Nextel chirp almost extinct?
Filed Under (Misc.) by Kirby Witmer on 15-10-2007
Via the Washington Post:
It used to be all but impossible to walk down a city street in the Washington area without hearing the “chirp.” The distinct beeping noise made by Sprint Nextel’s walkie-talkie-like service, called Direct Connect, was so commonplace that it almost seemed a part of the aural landscape. These days, the chirp stands out because it has become so infrequent. More people have been abandoning the service over the past year, following Nextel’s merger with Sprint. The company has lost more than 700,000 monthly subscribers this year, and the carrier warned last week that it expects to lose 370,000 more this fiscal quarter. The vast majority of departed subscribers are former Nextel customers.
“The chirp is not extinct,” he said. “It has, perhaps, become less deafening.”
The article goes on…. and echoes what I’ve written before.
Nextel is too expensive, Sprint’s coverage is poor compared to others, and the walkie-talkie thing isn’t unique to Nextel anymore. Furthermore after using Verizon’s walkie-talkie feature for almost two years I think it is faster and more convenient to call rather than “beep” somebody anyway.