What is the DEAL with these Nextel phones?

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Can I ask a question? What the FUCK is going on with these walkie-talkie phones that every jackass I see seems to be carrying around? Has everyone lost their minds completely? Is this really happening? Do I sound like a crotchety old man?

Honestly, I cannot for the life of me understand how this became a fashionable thing to do. I suppose by fashionable I mean having your brother-in-law’s voice squawk out at me explaining that he’s wondering where you are and you hollering back that you’re just in a store buying replacement razors for your Mach 5. Does the entire world need to know this information? And can you POSSIBLY not know that this is the rudest motherfucking thing since Hitler didn’t bother to tell the Poles he was invading?

Now, call me old-fashioned, but I was under the impression that technology was supposed to move our species forward. You know, flying cars, pills that contain entire meals, pre-cogs, etc. But are you actually telling me that the way of the future is to revert back to a device that you used as a child to communicate with your best friend who lived next door?

As far as I’m concerned, if you’re using one of these things you might as well be building a fort or playing a strategic game of Capture the Flag. Otherwise, there is absolutely no excuse.

I actually asked someone what the possible reason could be that anyone would opt for this instead of a regular cell phone. Their response was that it was probably cheaper to communicate on this thing than a regular phone. I think this is bullshit, but if you know otherwise, please let me know.

Perhaps the underlying desire here is that America wishes it was a nation of douchebag truckers. Should I interpret this purchase as your undying wish that you had, in fact, starred in Duel? Or does the phrase “Ten Four, Good Buddy” just sends tingles down your spine? Either way, if this was Every Which Way But Loose, I’d command that orangutan to beat the shit out of you until you realized that he had better manners that you do. Sure, he throws his feces, but at least it doesn’t beep when he does it.

Am I alone here? Please tell me you all feel the same way I do.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:20 (twenty years ago)

Long range walkie-talkies?? omg I want one.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:23 (twenty years ago)

*trembles with rage*

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:26 (twenty years ago)

'Perhaps the underlying desire here is that America wishes it was a nation of douchebag truckers.'

!!!!!

― maura (maura), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:31 (twenty years ago)

ha. i meant no disrespect to truckers there. i was projecting my bafflement about these walkie-talkie people onto them unfairly. that "douchebag" wasn't meant for you, trucking community! stay strong!

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:39 (twenty years ago)

I agree with you. I am thinking of spending the 350 bucks to buy a cell phone jammer just to make my bus ride nicer.

― svend (svend), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:40 (twenty years ago)

but, seriously, this can't just be a local thing, can it? i'm in philadelphia and it's OUT OF CONTROL. has this phenomonon just not swept other major cities or what? if so, i feel for you guys who haven't felt the sting yet. it'll drive you crazy.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:42 (twenty years ago)

i've never seen it in chicago. sounds ridiculous.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:55 (twenty years ago)

like I need another excuse to burst into Steriogram's "Walkie Talkie Man"

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Friday, 22 April 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

This is every mall in LA.

― efil4zelffor (deangulberry), Friday, 22 April 2005 03:12 (twenty years ago)

Let's hope it dies soon. Texting is silent, but maybe requires too much skill for these people.

― mikef-who-mostly-lurks (mfleming), Friday, 22 April 2005 03:58 (twenty years ago)

http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/department/parks_rec/images/jerry_seinfeld.jpg

"i mean, what is the DEAL?!?"

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:01 (twenty years ago)

exactly

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:07 (twenty years ago)

oh, how i wanted to post a photo of a bag of peanuts.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:08 (twenty years ago)

Maybe it is just Philadelphia, but outside my window it sounds like a storm trooper invasion day and night.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:11 (twenty years ago)

Are we talking like regular walkietalkies, like security guards and the like use? Why in gods name? Or are they DB radios? Heh. I remember those days. It was like being on IRC, only with stupid call signs and too many nerdy boys, and... oh, wait.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:16 (twenty years ago)

Chris, just start yelling about how you need "those plans." and hopefully they'll hand over their phone bills that you can just set fire to right there on the street.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:17 (twenty years ago)

Trayce, no, we're talking about ACTUAL cell phones that only function as devices where you get that security guard beep between transmissions and yell into the phone/baby monitor to your counterpart. it's totally new new wave. it TEH GREATEST!

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:23 (twenty years ago)

i just heard one out my window. i wish i was dead.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:24 (twenty years ago)

no the deal with nextels is that they are cell phones + the walkie-talkie, dude.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 22 April 2005 04:39 (twenty years ago)

these are very popular among IT people and have been for ages in SF; they are cheaper than regular cell phones which is why companies like their IT people to use them. I saw that they were pushing this capability last year to consumers, but I really haven't seen it take off among the general public. It's obnoxious though.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

ugh, I hate walkie talkies. I think I quit the Saks job cause you had to ask for your bathroom breaks over the walkie talkies.

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

Nextel phones make a lot of sense for business use where you have a lot of people in a fairly limited area that need to communicate with each other often but aren't in a fixed location. That's why almost all builders use Nextel.

― Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

exactly. good for people in the trades or other team-oriented businesses. for example you can say something to everyone on your radio network at once, instead of making 50 phone calls. "everyone meet at 8am tomorrow at the office for a quick sales meeting" etc.

not so good for individuals. as said above, radio time is cheaper than phone time

― ronny longjohns (ronny longjohns), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Radio time is cheaper than phone time only if you are idiotic enough to actually sign up with Nextel, the world's most expensive cell phone provider!

I shouldn't be saying this because my best friend used to work for Nextel, is a huge proponent of Nextel, has been trying to get me to purchase a Nextel for almost 6 years now, and would MURDER ME for saying that.

― Allyzay do not obtain to make download of yours MP3 (allyzay), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

My roommate has a nextel but thankfully does not choose to utilize the walky talky option. That shit actually infuriates me, unless you are in construction et al. I never see them downtown, only uptown, which is weird.

― Allyzay do not obtain to make download of yours MP3 (allyzay), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

i had one of these for 2 years. it was damn handy to use when trying to get ahold of my brother.

still. you out there? holla back.

― kingfish, Friday, 22 April 2005 15:18 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i wholeheartedly agree that people trying to run a business or construction site have every right to use these things. i've walked by guys in hardhats using them on the street dozens of times and have never once questioned their motives.

but when you're just using them for standard calls, whether it's cheaper or not, you're being totally ridiculous. you don't realize just how mundane most phone conversations are until you're forced to listen to someone else's at high volumes.

"Where you at?"
*annoying beep*
"On South Street."
*annoying beep*
"Cool."
*annoying beep*
(long pause)
"Alright, I'll talk to you later"
(end transmission)

I work in retail and people actually use these things AS I'M WAITIMG ON THEM. so i get to not only talk to them but their best friend who probably doesn't even know that he just told the whole world he slept with some ugly girl last night.

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

This is really weird. I had a dream last night where a friend of mine and I were together and talking to someone else -- using the walkie-talkie function of a Nextel phone..?! It would go "bee dee-ioup" and we'd talk, then it would go "bee dee-iuop" and we'd hear the other person.. because it was a dream, the other person was actually VISIBLE.. their face and the environment around them kind of hovering holographically on the periphery above us, like a sign language translator on public television almost.. just wait'll THAT shit comes out.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

see, now THAT's moving technology forward!

― wtf, really (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

I think Nextels should be banned for anyone who isn't using them for like construction or something.

A) they are ugly, enormous phones, all of them
B) the walkie talkies
C) THEY ARE 400X MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ANY OTHER PHONE PLAN IN THE UNITED STATES, EVEN AT CHEAPEST LEVEL

That is why I don't understand why walkie talkie is "cheaper" than regular calls--not if you get a different provider.

I remember one girl at work, her boyfriend was ALWAYS buzzing her on that thing...like if she didn't answer his call at work, and then didn't answer the cell phone either, you'd immediately hear it...(beep) "M4non? M4non? Where the hell are you?" She called it "girlfriend tracker" and seemed annoyed by it but usually didn't just turn off the phone which was weird.

― Allyzay do not obtain to make download of yours MP3 (allyzay), Friday, 22 April 2005 18:39 (twenty years ago)

That shit actually infuriates me, unless you are in construction et al. I never see them downtown, only uptown, which is weird.

see 'em all the time downtown, they were always around that new monstrosity at houston and chrystie (that's got the whole foods don't you know).

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 22 April 2005 19:25 (twenty years ago)

Ugh! I always figured that I never saw them LES or in SoHo because they were such uncool, ugly looking phones that it offended fashion sense or something. It disappoints me to hear, that they are downtown now too.

― Allyzay do not obtain to make download of yours MP3 (allyzay), Friday, 22 April 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

whatever, people are uglier downtown.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 22 April 2005 19:31 (twenty years ago)

if most of their clientele are businesses, that would probably explain the high rates. it seems that lots of companies could really give a shit what things cost. see also: first-class plane tickets

― ronny longjohns (ronny longjohns), Saturday, 23 April 2005 02:08 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Alright, so there's three, like, mooks, across the street on their stoop. Or someone's stoop. A fourth has just joined them.. The alpha mook has dark baggy jeans, bright white sneakers, a nice build and well-kept hair. He has been SHOUTING across the street at people all morning and SHOUTING into his Nextel phone, like literally for three hours or so, "HEY, NICO!! COME OVER HERE!" "AHHH YEAH, ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT. YEAH" "HEY!" "NICO, COME OVER HERE"

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 11 June 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

http://www.jitterbug.com/manya/scans/mook.gif

― something about a tarantula coming out of a coconut (deangulberry), Saturday, 11 June 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

http://www.elmoremusical.com/Graphix/Kory_marshall_wall.jpg + http://musicweb.cz/data/753/nahled_nkotb.jpg

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 11 June 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

"Where you at?"
*annoying beep*
"On South Street."
*annoying beep*
"Cool."
*annoying beep*
(long pause)
"Alright, I'll talk to you later"
(end transmission)

Nasty NEXTEL nerds. I can't agree more - it's annoying as all hell, impolite and I think they should be outlawed unless you can prove you have a real need (e.g.,construction, etc.) LA is over-run with these idiots. Personally I think they didn't get enough attention as children so they are now making all the world suffer their "see me, hear me, pay attention to me" need. We should not be subjected to even more annoying noises in the world at large. There are so many already. This is just another blight on the planet. Please keep your stupid phone calls to yourselves people; I just don't care to hear your mundane lives broadcast at 300db. I like Svend's idea of the cell phone jammer. JAM ON, baby!

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Saturday, 11 June 2005 17:39 (twenty years ago)

I want a Treo.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Saturday, 11 June 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

Theme parks are Nextell HELL. Disney world was crawling with them last time I was there, and I developed as much of a hatred for those godforsaken things as I did for squirt bottles attached to portable fans.

I do not understand why a cell phone could not possibly meet your needs in this regard.

Because I really, really, really don't fucking CARE where Aunt Betty is right now.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 11 June 2005 19:11 (twenty years ago)

I developed as much of a hatred for those godforsaken things as I did for squirt bottles attached to portable fans.

WHAT?

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 11 June 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

I don't understand why 99% of the phone calls I overhear in public couldn't be better done by text messaging. US wireless carriers should make texting less expensive.

― lyra (lyra), Saturday, 11 June 2005 23:24 (twenty years ago)

ARRRGH. I didn't know that these existed & then one day I heard some guy talking on one, with the crackling, amplified voice of his interlocutor blaring for all to hear. I was on a shuttlebus, so the bus driver's announcer thing would crackle & blare from the front of the bus, then the walkie-talkie phone from the back of the bus, etc. etc., while I was TRYING TO READ. I experienced a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was like, "can't the government do something about this?" But the government won't.

― PeterAbe1ard (PeterAbe1ard), Sunday, 12 June 2005 03:47 (twenty years ago)

Is texting expensive in the US? We have cheap plans here that give you tons of free sms each month, or for a tiny fee - I only pay like 14 cents each for mine, and you dont get charged to recieve an sms. EVERYONE txts here, peoples thumbs are constantly glued to their phone keypads like theyre some kind of gameboy.

Seeing some twang txting while DRIVING THEIR CAR: big fat dud.

― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 12 June 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

latest favorite nextel experience:

i am standing outside on a break at work, talking to this girl. she is getting annoying nextel beeps and is answering back, but it she was rather pissed at the person on the other end, so waits a long time before answering, leading to more "you there?"s. then she is looking at me, rolling her eyes about this conversation, which i have heard all of, and i'm making random comments, so the person on the other end is like 'huh? what?' because they thought i was her and they couldn't hear what she was saying. i wanted to grab the thing out of her hand and throw it in the garbage!!

― tehresa (tehresa), Sunday, 12 June 2005 07:13 (twenty years ago)

EVERYONE txts here, peoples thumbs are constantly glued to their phone keypads like theyre some kind of gameboy.

Lifestyle tip: if you're busy repairing a smashed porcelain ornament with superglue, don't be textin' for advice at the same time!

I only pay like 14 cents each for mine

They're more expensive in the UK: on my contract they're 12p each, or half that if you agree to pay for a certain amount every month.

(ie, if I add £3 onto my monthly rate, that pays for my first 50 texts per month)

― caitlin (caitlin), Sunday, 12 June 2005 08:54 (twenty years ago)

Ah, I'm glad to see this thread was revived. if only for the fact that summer is here and - hey! - people in huge numbers are crawling the streets again with these things! seriously, i honestly cannot believe how often i have to hear these devices these days. i work in philadelphia (on south street, in fact) and the amount of tourism that clogs the streets on weekends plus the jersey douchebags (sorry, non-douchebag jerseyers) who come in increases the amount of times i have to hear this beeping about a MILLION percent.

the text messaging point is a good one since literally everyone i know texts their asses off whenever they get a spare moment. i even walked into a wendy's the other day and the girl behind the counter made me wait while she finished sending someone a message (which i couldn't decide whether or not i thought was awesome or terrible).

but see, the difference (and beauty) of text messaging is that NO ONE KNOWS YOU'RE DOING IT. that's why you can get away with it at work or wherever you are. you can't exactly do that with these piece of shit walkie-talkies. thank god, i guess. though, i'd love to hear someone try.

(in a whisper) "Hey, i'm at work. Try not to be too loud."
*annoying beep*
"What? Yo, bro, i got WASTED last night!"
*annoying beep*
"Hey! Shut up!"

― Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Sunday, 12 June 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

("Plastic Gas Booby Trap" = best username ever)

I just saw an ad for some other company with this shit on TV. It was being endorsed by EVE. In the ad she becomes a ballet instructor (and looked way way way cute!) when she didn't have the asshole-talkey.

GAAAAAH. The last thing we need is this being adopted as "urban" cool.

― I'm Hi, Jared Fogle (ex machina), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

Eve is hot!

― richardk (Richard K), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 19:17 (twenty years ago)

I KNOW! ESP. WHEN SHE SPEAKS RUSSIAN (?)

― I'm Hi, Jared Fogle (ex machina), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

Argh "BOOST MOBILE"

Fucking Fat Joe

― I'm Hi, Jared Fogle (ex machina), Saturday, 20 August 2005 01:53 (twenty years ago)

http://www.canoe.ca/CHealthImages00/extreme_boost.jpg

― I'm Hi, Jared Fogle (ex machina), Saturday, 20 August 2005 01:55 (twenty years ago)

The fact that this has been adopted as urban cool is the whole point of this thread.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 20 August 2005 02:47 (twenty years ago)

I actually saw a guy the other day leaning out of his second-story window, talking as loudly as he could on his Nextel walkie-talkie phone. I think he was just calling each number in it, saying a few things, and moving on to the next.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 20 August 2005 02:48 (twenty years ago)

Imagine Juelz Santana got one of those... "ay. AY! AY! bitch... AY!...ya no?"

― LeCoq (LeCoq), Saturday, 20 August 2005 04:09 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

ban these fucking things.

they make any conversation take three or four times as long as it would on a phone.

― gr8080, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

yes these suck

― sleep, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 19:33 (eighteen years ago)

the one benefit is that they can penetrate several floors of concrete that conventional 2-way radios and cell phones can't. that's why they get used by people in construction and people who work in large hotels/hospitals/etc...

― gr8080, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 19:46 (eighteen years ago)

That would explain the Chirpapalooza on the subway.

― nabisco, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 19:49 (eighteen years ago)

They're also really useful for a large departments/groups. I worked in the locations department of a TV show once and we used them. It was really helpful to be able to communicate with multiple people at once and stay on the same page, even if we weren't near each other geographically.

― Michael White, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 20:06 (eighteen years ago)

I think you get a discount on these if you’re Puerto Rican or Dominique

― carne asada, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 20:32 (eighteen years ago)

Leone or Wilkins, jerk?

― nabisco, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 20:37 (eighteen years ago)

the human highlight of course

― carne asada, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 20:46 (eighteen years ago)

I think you also need to tune your ear to what people sound like on these things if you havent ever dealth with them or its been a while.

Its like when you see/read a play/movie that's in iambic pentameter or something and you haven’t read/seen anything like that in a while, it takes a good 15 or 20 minutes to get used to it before you feel like you're following along at normal speed.

― gr8080, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 21:11 (eighteen years ago)

Also, trying finding a fucking pay phone in Albuquerque nowadays.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 21:14 (eighteen years ago)

if you’re Puerto Rican or Dominique

But how many people are Dominique?

― Michael White, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 21:25 (eighteen years ago)

he is many

― carne asada, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 21:41 (eighteen years ago)

So is she, of course.

― Michael White, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 21:53 (eighteen years ago)

Also, trying finding a fucking pay phone in Albuquerque nowadays.
-- Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, July 11, 2007 11:14 AM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

did you move there already?

― gr8080, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 22:02 (eighteen years ago)

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