Sprint finally has some (5) Q-Chat phones available. 3 are rugged, 1 is fairly entry-level and 3 are fairly high-end (the yet-to-be-released Moto model has a 2+ megapixel camera). Q-Chat was the original name of the all-CDMA push-to-talk (PTT) service that will replace their iDEN Direct Connect. The new service allows CDMA devices to connect via walkie-talkie to iDEN (Nextel) devices over the Sprint network. This is super important because the iDEN network is already prettydarned crowded and they’re going to need to vacate a portion of it covering millions of subscribers. If Sprint would just release a BlackBerry with Q-Chat (which is actually taking over its iDEN predecessor’s Direct Connect moniker) they could finally make an honest push to phase out iDEN and somewhat focus themselves.
The question: Is it (way) too little (way) too late?
