Sprint PCS group now offers a walkie-talkie-type service for its wireless phone customers.
Like other push-to-talk services from Nextel Communications and Verizon Wireless, Sprint Ready Link lets customers talk to one another with the touch of a button. Customers can talk one-on-one or with as many as five other people simultaneously.
Ready Link costs $15 per month for unlimited use, on top of customers existing voice service plans of $35 or more. For $20 on top of their existing voice plans, customers get both unlimited Ready Link and PCS Vision data access. A Ready Link call doesnt count against regular voice minutes.
Sprint is announcing two new phones that support the service, both made by Sanyo. The PCS Vision Ready Link Phone RL2000 is a ruggedized phone with rubber bumpers on the casing, and the RL2500 is a compact flip phone. Both have color screens and built-in speakerphones. Each has a list price of $300, or $150 with a two-year service plan. A Ready Link Phone with a built-in camera is due by years end, officials said.