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October 25, 2012

Sprint Brings Push-to-Talk to Android Devices

Android users will be seeing more push-to-talk capabilities, thanks to Sprint’s launch of the Spring Direct Connect Now. With this application, Android devices such as the LG Optimus Elite and Kyocera Rise will be available.

The Sprint Direct Connect Now is based on the push-to-talk technology platform from Qualcomm Inc., extending Sprint’s push-to-talk franchise to a new market of users. It can be installed on the Kyocera Rise from the Google Play store, and will also be available for the LG Optimus Elite upon its release.


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Among the features of the Sprint Direct Connect Now are group calls for up to 21 participants, touchscreen controls, and a display of contact images for speakers. There’s no obtrusive Direct Connect button, just easy touchscreen controls, and it’s interoperable with both Sprint Direct Connect and Nextel Direct Connect. Not only that, but it can synchronize contacts with one’s address book, and makes a list of “favorites” for the Direct Connect contacts it calls the most.

This also marks a milestone for Sprint Direct Connect, with three times the square miles of coverage from that of its previous Nextel National Network, and international coverage to many Latin American countries. After its launch in October last year, it has continued to improve on the push-to-talk technology, offering broadband data capabilities, reliable handsets, and an ever-expanding PTT coverage.

“Consumers and businesses alike have a tool in Sprint Direct Connect Now that can help mobilize their lives, their businesses, and their workforces – on select phones other than those in the Sprint Direct Connect portfolio,” says Tom Roberts, Sprint’s VP of Marketing. “At the same time, Sprint Direct Connect Now is the ideal complement to our growing portfolio of rugged, military spec Sprint Direct Connect handsets that our longtime push-to-talk customers have grown accustomed to – especially construction workers, manufacturers and emergency responders.”

Push-to-talk has been a rather convenient tool, so Sprint’s customers may find themselves benefitting from it, if they choose to use it. The company has been spending a lot of time and effort on their PTT technology, so it’s likely to do well, assuming there’s enough demand for it from their customers.




Edited by Brooke Neuman


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