Hmmm, your a Cingular guy and you have Nextel here in Michigan and talking bad about Nextel.
How can any of your input hold any weight?

AS for Nextel, I also like Cingular Guy live here in Michigan (Detroit Metro area) and I have no problems like he has mentioned.
Mind you not all whireless carriers are 100% and some will be better than others depending on what city you live in but personally I enjoy Nextel service.
I also have T-Mobile but mainly use my Nextel for all of my needs and it has been great.

Direct Connect does sometimes do not connect but its not 50% of the time.
Dropped calls are much less frequent than AT&T, T-Mobile, Cingular,and Verizon that I have noticed.
Many of friends use other carriers and out of all of them out there I would recommend Nextel or Verizon.
I choose Nextel and have not second guessed my decesion.

Just try Nextel for the 15 days and see if its to your liking, if not then you can always try Verizon for their trial period.