real world info on Nextel in NY/NJ area

It depends where you go.

I JUST returned my Nextel's today. They were not defective or yadda yadda yaddda. They just didn't work near the College of Staten Island. I think it's because of all the stupidity in the air. Some will swear by it, however, EVERYONE I know, personally, that has it, hates it and is waiting for either VZ PTT or to at least get out of their contract.

Good luck.

 

if you are looking to use the nextel as a cellphone i reccommend against it. If your looking for it as a walkie talkie then it should suite your needs.

 

don't get me wrong nextel offer great service...thier coverage is lacking a bit..i would compare nextel coverage to sprint's and t-mobile's coverage....they have no analog back up...so if you go into rural areas don't expect a signal...on the other hand if goto work in the city and you generally stay in the suburbs you should be fine with nextel...nextel will offer you direct connect...the big question is will you use the feature or not...if you really don't know too many people with nextel, i really doudbt direct connect will help you any...all other providers provide mobile to mobile minutes..sometimes its good to use the same provider as the person you talk to the most...most people spend hours(weekly) talking to thier GF or SPOUSE....in which case mobile to mobile would be better than direct connect for longer conversations...but if at your job you need to have short conversations with your boss or your co-workers and they all have nextel...then direct connect will be bttter...so it really comes down to that...do you need direct connect or how many people you know your going to direct connect with?...if not go with another company...

 

Codepyo how can you compare nextel's coverge to that of sprint and tmo. sprint and tmo have good coverage, nextel has the worst coverage of any carrier out there.

 

Nextel is only for those who know several other people using Nextel so they can use the Direct Connect walkie-talkie feature. If you don't know anyone else on Nextel, or know a few but won't be using the Walkie Talkie feature, then there are better carriers out there with cheaper and smaller phones.

 

yea thats another good point. the phones are way too big. even the i95cl is big.

 

Do you want or need a 2 way radio?

Its so annoying to hear that Nextel beep and loud conversation in a public place.

BUT if you are in an industry that need 2 way, radios; its the only game in town for now.

 

Whether you knew it or not, you can use Direct Connect like a regular phone, either through the special ear piece with the DC button or by turning the speaker off so it goes through the earpiece of the phone. I don't believe Nextel has the worste coverage, much much better than Sprint and better than T-Mobile (don't miss calls "ghost calls" like my friend does with them). This is through trying them all. Also, might i mention, Nextel for me has had the LOWEST wait time for Customer Service questions. I am on hold for no more than 2 or 3 minutes if that, with Cingular and Sprint i was waiting and pressing buttons for EVER. Don't even get me started with the whole "Claire" thing.


P.S.- Just saw on the news tonight that judge overturned the current ruling about changing cell phone carriers and not being able to keep your #. In November you will be able to switch carriers while holding onto your current #. Thought some of you would be interested in the scoop.

 

Another reason to get Nextel is if you have an urge to show off and be noticed. Some people will purposedly call others on Direct Connect so that everyone hears the Brrreep!....and they'll raise the volume of the speakerphone to the max to ensure everyone is aware and to feel important. Sometimes the brreep! is so loud it has more range than a Nextel tower! Little that they know, others are looking because they are annoyed, not because they are interested in your conversation! On the other hand, I've seen some more discreet Nextel users who set the volume real low and you can barely notice they are using Direct Connect. I applaud those who show consideration for others in public areas.

HelloMoto, I am not coming in defense of anyone, but I simply give credit to those who deserve it in the areas they deserve it. I just think it is unfair when people overinflate their experiences and claim exaggerations. With Cingular support, the longest I've waited is 5 minutes and that was only once. Normally, I can get a live person before I get a chance to take the battery off my phone. I call quite often on different days and at different times of the day. I think your statement about waiting "for EVER" was misinformative. Now, in my experience with Sprint, I know you can wait much longer times.

 

So, I think what your saying is that "Nextel" in general is not annoying, but the the people who don't use their phone properly...RIGHT???

 

i agree that cingular is better than sprint with wait times but every time i've ever called Cingular, and that is alot of times because of my 3360 i had that was junk i got that annoying prerecorded message saying " your expected wait time is" and it was always "greater than 10 minutes" or something crazy, maybe once and a while i would get a "3-5 minute" message. This is my experience, maybe NJ directs 611 calls differently than CT....who knows...

 

That's odd. Whenever I hear "your expected wait time is" it is usually 2 minutes and normally they answer long before that. Like I said there was I time when I waited like 5 minutes even though the estimated wait time said 9 minutes. In the last times I've called they've answered even before that recording came on.

 

normal wait times are from 2-3 minutes. the longest i have waited on hold for a rep was 25 min. (i had to it was for a customer in the store who refused to leave) long story.

 

Nextel appears to be fine out here on Long Island, along with most providers. Actually, if you look around a bunch of people are starting to pop up around here with there phones...yet, their stores everywhere here go out of business...how odd...

It's definitely not the best carrier here, but anything beats T-Mobile on Long Island.

 

When you say "anything beats T-Mobile in Long Island", don't forget Cingular is also included there

 

There is one thing I hate with Nextel - I don't have it (Nextel) but there are a few ppl I know who do that I call regularly.

If you call a Nextel phone and the service doesn't quickly find the user (or he/she happens to be using DC), Nextel picks up and you get a canned message of either:

or

.

I would rather Nextel just let the phone keep ringing. I use up enough minutes as it is, I don't need that aggravation.