This message is totally OT.  I think the mod of this group or any mods
at ISP's carrying or especially rr.com block this user for violation
of the NG.
Take your trolling elsewhere.

Well, I thought I had seen just about everything in this NG, but this latest
rant has finally taken the cake.  Besides the impracticality and absurdness
of the very offensive and isolationist mentality mentioned below (somebody
better check the "Made In...."stickers on most of their electronics and
appliances), it just continues a recurring theme in this NG- people bitching
about Nextel either because of their pricing, or because they don't make
phones that would fit inside a thimble.  And nowhere in this thread do I see
any FACTS about Nextel.  So, let's see if the facts have any place here:

1.  Nextel- first to provide a handsfree speakerphone.
2.  Nextel- first to provide Java applications via wireless network.
3.  Nextel- first to provide packet data transmission over a wireless
network.
4.  Nextel- first to offer instantaneous push-to-talk functionality.
5.  Nextel- first to offer the previously mentioned push-to-talk as a
network-wide feature.

Now, you will notice that there are a few things not on this list.  Nextel,
for example, was not the first provider to offer the ability to take a
picture of Poopsie coughing up a hair ball and sending the pic to Aunt
Beulah.  The fact is (and one that is commonly forgotten here) is that we
are talking about a PHONE here.  The day may come when we can all carry an
all-in-one communications device, but the real fact is THAT TIME HAS NOT
ARRIVED YET.  Until then, every provider is going to put out vastly inferior
products in an attempt to make you believe that the functionality is
something you can't live without.  That is, every provider except Nextel- it
appears that they only provide new technology after they have worked out
most of the bugs, and provide it in a phone that doesn't fall apart when you
look at it the wrong way.  Can Verizon, Sprint or AT&T make the same claim?

A few more facts about Nextel before wrapping up:

1.  Nextel's business model is centered around the fact that they are
primarily a provider of services for Business and Government customers (a
fact that they repeat constantly).  This model seems to be working, because
they appear to be one of the few cellular providers to actually make money.

2.  In spite of this model, Nextel has been rated with providing the highest
Customer Service of all cellular providers two years in a row by J.D
Edwards.  My feeling is that the whiners in this NG are actually preventing
the rest of us from receiving even better service, as they are probably the
ones calling in to rant and rave about things that can not be addressed by
Customer Care ("I want you to put a cell tower in my backyard").  And this
is no exaggeration- they get these kinds of calls all of the time.

Two last thoughts, and then I'll let the flaming begin- earlier in this
thread, an analogy was made to the Auto industry.  Typically, those cars
with the most bells and whistles are generally the least reliable and most
expensive to repair. And if a certain model is too expensive on the showroom
floor, you always have the option of letting someone else drive it for a
while, and then buy it used.  Do these philosophies also apply to cell
phones?

Finally, let's take a look at the home nationality of the big cell phone
manufacturers.  Motorola, Nextel's almost exclusive provider of phones, is
an American corporation.  And everybody else buys from:
Ericsson
Nokia
Samsung
Sony

Anybody see a pattern here?  This is not an acceptance of the narrow
Nationalist view put forth earlier in this thread, but just an observation.
And Jenniffer, while you have the right to say whatever you want, that right
does not mean that anyone has to read it.  You are officially the first
person to be ignored by this reader in this NG.  Congratulations.  And let
the flaming begin.