A Business Phone before a Personal Phone
Written: Jul 07 '00 (Updated Jul 07 '00)
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Pros: 2-way radio, speakerphone, instant silent mode
Cons: bulky, hard to program, short battery time
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| harleyds's Full Review: Nextel i1000 |
This is a business Cell Phone System! The best feature of this phone is the 2-way Private Radio that does not count against your monthly paid minutes. My company chose the Nextel i1000 plus as its new solution for internal communication. We tried a variety of different internal paging systems that allowed you to communicate by typing on tiny devices and then sending the message to either individuals or to groups. The draw back they saw in these other devices is you were not always sure the other person(s) received your message. With the Nextel, you are able to reply back immediately if you received and understood the message.
Nice Features:
A nice feature is during the initial setup when you enter a persons name and than are prompted for their phone number. While still entering the same person, you are prompted for their “Radio ID” if they have one. This is helpful so you do not have to re-add their name again if they also have a Nextel.
Private Radio - This is the only reason to buy a Nextel. The Private Radio is setup so each group of phones you order can communicate with each other without charging minutes to your monthly limit. Why is this so convenient? Any team member can now simply reach another team member with out having to go through the trouble of looking up a phone number or sending a page and waiting for a response. Simply dial the Private ID number which can be stored in memory and you can find out what you need to know either instantly or you will know if that person is simply unavailable.
Speaker Phone - I have found this feature very convenient so I can drive with both hand and not have to worry about balancing the phone between my neck and shoulder.
3-Way - This feature I nice so you can include others into your conversation with the hassle of ending one call to start another.
Speaker/Home/Back button Normally, when your associates try to reach you through the Private Radio option, a loud beep signifies someone is trying to reach you. If the person starts talking immediately, everyone around you can hear them. This can be embarrassing in the middle of important meetings. By pressing the S/H/B button, the main speaker is deactivated and message is sent to the earphone speaker. This button is located at the top of the phone so you can find it easily without scrolling though menus. It is also nice in case you forget and you need to press it very quickly!
AlphaNumeric E-mail Not only can I receive alphanumeric pages, I can also receive e-mails sent to: (my phone number)@page.nextel.com. A nice touch is the 5 lines with 16 characters of text so I can easily read my mail. This may be hard to read for some people, so ask for a demo before you decide to buy.
While there are more features that make the Nextel easier to use, these were the most prominent ones I use most that were worth mentioning.
Unlike most other cellular phones, the Nextel does come with a belt-clip carry case. While I have bumped the phone out of the belt case, the i1000 plus does sit well inside it for the most part. A friend informed me a $5.00 kit could be purchased from Radio Shack so you can glue a circular knob on the battery. This lets you use the Nokia style belt holders. The kit also provides a hook so you can attach it to you car dashboard.
Battery:
Average battery life is suppose to be 2 day, but I have found I can not make it that long before my battery indicator shows empty. The average battery life should state 1½ days instead. If you use the i1000 a lot during the day, then you need to recharge the battery every night.
What I didn’t like:
What I didn’t like is the features Nextel offers exclusively, but don’t provide for.
Internet Access - Nextel is the only ISP capable of providing Internet Access, but the service is not available in all areas.
Organizational Layout
The worst part is the way it was organized. I have to scroll through useless features within its menu system to finally find the option I’m looking for. If they wanted to improve the slightest thing, they would re-organize the order the features are displayed in the programming menu. When you enter names into memory, it stores the names in that order. The only way to have the list sorted alphabetically is to either enter all the names in alphabetic order or purchase software called IDen Organizer 01.05. This program will allow you to download your address book and then using copy and paste method, reorganize all your names and Private Radio listings.
Time and Date: - This is suppose to show up automatically if it’s available in your area. It’s not available in South Florida and spent 15 minutes looking through the manual to find that out. Why can’t the time and date be stored on the phone like all the other cellular phones? This may not seem like a big deal, but calls that are missed are not time and date stamped so you don’t know when the call came in.
Service Overall - I have been using the Nextel for almost three months now and have experienced 2 major outages. The last one was blamed on Bell South for cutting two fiber cables that linked all the Nextel cell towers together. They said it was the first time that has ever happened.
Phone Overall - This is a good phone for companies and I have seen more Nextel’s during the “business Hour” Lunch time than any other phone. The main reason would be for the “Private Radio” feature. Our IT department has found this the most useful. (It’s also great for organizing our daily lunch outing) Would I buy another one? Well that’s easy, no. My company paid for this one and I really feel it is only good for the radio feature. My personal favorite use for the Private Radio is when a group of us go on road trips to either off-site classes or seminars, we use the Private Radio in case someone is lost or needs directions. It’s unbelievable how helpful it is to have everyone in your company at your fingertips for help.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Company Paid
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Epinions.com ID:
harleyds
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Member: David
Location: Sunrise, FL
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 33 members
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