Sprint confirms app-driven PTT service

[Brendan Hugo]

Sprint has been making some serious changes and announcements this past year, not the least of which is its plan to cannibalize part of its Push-To-Talk (PTT) network to make way for LTE. This has left some concerned that Sprint is abandoning its beloved service. Fear not, walkie-talkie lovers of the Now network, there's an app for that!

Sprint has confirmed that it will be releasing an app to the Google Play Store for its new service, dubbed Direct Connect Now, in the near future. Very little specific info has been given to us at this point—all we really know is that the name is self-explanatory and the service will integrate with existing Direct Connect customers and devices.

Speaking of devices, Sprint has also made it clear that the physical Direct Connect devices are not being done away with. That said, I would imagine it to be far more lucrative to run a server for an app than to host a nationwide network, especially one not compatible with LTE as of yet. I'm sure Sprint will be watching the popularity of this app quite closely.

I don't think it's a question of if “Now” will replace Direct Connect, but rather a question of how soon? And will we still see devices being made with physical PTT buttons, if there isn't a physical PTT service? Also, I could easily see this launching into a enterprise-managed service, none too different from what RIM does with its enterprise servers and BBM.

If Sprint can brand this well enough and get its servers running well, what company wouldn't want to have a Direct Connect type of service within its control for its employees? In that case, an app could be made for all platforms, even ones not currently sold by Sprint, but I digress. Do we have any Direct Connect users here, what do you think this means? Is this a nice add-on feature for Sprint customers, or the tip of the iceberg of change?

[Engadget]