Over 2 Years of Experience With This Phone...
Written: Jan 04 '01 (Updated Apr 01 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Speaker Phone, Radio, Virtually Unbreakable, and A Lot More...
Cons: Flimsy Antenna, and a Few Others...
The Bottom Line: Best powerful cell phone for the buck, but not for novice cell phone users.
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| techjunkie's Full Review: i1000plus Cell Phone |
Intro...
I am a loyal customer of Nextel and this phone (i1000 & i1000plus) for over 2 years. I have nothing but great things to say about Nextel's Service and the especially the phone!
Pros (Things that I actually use and I am very pleased with...)
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1. Speaker Phone
This is the Number 2 distinction between this phone and the rest. I have yet seen a cell phone with the speaker phone feature. (By the time this epinion is posted, there probably will be one.) At any rate... for the past 2 years, I have enjoyed this feature a lot especially when I need to have my family and friends listening and chatting at the same time. It is also extremely useful while driving (although discourage). :)
2. Direct Connect a.k.a. Radio & Alert
This is the Number 1 distinction between this phone and the rest of non-Nextel phones. You will be surprised as to how efficient it is to coordinate meeting time and place with just radio. I am also very impressed with the coverage. (I know that I'm not writing about the service, but I still have to point it out anyway.) A buddy of mind was radioing me from Mammoth Lakes, CA (at a ski resort) to me in San Diego, CA (395 miles / 10 hrs) away. Wow, that's coverage!!! I also find it very useful in grocery stores, malls, etc.
By the way, Radio can be used in 2 modes. You can either talk on the radio just like a walkie-talkie by hearing out loud, or you can listen to it all to yourself like a phone. I prefer holding it like a phone for more privacy.
In addition, you can just send the other phone an Alert. This feature is FREE. This way you can send a short alert to the other phone without intruding. It is also useful when your wife tries to tell you that she's outside your office waiting to have lunch with you. :)
3. Word Completion
When you use the browser or 2-way messaging, you can punch in 4-3-5-7 for the word H-E-L-P, instead of punching 44-33-555-7 in regular mode. It intelligently looks up the the most frequently used words from the key combos. You can scroll for more words if key combo creates more than one choice.
4. Caller ID
I am quite impressed with the Caller ID. Most of my buddies live on the East Coast, and their numbers / names still show up. My home Caller ID usually says, "Unknown Caller" from my East Coast buddies because of the different phone companies.
5. Missed Calls
When you miss a call, it actually flashes a text message, "1 Rcvd Call". You can then lookup the call(s) you missed. I actually find this quite handy especially when I am in a middle of a business meeting, and the caller didn't leave a message.
6. Memo
There is quick Memo section for you to input numbers while you are on the phone. I use this a lot! (i.e. Confirmation number, temporary phone numbers, ...)
7. Web Browser
Very good. It defaults to MSN sites, but you are also able to access any WAP sites. I was able to access my Yahoo! Mail, Instant Messenger, Calendar, Address Book, Yellow Pages, Movies, etc. with ease. Furthermore, after you log into My Yahoo, it remembers you. The next time you access it, you don't have to enter your password again.
Additional tip: When you bookmark your first 9 sites, you can access the bookmark by holding down the corresponding number. For example, My Yahoo is my first bookmark, so I simply press and hold the number 1 to access it anywhere, anytime in my browser.
8. Virtually Unbreakable!
I dropped this phone as many as 30 times on asphalt, and it keeps on ticking. (BTW, you may not want to buy my used cell phones.)
9. Vibrate Mode
I do not like to disturb others, so I place everything in Vibrate Mode. Most phones have this feature now, but I just want to emphasize that I use this a lot.
10. Turbo Dial
The first 8 phone numbers stored on the cell phone can be dialed by simply pressing and holding the corresponding number. This comes in handy while driving.
11. Nextel Service
Very cordial. Very easy to get through. One of the best customer service departments. Never had a bad experience yet.
12. Other Self Explanatory and Standard Cell Phone Features
Speed Dial, Voicemail, Battery Strengh Meter, Signal Strength Meter, etc.
Features that I rarely use, but I can see useful for others...
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1. Text & Numeric Paging
Good feature. You can email or use Nextel.com site to send a message to the phone. I don't personally use it much, but it definitely makes your day when you get a lovey text message from your spouse. :)
In addition, when someone reaches your voicemail, in the greeting you can instruct the caller to press 1 to leave a numeric message. My friends actually do this to leave me their callback number.
Also... if there is a phone number in the text or numeric page, it will dial the number when you press the dial key.
2. 2-Way Messaging
Like Text Paging, except you can send text messages between phones and/or send an email to a regular email address. I also haven't used this feature too much.
3. Group Direct Connect a.k.a. Group Radio
You can group radio a bunch of people at the same time, but it charges you individually. In other words, if there are 5 people in your group, it charges you 5 times.
4. Second Line
You can have a second line to separate your personal and business usage. However, the 2nd line cannot utilize all features of the phone.
5. Battery Life
Very satisfied. It uses a Lithium Ion battery (the ones that you don't have to discharge fully before recharging). My talk time varies from 30 mins to 3 hours daily. I just charge it everyday when I get home with no worries. I don't intend to ever need a spare battery.
Cons (Things I wouldn't brag about...)
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1. Antenna
It's flimsy. I never need it raised for extra signal strength, so it doesn't bother me.
2. Cannot Lock and Receive Phone Calls
You cannot lock the unit and receive phone calls at the same time. I find this annoying. I am very security conscious, and I would hate for someone to find my phone on the street and start having a field day. However, you can either manually lock it or turn on the autolock feature. (Autolock asks for the password every time the phone is turned off and on.) But once the phone is in ANY locked mode, you cannot make or even receive phone calls.
3. Direct Connect a.k.a. Radio -- Cannot Cross Fleet
You can only radio with the following phones:
a. Same account / bill
b. Same fleet
In order for you and a buddy to radio each other, you have to be either on the same account / bill or join the same fleet. If you set it up at the very beginning, it's a piece of cake. Otherwise, one of you will have a high risk of losing your existing phone number in order to change fleet. There may even be a chance for a $5 or so monthly charge. (I haven't heard of anyone actually being charged of the fee.)
4. Direct Connect a.k.a. Radio -- Cannot Across Zones
You cannot radio another person in another zone. (i.e. I cannot radio Atlanta, GA from San Diego, CA). Rumors said that they are beta testing this feature. I am hoping that this will be available by the end of 2001. *** This is the Number 1 feature that I am waiting for next from Nextel. ***
5. No Games
Sorry, no games. The end. Surf the web instead. :)
Miscellaneous...
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Sorry...
There are so many features on this phone that I'm sure I've missed some. I just want to point out the ones that I actually use or at least caught my attention. Please feel free to visit Nextel.com to find more info. I include the direct link below to the phone's detail page.
Pricing...
$100-199 each (There is a promotional offer right now for $199 - Buy one get one free).
Service Plans...
Nextel first targets Businesses, but now they are offering more consumer pricing. Check plan pricing monthly. Most plans do not require a contract.
***Occasionally, there are deals that are out of this world on both phones and service plans. Keep your eyes open***
Sound Quality
a. Sound quality is very good to excellent.
b. Speakerphone is still half-duplex (like most speaker phones, only 1 person can talk at a time). *Note* All the road noise may also be transmitted via speakerphone and can make the other person hard to hear.
Nextel Pampers You
Since this phone is feature packed, a video tape is enclosed. It does get you started right away.
Resource
http://www.nextel.com/products/productcatalog/i1000plus.shtml
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
techjunkie
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Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
"Why can't technology and people just get along?"
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