# Cell phone push to talk apps **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434 "2018-03-12T16:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/1 "2018-03-12T16:22:49Z")
Had anyone used these apps? If you remember Nextel, those phones had a PTT feature for instant one on one communication. There are apps in the Play Store that seem to emulate this feature and I’m thinking one might be useful in certain situations instead of dialing. I’m guessing that both parties need to be running the same app, but perhaps not? Any experiencies welcome. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/2 "2018-03-12T16:28:28Z")
For me, push and hold home button for 2-3 seconds. Say - “Alexa, phone home / mom / brother.” Alexa asks “Call so and so?” Say yes and it is done. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/3 "2018-03-12T16:37:18Z")
I’ve used Zello from time to time with a coworker. It seemed to work (mostly) fine. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/4 "2018-03-12T16:40:46Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > For me, push and hold home button for 2-3 seconds. Say - “Alexa, phone home / mom / brother.” Alexa asks “Call so and so?” Say yes and it is done. Not the same thing. That’s just voice dial. [Push to talk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push-to-talk) works more like a walkie-talkie. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/5 "2018-03-12T16:44:43Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Had anyone used these apps? If you remember Nextel, those phones had a PTT feature for instant one on one communication. I remember that. For some reason I thought it was just a walkie-talkie (CB) added to the phone, but now that I think about it, maybe it wasn’t. How exactly did they work? ETA: OK–Now I see **Doug K.**'s link above–but is that what Nextel had? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/6 "2018-03-12T17:39:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I remember that. For some reason I thought it was just a walkie-talkie (CB) added to the phone, but now that I think about it, maybe it wasn’t. How exactly did they work? > > ETA: OK–Now I see **Doug K.**'s link above–but is that what Nextel had? With Nextel a user could push a button and talk, no dialing delay or wait for the other person to pick up. Could even talk to several users at the same time. Think of four cars traveling together. You need to stop for food or gas. Press a button on your phone and all four folks hear you say “stopping at Hardee’s for a burger”. No dialing three different numbers. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/7 "2018-03-12T17:44:04Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > With Nextel a user could push a button and talk, no dialing delay or wait for the other person to pick up. Could even talk to several users at the same time. > > Think of four cars traveling together. You need to stop for food or gas. Press a button on your phone and all four folks hear you say “stopping at Hardee’s for a burger”. No dialing three different numbers. No, I know how they were used–I saw people doing it. What I was asking is whether they just had walkie-talkies (CB radios) added to the phone, or if the transmission used the cellphone frequency. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/8 "2018-03-12T17:50:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > No, I know how they were used–I saw people doing it. What I was asking is whether they just had walkie-talkies (CB radios) added to the phone, or if the transmission used the cellphone frequency. Nextel was running its own completely separate network just for PTT, so it was essentially two cell phones put together into one. > [@](#): > > [ul] > [li]You hit the Direct Connect button, which is configured with the number(s) of the person (or group) you are calling.[/li][li]Your phone establishes a session with the Nextel iDEN-based network.[/li][li]The network determines that this is a dispatch call (Direct Connect) instead of an interconnect call (a normal cell phone call).[/li][li]The network then determines if it is a one-to-one or a group call. If it is a group call, the network duplicates the digital voice packets for each phone in the group.[/li][li]The network routes the packets to the phone (or phones) of the person (or group) you are calling.[/li][li]Their phone alerts them that they have a Direct Connect call.[/li][li]They answer the call by pressing the Talk button. Whoever is pushing the button, whether a one-to-one or group call, is the speaker.[/li][li]The call is completed and everyone disconnects.[/li][/ul] > **[How does the walkie-talkie feature on a Nextel phone work?](https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question530.htm)** > > Nextel phones offer a service called Direct Connect that allows you to push a single button and connect with another Nextel user. Find out how this "walkie-talkie" feature works. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/9 "2018-03-12T17:59:45Z")
Great link, thanks for posting it. I did install Zello and I’ll give it a try. Thanks. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/10 "2018-03-14T02:18:18Z")
After Hurricane Irma all cell phone communication was cut off in the Keys. Zella was one app that still allowed people to communicate. I do not know how this works just that it did. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/11 "2018-03-14T04:54:27Z")
Could someone explain as though I were a simpleton what the advantages are, in addition to communicating to a group? For instance, would it work without cell phone service, say if you hadn’t paid your bill? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/12 "2018-03-14T05:15:50Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Could someone explain as though I were a simpleton what the advantages are, in addition to communicating to a group? For instance, would it work without cell phone service, say if you hadn’t paid your bill? I’ve used Zello. A group of parents who are basically roadies for a high school band used it to communicate while we were driving six trucks. It uses your phone’s Internet connection, which is entirely dependent on paying your cell phone bill. We also had walkie-talkies. The disadvantage of those is the range (about a mile) and the voice quality, which sounds pretty crappy. With Zello, the voice quality was great and the range is unlimited. The disadvantage was that when my iPhone’s display would timeout, I’d have to unlock it in order to see the “push-to-talk” button on the app’s screen. I believe that Android users could map a physical button on the phone to the push-to-talk function, but iPhone didn’t allow that. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/13 "2018-03-14T06:17:24Z")
WhatsApp does have an option to push a button and record a voice message which goes out to whomever you have a chat open with. However I think the recpient has to push a button to play the message once received. Mrs Iggy and her friends and family use that in place of voice phone calls as much as possible. So long as they have an internet connection it does eat up their cell phone minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/14 "2018-03-14T07:09:25Z")
As far as I understand it, modern ‘app’ implementations of PTT are pretty much just voice IM - and they function using internet protocols over mobile data or (I think) other internet connections such as WiFi - some services have companion apps that allow people to participate from a browser or an installed app on a PC - which suggests there probably isn’t any dependence on specific telephony or radio technologies any more. I’m about to receive for testing a phone that has a dedicated PTT button - I am expecting that it will just be a physical button that can be tied to a specific action in a specific app (in the same way that some phones have a dedicated camera button. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/15 "2018-03-14T14:03:42Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > WhatsApp does have an option to push a button and record a voice message which goes out to whomever you have a chat open with. However I think the recpient has to push a button to play the message once received. > > Mrs Iggy and her friends and family use that in place of voice phone calls as much as possible. Why do they use that feature, and not simply the voice phone call feature that’s built-in to WhatsApp? My wife took a vacation to Belize several months ago and instead of using the cell phone network, she found a spot with WiFi and we talked via WhatsApp. It worked great. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/16 "2018-03-14T14:15:03Z")
If you’re on WiFi, you could use apps like this without paying your phone bill. How useful that is to you depends on how often you’re in range of a WiFi network you have access to. At home and a few frequented businesses, sure, but while driving, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/17 "2018-03-14T15:05:23Z")
Zello, Does a voice come out of a phone with no warning? That would be pretty startling. That’s how I remember walkie talkies worked. Not a big deal because we didn’t keep them on all the time. We expected communication when it was on. I can remember using them in Boy Scouts on hikes and camping trips. Could be awkward to suddenly have voices booming from your phone unexpectedly. Like when you’re shopping or at a restaurant. Ace hears voices. They got medicine to remedy that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-push-to-talk-apps/810434/18 "2018-03-15T22:31:34Z")
Here’s one example I’m going to try tomorrow. I do the grocery shopping and my wife’s at home. I can use the Zello ppt feature as I go through the store asking advice. Don’t need to tie up or hold the phone all time. Minor issue I know GaryM