One of the big attractions of Nextel service has been the "walkie-talkie" style of communications also known as PTT or Push to Talk. In the walkie-talkie mode, you don't have to dial a number wait for it to ring and then get an answer or voice mail. Instead, you select the party you want to talk to and push the PTT button. Your voice instantly comes out of their phone. This is a perfect way to exchange short messages rather than have long conversations. Nextel calls their walkie-talkie mode Nextel Direct Connect.
The Motorola i870 supports Nextel Direct Connect both locally and nationwide. It also supports Group Connect, a walkie-talkie mode that connects up to 20 people at once nationwide. It's like having the World's greatest CB set or Ham Radio.
A third walkie-talkie mode is called Direct Talk. This is an off network service that turns your cell phone into a true walkie-talkie two-way radio in areas where this is no cellular coverage. You choose from 10 channels and 15 codes. Direct Talk will let you connect with another Nextel user who has a Direct Talk compatible phone up to 6 miles away. Typical uses will be hiking, camping and emergency situations when the cellular networks are down. Think Hurricane Katrina.
Of course the Motorola i870 is also a regular cell phone and will make or receive cellular phone calls over the nationwide Nextel network. Nextel's popular Fair & Flexible $39.99 - 2yr plan gives you 400 anytime minutes each month, free nationwide long distance and unlimited night and weekend minutes. All this for $39.99 a month.
Another strong feature of Nextel is its GPS related services. The Motorola i870 comes with built-in support for TeleNav, software that turns your cell phone into a GPS navigation system. There's an extra monthly fee for this service, which gives you visual and audible turn by turn driving directions and can help you find the nearest gas station or restaurant. Why bother buying a stand alone navigation system when you can include this feature in your cell phone?
The digital camera in the Nextel i870 has high picture quality resolution of 1.3 megapixels and includes an LED flash for low light conditions. Those pictures will look great on the large color main display that supports over 262,000 colors. A separate color external display shows important information even while the phone is closed.
The Motorola i870 is Nextel's first phone with a built-in stereo MP3 music player. It has cover mounted controls. It comes with a 32 MB memory card that can be expanded through the microSD/TransFlash memory slot. The camera also stores pictures on the memory card and can capture video clips that are only limited by the amount of memory available.
Want hands-free operation? The Motorola i870 has a speakerphone and Bluetooth communications. Clip a Bluetooth headset on your ear and you can keep the phone in your pocket. The i870 can be dialed by voice also.
Messaging is expanded in the Motorola i870 to include both text and multimedia messaging, plus mobile Web browsing. You'll enjoy near-broadband speed data downloads over the Nextel WiDen network.
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