For a couple years in mid-2000s America, it was tough to go a day in public without hearing a very distinctive electronic “chirp.” It was the trademark tone of “Direct Connect,” a nationwide-walkie talkie built in to every cellphone bearing the “Nextel” nameplate. By 2004, Direct Connect had helped Nextel Communications amass nearly 20 million customers with some of the highest loyalty – and highest revenues – in the industry.
But less than two years later, the storied Nextel brand would crumble into a punchline, following a merger so devastating it almost sank the company that bought it. Join Michael Fisher to see what caused one of the most valuable brands in wireless to go from “getting things done” to just … Done. |
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[ABOUT WHEN PHONES WERE FUN – NEXTEL]
This is the seventeenth in a series of MrMobile videos exploring the mobile tech world’s most vibrant period in design and experimentation. In “When Phones Were Fun,” Michael Fisher re-reviews cellphones from the golden age of mobile, the decade-long span from the turn of the century to approximately 2009.
When Phones Were Fun: Episode 17 features a wide assortment of Nextel and Sprint Nextel handsets purchased by Michael Fisher and by MrMobile’s publisher, Future PLC. The epilogue features review devices on loan from AT&T FirstNet, Relay, and Aina. No manufacturer or carrier paid a fee or otherwise offered compensation in exchange for this coverage, nor did any such company preview or approve this content before publication.
[LINKS – WEB]
OldWeb.Today JS Browser Emulation:
https://oldweb.today
Fleet Call to Buy Competitor for $320 Million [NY Times]:
American Mobile to be Sold to Fleet Call [LA Times]:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-30-fi-16958-story.html
Question about 9/11/2001 and Nextel [HowardForums]:
https://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/199857-Question-about-9-11-2001-and-Nextel
Nextel’s Walkie Talkie Grows Up [The Motley Fool]:
https://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2004/10/22/nextels-walkietalkie-grows-up.aspx
Nextel Done campaign [fredlines]:
https://fredlines.com/nextel
Nextel Gets Hip To Youth Market [CNET]:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/nextel-gets-hip-to-youth-market/
Bloomberg Ranks Sprint Nextel Deal Among Worst Mergers [CNET]:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/bloomberg-ranks-sprint-nextel-deal-among-worst-mergers
Is Sprint Nextel Worth Saving? [WSJ]:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DLB-1899
[LINKS – VIDEO]
The History Of Us: A Sprint Story [YouTube]:
Nextel i1000+ User Manual [YouTube]:
Nextel Communications – Welcome to Nextel [YouTube]:
Video Tour: Direct Connect QChat [PhoneScoop]:
https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=199&p=357
“Nextel Chirp” [Maceo]:
Nextel Commercial – Dots [YouTube]:
Nextel Commercial – “Antennalope” [YouTube]:
Nextel Commercial – Boost Mobile Old People [YouTube]:
Nextel Commercial – “mBLT” [YouTube]:
[LINKS – MODERN PUSH-TO-TALK]
“The New Nextel”
AT&T FirstNet:
https://www.firstnet.com/
Relay Walkie Talkie:
https://relaypro.com/
Aina Kepler:
[CHAPTERS]
00:00 From Profits to Punchline
00:58 The “Scrappy Underdog”
02:40 Why Walkie-Talkie?
05:25 Phones For “Do-ers”
08:30 31-Billion-Dollar Mistake
13:41 Push-To-Talk Today
15:28 Done. |
[THUMBNAIL PHOTO CREDIT]
Photo by Devin Barnes Photography
[MUSIC]
“Faxel-Hecked” by Matteo Galesi [Soundstripe]:
https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/13003
“Kill The Noise” by DaMarcus VanBuren [Soundstripe]:
https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/12701
“Overtime” by Simple Thieves [Soundstripe]:
https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/11722
“New Media” by Olive Musique [Premium Beat]:
https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/new-media
“True Persistence” by Cymatix [Premium Beat]:
https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free-tracks/true-persistence
“Over The Grey Skies” by Daniele Musto [Soundstripe]:
https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/13892
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[DISCLOSURES]
This post may contain affiliate links, which afford MrMobile / Future plc a commission if you make a purchase.
Additional information concerning MrMobile’s ethics policy can be found here: https://mrmobile.tech/ethics
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