[Reverend Beavis]

My parents business has the Nextel phone system, using Direct Connect to communicate between the employees.

My mom would like to have a BlackBerry, but the local rep at the Sprint store told me the 7100 is the only model that utilizes Direct Connect? Can this possibly be true? Are the newer models not supported?

[crazydude]

thats true 7100i

[SheepDog]

I beleive that Sprint is trying to kill nextel as it owns it. Sprint is putting out hybrid phones using sprints cdma for phones and the nextel radio for Direct connect action to replace the nextel phones.

Sprint is now converting all it's billing over to the Nextel Ensemble system also as it is the better newer software. Hide and watch. Nextel is going to die soon replaced by sprint phones with DC.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by Reverend Beavis

Are the newer models not supported?

The 7100i is the newest Nextel BlackBerry device.
It's not the only Nextel to support Direct Connect.
The 6510, 7510, and 7520 also had DC.

[whoknows1]

Having had both the 7100i and the 7520, the 7100i is my preference if you must have the DC feature.

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by whoknows1

Having had both the 7100i and the 7520, the 7100i is my preference if you must have the DC feature.

having had all four I agree with you

[AL904]

I have posted a link, on my new PushToTalk board, to a Podcast from Sprint that details their soon-to-be-released (2008) Nextel Direct Connect. They are also using the term "High Performance Push To Talk"(HPPTT) to describe Sprint's new Direct-Connect over their CDMA network. The service is designed by Qualcomm, and is called "Q-Chat" by Qualcomm.)

You can access a link to that podcast at PushToTalk Forums, where you can also view recent news about this exciting new service from Sprint.

In that Podcast, you will see that RIM is included in the device-manufacturer lineup for the new Nextel Direct Connect.