I'm a rugged, manly sort. Always out in the woods, shooting at wildlife (with my digital camera, of course), swigging from a bottle, but wouldn't it be good if I could talk to my fellow macho men while I do it. So I need a good cellphone but, even butcher, I could do with a Walkie-Talkie so that I can pretend to be a proper Delta Force warrior and say "ten-four, over" after every sentence. Since carrying both would leave less space in my pockets for multi-function penknives, Sprint and Nextel have copied up with Motorola and developed the ic502: a dual-network cellphone that can not only use the Sprint PCS service to make voice and data calls, but also contact the 20 million people who use the Nextel Walkie-Talkie network.

If we're hiking outside of Nextel coverage, my buddies and I can still keep in touch via their Direct Talk feature - a back-up service that turns your cellphone into an off-network Walkie-Talkie with six-mile range between compatible handsets. The ic502 also has a built-in GPS chip, should I get lost (unlikely, since a tough guy like me doesn't even need a map to find his way around) and the emergency services need to locate me. 

Thing is, sometimes cellphones fall on the floor and get all mucky, perhaps even trodden on and broken into at least a dozen pieces. So thank the good Sprint/Nextel Gods that their hybrid handset is certified to Military Standard 810 F - that means I'm good for environments full of dust, shock, vibration, extremes of temperature, low pressure and, thank heavens, solar radiation. I'm not quite sure which environment would tick all those boxes - the Sun, perhaps? - but at least I'd be good to go there. 

Because it's a full Sprint handset, that means all the normal add-ons and services are available should the jungle you find yourself in be more urban; everything from call, SMS and unlimited group or International Walkie-Talkie packages to full web & data access.  Monthly line rental starts from $29.99, which includes at least 200 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Nationwide Walkie-Talkie use, plus there's a 30-day guarantee that, if the tough life is a bit too rough for you, you can return the handset and cancel the contract with no termination fee.

Features of Motorola ic502

• Size: 3.7" x 2.1" x 0.95"
• Weight: 4.4 ounces
• Network: iDEN 800 MHz SMR for walkie talkie; CDMA 1900 MHz; 1.5 GHz for AGPS
• Display: 64k colors TFT (128 x 160)
• External Display: white STN 96 x 32 pixel
• Up to 210 mins talk time
• Rugged Construction
• GPS Enabled
• SMS
• Java
• Direct Send, Direct Talk, Walkie Talkie

The Sprint/Nextel ic502 is available now.

related article

http://www.slashphone.com/83/4691.html