Push to talk
 

Can anyone explanine to me how push to talk works on a mobile. Its a option I have, what do I have to do to 'push to talk' a friend?

Does anyone here do it? Does it cost?

Re: Push to talk
 

Its like text messaging but with short voice recordings instead of texts.

As far as I know no mobile operator in the UK currently offers it and Nokia are the only handset manufacturer to promote it heavily.

Re: Push to talk
 

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,46740,00.html

HTH

Re: Push to talk
 

Never used it in the UK but I use it out in the US to talk to my family. The service on Nextel costs $5 per month for unlimited local use (local in this case covers 1/3 of the US from Florida to Oklahoma!) I think for $8/month you can have coast-to-coast PTT

Anyways, you enter their private ID into your phone, like their regular number. Its a 5 digit number. You navigate to the entry in your phone book, and press the PTT button and hold it. When it beeps twice, you keep pressing the button, talk and then let go. If it makes one long beep when you press the button the person is out of contact or on the phonre. It takes less than a second to connect and voice transmission is instant. When you get an incoming PTT, it just beeps twice and then you instantly hear what they are saying.

You also have a feature called "alert" where if you beep someone and get no response you do an alert, and the recipent's phone will beep every 30 seconds until they press the PTT back.

Dunno if it will work the same here, I presume so, but it depends on the mobile company. That's how it works over there. Nextel are the only company I know who offer a PTT service on their mobile plan, although they have been bought by Sprint, so I see them taking it up before long. Its awesome, but its really bad on batteries, and Nextel's phones are pre historic (despite a lot of phones being PTT ready), but they don't use the GSM network, they use the iDen one.

Re: Push to talk
 

I think it works like a walky talky type of service. While in the states this year I saw so many people using their mobiles in that way. Looks cool.

Re: Push to talk
 

By the sounds of it its not big over here then? Do you have to pay for it?
Good idea in principle.

Re: Push to talk
 

Looks like Orange are 1st in:

http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Sept2004/8269.htm

Re: Push to talk
 

Dolphin mobile did this back in 1999, we had them at work. :)

Re: Push to talk
 

Is it any cheaper than the normal phone call or text?