Cingular Launches Push to Talk
Kodiak PTT is a Phone Call!
So if you think about it, Cingular is charging PTT users $9.99 per month for the privilege of placing a half-duplex (one side muted) phone call to people whom they can already call (full duplex) for free.
Granted that presence (done via SMS, just like an IM application) and group call are not otherwise available, but those features are of limited value. Presence has no value for people who leave their phone on all the time, and very few people even set up groups muc...
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Otherwise known as a MARKETING GIMMICK!!!
And so what if it is still a standard voice call? Are you saying they should have chosen a different system just so they could make their 9.99 fee more reasonable to customers who actually care? It doesn't even matter. It is a competitive price and as long as they make good phones for it and market it properly, people will pay it.
bigbee said:...
There is something very important about Kodiak PTT that everyone needs to keep in mind: a Kodiak PTT call is a phone call on a standard voice circuit. It's actually a voice call to the Kodiak RTX platform (which may or may not be located in local switching facility).
So if you think about it, Cingular is charging PTT users $9.99 per month for the privilege of placing a half-duplex (one side muted) phone call to people whom they can already call (full duplex) for free.
Granted that presence (done via SMS, just like an IM application) and group call are not otherwise available, but those features are of limited value. Presence has no value for people who leave their phone on all the time, and very
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If others who won't use group call want to pay more each month for less functionality, that is their choice. If they understood what they were getting for the money, I doubt that any would pay it.
Keep in mind that the UI to place the half-duplex PTT call is different as well. Voice dialing through a Bluetooth headset won't work. Neither will turbo dial by pressing one numeric key.
Everyone arguing that "they now have a PTT service" and deserve to make money at it are correct from the operators perspective. Should an informed consumer pay more for a crippled U...
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What makes the other PTT solutions so much better?
My point is this: as a PTT subscriber you will be paying $9.99 per month to have a new (less convenient) UI on your phone to place phone calls that will have the same setup time as a standard call and have half duplex audio and the associated switchover times. All of this to call someone that you can call full duplex today for free.
As I've indicated before, other than group calling, what about this sounds attractive to you once you understand it?
Next time, take the...
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Without a genuine value proposition, the novelty will fade and the service will ultimately fail to generate a significant user base. Some people will appreciate presence or group call, but in general people don't spend money just to spend money.
This forum is closed.