I signed up with Nextel last June after a "horrible" cellular experience with Sprint PCS. Ever since then, I have been very happy with my new cellular service.

I am really suprised at how good Nextel's cellular service has been in the few months that I have been with them. I rarely, if ever, get dropped calls. And, the reception is good. Not as good as my home phone ofcourse, but still, good none the less. When I was with Sprint PCS and PrimeCo, I wasn't able to use my phone in my home because I could never get a signal. With Nextel, the signal is so good, I hardly use my home phone anymore.

Nextel also offers A LOT of features that are very helpful. Most are for the businessman, construction worker type, but still, the average "Joe" can get a lot of use out of them too.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service has been very professional whenever I called them. I haven't had to wait on hold for too long to get through to a real person. And, when you speak to them, they treat you as if you are a businessman, which is a very good thing. I have never had a rude REP when I called customer service. I also tried their online customer a few times and I was emailed with a reply in a decent amount of time.

NEXTEL ONLINE SERVICE
Nextel offers two types of online service. Regular and Plus. Regular is $5.00/month and Plus is $10.00/month. With that, you get unlimited wireless web usage that doesn't use your cellular minutes. The regular online service lets you surf a few select wireless sites available by Nextel. Most are business related, as in News, stock info, FedEX package tracking, etc... You can also buy tickets, look up info in the Yellow Pages, etc... The Plus online service let's your surf any wireless web enabled website. You can check/write AOL email, bid on ebay, access your Paypal accounts, etc... Only, don't expect too much as you are limited by the graphic display of your cellphone. Still a VERY nice feature that allows you to do so much from your cellphone.

ONLINE ADDRESS BOOK
Nextel gives you an online address book which you can use to store 500 names and addresses of friends, business contacts, etc. And, you can store detailed information about each contact and it is always available, either from your phone or by going to Nextel's website. And, you can call each contact directly from your phone.

PHONES
Nextel only has phones offered by Motorola. And, all of their phones have the two-way radio feature, which works really well. Their earlier phone were big and bulky, as they were mainly intended for work/business. Now, Nextel offers more attractive phones that appeal to the average cellphone user. I had the i85s, which was a really good phone. I recently upgraded to the i90c, which is even better. It is very stylish, has a ton of feature, and is a flip. So, it is small enough to fit in your pocket if you wanted it to. It also has a built-in speakerphone, which is good for driving and keeping both hands and eyes on the road. Also, the phones can really take a beating. I have dropped the i85s a few times, on the concrete sidewalk, and the phone worked fine.

PLANS
Nextel's plans are not really intended for the average user. They offer a few plans, like Unlimited incoming calls, which is intended for the cellphone user who gets a lot of incoming calls, or wishes to use his cellphone as his main phone. But, if you only use your phone for emergency calls, or to just reply to pages every now and then, their plans might be a little high for you. I use my phone as my main phone and don't use my home phone that much, if at all. Also, keep in mind that their plans include Nextel's Direct Connect(two-way) minutes, ranging from 100/month, too unlimited usage, depending from which plan you pick.

SERVICE
Service for me has been very good. I hardly ever get dropped calls. And, all calls are very clear. But, I think this is because of the phone that I now have, the i90c. I have used a couple of my friends phones and the sound wasn't as clear. The one bad thing to keep in mind is that Nextel doesn't let you roam on their phones. So, if you are in an area where they have no service, your phone is basically useless until you get back to a good are again. This has only happened to me two times since I have been using the service.

TWO-WAY
Nextel is the only cellular service that offers two-way radio service on ALL of their phones. While this service is mainly useful for those who work in construction or a related field, it is also useful for everyone. I use it on the weekends, with friends, etc... It saves your regular minutes and is a quick and instant way to contact your friends and co-workers to ask them a quick question, let them know you are waiting for them at the front door, etc...

OVERALL
Overall, I highly recommend Nextel if you live in the Chicago area. They offer great service and a lot of cool features. A bit pricier than the others, but you get a lot of extras too.

***UPDATE***
I have just made my Nextel phone my main phone and I no longer use my home phone at all.

I changed my plan from the 500 minutes with unlimited nights and weekends plan to the 500 minutes with free incoming minutes along with free nights and weekends. This plan is perfect. I can talk as long as I want whenever someone calls me, and after 8pm, I can call anyone and talk as long as I want. This plan also includes free long distance and free caller ID, Voicemail, and unlimited Two-Way, which saves a lot of minutes itself.

The 500 minutes with free incoming is $69.99/month. I pay $89.99/month because I have included $10.00 for free Nights and Weekends and another $10.00 for Nextel Online Plus.







Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 89.99/month