October 7, 2005 :: Sprint/Nextel c2go, Verizon, Cingular Wireless Services

Well, Nextel and Sprint merged forming a formidable adversary in the cellular wars. With c2go and a 36B dollar merger, this entity places 40M customers into their portfolio bringing them closer to it's two rivals, Cingular and Verizon. Can you hear me now? T-Mobile is by far the smallest player in the game, but from a technology standpoint is very advanced. The new entity is still not GSM band compatible, but aside form the techno-geeks, we are not sure it matters for the user at large. For us of course, we take GSM compatibility very seriously. Nextel with it's cool phones with the walkie-talkie style button, of course was the first, with Motorola Iden phones, to introduce this walkie-talkie concept in the mid 90's. Back then they were the size of a brick and made a rather good weapon or hammer, if one was needed on an impromptu basis. We still have boxes and boxes of these phones laying around after their retirement, presumably targeted for some museum some day. Verizon, likewise, is not GSM based, but there are rumors that it might make the switch to GSM, making GSM the prevailing standard. Cingular saw the light and has almost completed its move to the GSM standard now. Their decision to make the switch was huge, and costly, but in our opinion, had to be done. The reason why we're bringing up the walkie-talkie is because it has served Nextel and the branding of it's service very well. However, we're not sure how this will fit into the new world, of GSM, SIM's and smartphones. What's so great about GSM, you may ask?  First of all, all you have to do is pop the back of your old phone off, remove the SIM, and pop the chip into your new phone, and you're good to go. Really. And next, if your phone is quad band GSM compatible, your phone will work in Mexico, or Europe. Once you pop the SIM in, your contacts, settings and other characteristics of your provider stay. No one can stop you. It's that simple.

So which provider of the three do we prefer? The walkie-talkie is very, very cool. Also, although not for the masses, Nextel has all sorts of services that one can use with various attachments you can connect to it's Motorola phones, like credit card readers and printers, barcode readers, etc. So, let's say you're at a show and you sell art. A customer walks into your booth and tosses a credit card your way. You pick it up and swipe it through your Nextel phone. Business... Done... That's cool. (http://www.merchantid.com) (http://www.eprocessingnetwork.com) The no GSM is a killer; however. For the same reasons, although, we do hear them now, Verizon has to differentiate itself somehow from the rest of the pack. That leaves the big boy, Cingular, and the little guy, T-Mobile.