Why Is Nextel Still in Business?

February 20, 2008

I just got an email from Corporate, saying that we’re finally able to use Blackberry devices with our network. I checked my current carrier, Nextel/Sprint to see what they’re offering…

Surprise! The same fucking blackberry 7100 that was brand new, three fucking years ago.

It’s also the only Blackberry device they offer that is compatible with the Push-to-talk technology, which is the only reason I still bother with Nextel, because my entire family is on the network. Perusing Verizon’s website, they have at least 4 newer, cooler looking Blackberry phones. Some are even cheaper than the antedeluvian 7100 offered by nextel. I’m sure ATT/Cingular would show the same pattern.

Why hasn’t Nextel gone out of business yet? Part of the problem, of course, is the government debacle of spectrum management. But not all of it. When I was in college, everyone had a Nextel phone. I mean everyone. They were the cat’s meow, so to speak. I don’t know anyone, outside of my immediate family, who still uses Nextel. I presume that people got tired of paying a premium for a company and a service that hasn’t had a single innovation in half a decade, which in tech-terms, is like a millennium.

If and when I make the investment in a smartphone/PDA, rest assured, I’m not going to be buying three year old technology, a cellphone the size of a brick.


Posted in: ponderings, Rants

Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Andrea Horton February 21, 2008 2:55 pm

    OMG I hate Sprint/Nextel with a passion. Just ask Brad how much I bitch about that company. I used to have a blackberry but I got rid of it because it was the size of a brick and I constantly got made fun of. Brad’s brother used to hold a chair ottoman up to his head and say “hello?.” I like my phone now, but I have had more problems with that company in the last 6 months than I have in my 5 year bullshit experience with them. Don’t get me started. Sprint/Nextel’s customer service is absolutely the worst I’ve ever experienced, bar none. Brad has T Mobile, he seems to like them so once my contract ends I will be switching fo sho!

  2. Joe McHugh February 22, 2008 10:53 am

    Just an fyi - antediluvian is spelled with an “i”.

Leave a Comment

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Comments

Archives

Categories