Loud 'n' proud

By Roulla Yiacoumi
August 13, 2005
The Kyocera KX 440.

The Kyocera KX 440.

Say the word "walkie-talkie" and memories of being a kid running around with a little talking plastic box come to mind. Today, this style of instant communication is being installed on an increasing number of mobile phone handsets under the name Push-to-talk (PTT).

By pressing the PTT button, you can send an instant communication to one person or a group simultaneously. There's no need to make a phone call. Rather than using radio frequencies to transmit your voice, PTT uses the existing GSM and CDMA mobile phone networks.

Consider PTT as a spoken SMS; it's ideal for short bursts of talking, but is no match for a phone call. To talk, you hold down the PTT button on the phone, then release it when finished. You can't speak or interject until the current speaker takes their finger off the button.

There are two telcos offering PTT services in Australia: Telstra and Optus. What's interesting is that they've chosen to target different markets and consequently, have come up with two very different pricing models.

Telstra is after small businesses, in particular, tradespeople. Telstra PTT brochures feature workers wearing hard hats and holding building plans.

Clearly, the construction industry is its target market.

Optus, on the other hand, is promoting PTT as the "innovative new mobile service for the young generation". While it, too, is interested in the trades, it clearly sees youth as the prime drivers of the technology.

Given Optus's focus on the younger market, it has devised a very transparent pricing system: 95 cents a day, or $14.95 a month for up to 150 minutes, subject to its fair use policy.

The daily rate is ideal if you plan on using PTT only a few days a month, for example, on weekends.

Telstra on the other hand, has elected for a charge-by-the-second model. For every second your finger is pressing the PTT button, Telstra charges 1c if talking to one person, or 2c if you're broadcasting to a group.

It's a good way of trialling the service and seeing how much you actually use it. If you end up being a heavy user of the service, and given the number of times messages are not heard correctly and need to be repeated, you could consider the unlimited plan - but that costs $50 a month. Telstra says it is revising its pricing, and will offer plans suitable for the consumer market next month.

Before you get too excited about reviving walkie-talkies on your mobile, there are a few limitations on PTT services in Australia, which until resolved, will inhibit mass uptake of the service.

Remember the early days of SMS when you could only send a message to someone on the same mobile phone network as you? Push-to-talk is at the same stage, with network interoperability not expected for at least another year. Not only can you not send a PTT message to anyone on another network, in some cases you may not be able to send a message between different mobile phone handsets on the same network.

Four contenders

Samsung E820T

Price: $699

Rating: * * * *

Website: www.samsung.com.au

A compact model that doesn't scream PTT. At just 90grams, this was easily the smallest. The top half, with the screen and navigation keys, slides up to reveal the keypad. Along with the Nokia 6020, the PTT button is on the right-hand side of the handset, meaning right-handers can use their thumb to activate PTT. Our PTT communications were crystal clear, however, the clumsiest aspect of navigating this phone is that the large centre button cannot be used for making screen selections. The Samsung E820T is available on the Telstra GSM network.

Nokia 6020

Price: $379

Rating: * * * ½

Website: www.nokia.com.au

The silver and white iPod-like Nokia 6020 is an elegant little phone. Looking at the handset, it's not immediately obvious which button to press for PTT, as they're all black and none are marked. As it turns out, it's the button on the right side of the handset. You can set a default person or group that receives your PTT call when you press the button, or you can scroll through your contacts to make one-to-one call. If you try to call someone using PTT and there's no response, you can send a "callback request" so that person knows to get back to you. Another PTT choice is the simple and effective Nokia 3230, which is available on the Optus GSM network.

Motorola T300p

Price: $499

Rating: * * *

Website: www.motorola.com

You can just picture this in a plumber's back pocket. Motorola has opted for a rugged look for its T300p PTT handset. Beneath the scratch-resistant screen, is a mono display, the only one of the phones here to be lacking a colour screen. The PTT button is located on the left side of the phone, surrounded by a thick, red oval-shaped line, and a retractable antenna sits in the top right. Adding new contacts is easy and helpful screen prompts tell you the ongoing status of your PTT communication. The Motorola T300p is available on the Telstra CDMA network.

Kyocera KX 440

Price: $409

Rating: * * * *

Website: www.kyocera-wireless.com

Receiving a PTT message on your phone is a bit like having someone barge into a room and yell something out. It's funny then that the well-built Kyocera KX 440 handset allows you to make two types of PTT calls: barge and alert. A barge call connects automatically to the other party, whether that be an individual or group. This is ideal for a work site where your message needs to just get out, but not so great if you're sitting in a meeting and "Hey, what are you doing tonight?" bursts into the conversation. An alert call is far more civilised - it sends through a tone so that the other party can choose to answer or ignore you. Available on the Telstra CDMA network.

The verdict

If you need a sturdy phone for out in the field, we like the Kyocera KX 440. It has a colour screen, is built like it could stand a few accidental drops, and costs almost $100 less than the similar Motorola. As for small and compact, the Samsung E820T comes out on top, although you pay a premium for the design. If you don't need all the glitz and glamour, the Nokia 6020 is almost half the price and does the job.


Be aware that the mobile phone network you're on will determine the handset you can use - and that also works in reverse. If you want a particular handset, you may only be able to use it on one network. Optus is offering handsets from Nokia, while Telstra has a bigger range, including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Kyocera.
