideas to use the massive unused bandwidth that's available with 3G. It's a decent idea for organising a small group.

As for pricing, it'll be a ripoff for a while.

Thats what I thought...
If there was facility to have an extention Ptt cable coupled with an ear piece it could save some peeps having extra gear to look after on a trip. Most peeps have a phone and sure one is not out on a tour every day of the week but to be able to connect to the riders in your group with something that everyone has would certainly be a bonus.

[Biff]

In parts of the US and Europe there are several 'real' PTT services on offer. In that in addition to offering cellular services (CDMA & GSM) some handsets also support licence free 'walkie talkie' capabilities. In Europe this is referred to as PMR446. What we have on offer here is a rip off in an effort to push 3G. Which, in my humble estimations is going to fall flat on its arse because unlike standard mobile phones it fails to offer what has been termed as the "killer application", a feature or serive that boosts usage and new customers. For standard mobile phone users the killer app' was text messaging.

In the UK those operators that were succesful in securing 3G licences began introducing picture messaging prior to rolling out 3G in an attempt to lure people into getting used to multimedia applications, basically a taster as to what 3G could offer.

[Jackrat]

Just wondering if these new push 2 talk phones would be any good as a bike 2 bike communication. Any one else thought along these lines?

Don't know if it would be a good idea even if it does work.
It would put you in the same position as any cell user when driving, or worse on a bike.Not good.
I have hands free in the truck but still pullover to talk after realising I wasn't concentrating on the job at hand when talking on it.
Apart from that I don't really like cell phones anyway,the buttons ain't big enough for dinosaurs.