At the moment Nextel SUCKS!!!

[jjessico]

I've had Nextel Service for about 2yrs now and when I was working for a company that all of my coworkers/supervisors had Nextel it made working in the field much easier than always having to complete a call to get something tested or ask a question. This was in a major metro market, Mpls/St.Paul, and the service was just as good as any other cell phone I had used there.

The cell service, aside from PTT, was average outside of the metro area. Somewhere on par with Sprint I'd say. Coverage was poor in my hometown, which I occasionaly visited, but I didn't really care. On the flip side I was often surprised that the phone worked in wierd, remote places.

As for customer service, I've never really had a problem.

Overall I'd rate Nextel 9/10 for a business phone and probably 7/10 for a non-work phone. But that's just me, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[jjessico]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
Works wonders for them. Many businesses got the PTT for the entire company. Would be too expensive to change now, plus I don't think ppl on Nextel can PTT to ppl on Verizon. Didn't used to be able to, dont know about now. PTT is wonderful for Nextel, no denying.

I'm a Sprint customer, and I know I'm not going to be able to use my Push-to-Talk to contact Nextel customers, so I'd say you're absolutley right there. More importantly, nobody in the industry can match Nextel's speed. It is pretty much instant, whereas when I had Sprint's ReadyLink (that didn't last long) it takes a few seconds to connect, and I heard Verizon's is even worse.

But it doesnt mean they dont get dropped calls, crap reception and terrible customer service.

You're right about dropped calls and bad reception in most areas. I had a friend that moves carriers EVERY TIME his contract is up, and his last move was from Nextel to Sprint. He says he only moved because Nextel cost him too much and because so many of our friends are on Sprint that it would save him money calling Sprint people. However, he definitely got worse coverage than me in some areas and better coverage in others. That's the nature of the industry. But Nextel doesn't cover NEARLY what the top three carriers do, so I don't doubt that coverage in general would be worse.

As for customer service, everyone has horror stories, but my friend was happy with his customer service (he calls all the time because he's a very needy person). The major problems are usually just misunderstandings from the carrier's side. Believe it or not, they don't go out TRYING to piss off their customers.

I tested Verizon, Sprint, and Nextel to see which PTT was the best and after using them all for about a week I'd rate them:
1) Nextel
2) Verizon
3) Spring

Nextel was faster and more audible than Verizon. Verizon was OK, but just not quite as quick or as reliable as Nextel. Sprint, like you said, was basically useless.

One of the best features of Nextel especially people who are rough on phones is the Motorola i530 and i730/736 are incredibly durable. I've beat the snot out of my i730 and my i736 and niether one has ever missed a beat.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: tami
why'd you have to call 911? everything ok?

about 10:30 last night i went outside to sit on my front porch to enjoy a very nice evening, it was cool and with a slight breeze. I was on my porch for about 5 min when a car coming from my right stops across from my neighbors house and turns off his lights but leaves the engine running I could tell by the voices that there were at least 3 people in it. The driver then sticks his arm out the window and chucks a empty beer bottle in my neighbors back yard.

They sit there for a few more minutes talking really loud in spanish then the driver pops the trunk then he gets out and walks back to the trunk. I hear bottles clinking and he walks back with 3 bottles and gets in the car. I then hear all 3 bottles being opened and they just sit there for a bit more. My suspicions are running high, there have been a few break-ins around my neighborhood and it was pretty obvious that these guys were drunk and did not belong there, so i called the cops. The car sat there for about another 5 minutes then took off like a bat out of hell with the back end fishtailing. the sheriffs dept showed up about 5 min after they left. I told the cop what i saw and why i thought they should check it out, he drove aound for quite a while in his unmarked Durango looking for them but i doupt he caught them.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: jjessico
I tested Verizon, Sprint, and Nextel to see which PTT was the best and after using them all for about a week I'd rate them:
1) Nextel
2) Verizon
3) Spring

Nextel was faster and more audible than Verizon. Verizon was OK, but just not quite as quick or as reliable as Nextel. Sprint, like you said, was basically useless.

One of the best features of Nextel especially people who are rough on phones is the Motorola i530 and i730/736 are incredibly durable. I've beat the snot out of my i730 and my i736 and niether one has ever missed a beat.

Actually, I'm surprised you thought Verizon was better than Sprint. I didn't like Sprint's PTT, but I thought that Verizon was actually worse. Of course that's based off of a USA Today article from a while ago, so who knows.

My roommate used to work for IRL (racing), so he had a Nextel phone. He hated the service, but he used to love throwing his phone on the ground when he was mad. He THREW that thing, and it didn't skip a beat.

 

[Pabster]

Um, News Flash. Nextel always has sucked!

 

[Leper Messiah]

I've dropped my i310 from a 20ft height, and it wasn't even fazed. I washed it, and dryed it, and it worked fine, execpt the antenna kinda sucked after that.

 

[Nick5324]

I see a lot of cell phone service provider flame wars on here. Judging from the threads i've see on this, and my personal experience, what sucks and whats good depends on where you live. I live in Columbus, I've had sprint for a little over 4 years, and i can count the number of service problems i've had on one hand. I've also know multiple people who have Verizon and it is sh!t mode. I guess cell phone service is a big YMMV.

 

[GeekDrew]

Christ, have you people never understood the fact that Nextel caters to a specific market, and while it is still expanding, they are not claiming to cover the nation, like the other carriers?

That said, Nextel is the *most* reliable cellular carrier in my area. Sprint drops calls all the time. Verizon users are lucky to get a signal, and when they do, it's not for long. Cingular/AT&T customers just have no hope. There is no coverage for them down here. There "officially" is coverage for them, but good luck to the guy that gets it to work.

It all depends on your area. I hear that Verizon is better than any other carrier in the Chicagoland area... I don't live there, though, so I can't comment - but I know several people that live in Chicago that have told me that, and that have recently switched to Verizon, from Nextel, Sprint, and Cingular.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Christ, have you people never understood the fact that Nextel caters to a specific market, and while it is still expanding, they are not claiming to cover the nation, like the other carriers?

That said, Nextel is the *most* reliable cellular carrier in my area. Sprint drops calls all the time. Verizon users are lucky to get a signal, and when they do, it's not for long. Cingular/AT&T customers just have no hope. There is no coverage for them down here. There "officially" is coverage for them, but good luck to the guy that gets it to work.

It all depends on your area. I hear that Verizon is better than any other carrier in the Chicagoland area... I don't live there, though, so I can't comment - but I know several people that live in Chicago that have told me that, and that have recently switched to Verizon, from Nextel, Sprint, and Cingular.

Of course they cater to a specific market. Whenever I asked them how good their service is in Washington DC, they always tell me it's better than any other companies and in fact, their service was the only one working during 9/11 :roll:

Of course I am unable to make any phone calls to any 1800 numbers within my apartment. Plus there are so many dead zones in the DC area it's unbelievable. That and the mistakes they made with my billing were unacceptable (CSR's flat out lied to me many times)

Haven't had this problem as of yet after switching to AT&T.

Fvck nextel.