Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Software Turns Phone Into Walkie-Talkie

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 18:26:41 -0400

Today: September 18, 2003 at 13:58:38 PDT 

Software Turns Phone Into Walkie-Talkie
By JASON STRAZIUSO
ASSOCIATED PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - 

Imagine a walkie-talkie whose range is so wide it reaches halfway 
around the world. 

Seem far-fetched? That's what a new software program for cell phones 
promises - and, for the most part, delivers. 

Although the Fastchat software promised to deliver instant 
communication with my friend in Paris from my desk in Philadelphia, 
I was a bit skeptical when I first powered up my handset and pressed 
the talk button now doubling as a walkie-talkie button. 

But after a relatively short delay, my Parisian friend was talking 
right back to me, although the flow of the conversation was slightly 
slower and scratchier than you'd get on a regular walkie-talkie. 

Nextel and Motorola pioneered the use of cell phones as walkie-
talkies using a special "push-to-talk" button on the side of the 
handset. The other major wireless carriers now plan to introduce the 
increasingly popular service for their subscribers. 

But even when all carriers offer it, users will only be able to 
walkie-talkie with other subscribers to the same cell phone company. 

With Fastchat, subscribers to different cellular companies in this 
country and abroad can do so. They don't even need a phone equipped 
with a special button because the service uses the phone's regular 
buttons. 

The software, made by Fastmobile Inc. of Chicago, automatically 
downloads to your phone through a wireless transmission after you 
sign up, either at Fastmobile's Web site or through a chain of 
retail wireless stores called American Connection. 

For now, however, the $3-a-month service is only compatible with two 
phone models sold in the United States: the Nokia 3650 and Sony 
Ericsson P800, both of which work on the wireless technology used by 
AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile. 

Carriers, including those who use other wireless technologies, will 
soon introduce more models with the Symbian operating system needed 
for Fastchat. Even so, Fastmobile says it already has signed up 
2,000 users in 44 countries since its May launch. 

In reality, Fastchat is more like a voice version of "instant 
messaging" than a walkie-talkie. The software converts your voice 
into packets of data and transmits them just like a text message via 
the Internet data service now provided on most cell phones. When the 
message arrives at another cell phone with the software, the data is 
converted back into voice. 

But this is no ordinary walkie-talkie conversation, where your 
message is heard once before disappearing into thin air. Because 
your voice is converted to data, messages can be archived. I can 
scroll up and down on the phone's screen and listen to messages from 
30 seconds or three days ago. 

It must be said that the term walkie-talkie, especially when 
compared to Nextel's Direct Connect service, is a bit of a stretch. 
Because the Internet is being used to relay Fastmobile's messages, 
there are noticeable delays. Separately, the voice quality is 
sometimes shaky, too. 

Where speed and clarity are concerned, Fastmobile is no match for 
Nextel. Speaking to my cousin in California on nationwide Direct 
Connect was like speaking to the guy at the next desk - that fast, 
that clear. 

Given that, why would anyone choose Fastmobile? Three reasons: Its 
reach is international, it connects phones from rival carriers and 
it's surprisingly inexpensive. 

Beyond the $3 a month for the Fastchat voice service, there's 
usually a charge to use your cell phone company's wireless Internet 
service, which typically costs between $3 and $15, depending on how 
much data capacity you buy. By comparison, regional use of Nextel's 
service is included in the monthly plan, while national coverage 
costs extra. 

The bottom line, though, is that cell phone users can talk as much 
as they want without using up wireless minutes for an extra $10 or 
$20 a month - not a bad deal if you're chatting with someone in 
another country. 

My Paris friend and I agreed that Fastmobile would be fantastic to 
communicate with family members or other loved ones overseas. 
Businesses, too, might find Fastchat's connect-anywhere technology 
useful and cost-effective. 

Just keep in mind that you'll have to adjust to the flow of 
a "walkie-talkie" conversation instead of a regular telephone call. 
At first I was disappointed in the slight communication delay, but I 
later learned to appreciate it. 

It took away the expectation of a true phone conversation, allowing 
my Fastchat-test friends (in Paris and Denver) and I to fire off 
voice messages at our own pace. 

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=Tech%20Test%20Fastmobile

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