Push-to-talk real estate agent phones go live in Europe

PARIS, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Europe's first network-based "walkie-talkie" service for mobile phones was launched by mobile operator Orange this week.

Orange's Talk Now offering will let users converse by simply pushing a button, rather than dialing. Like traditional walkie-talkies, the service works one way at a time, meaning users will be unable to interrupt one another.

But Talk Now provides extra services, such as a buddy list showing who is available for chat. The service also permits push-to-talk (PTT) conversations to be set up between multiple users, and conversations can be recorded and forwarded.

PTT services are already popular in the United States, with some of the services costing a few dollars a month for unlimited calls.

The cost of the new Orange service is yet to be finalized, but a spokeswoman told New Scientist the service will be "premium rate."

The most popular PTT service in the United States is provided by Nextel. Its network uses "packet switching" to route calls, meaning voice data from the caller is chopped up into packets, sent, and then reassembled at the recipient's end.

This is efficient and inexpensive because only relevant data -- i.e., speech -- is transmitted.

Source : http://www.washtimes.com