Push to talk is a walkie-talkie communication offered by many cell phone providers. In the way that one presses a button on a walkie-talkie radio or CB radio, the user of a cell phone presses the Push to Talk button to speak and send a short audio message to another person or party.
Half Duplex Communication
The difference in communicating with the Push to Talk feature versus talking to the person in a regular call is the difference in duplex communication. The Push to Talk feature allows on half duplex communication, meaning that only one person or party at a time may speak, versus regular calls in which both parties may speak and listen at the same moment.
Benefits
Because users of the Push to Talk feature cannot both speak at the same time, there is less confusion and time can actually be saved for more important tasks. Push to Talk can be used to communicate to several individuals at a time, which makes it great for use by companies with many workers and supervisors. Instead of relying on a go-between, users of the Push to Talk communication feature can hear their supervisor directly.
Disadvantages
When using Push to Talk, the messages communicated between the users is shared through a speaker, making the messages audible to anyone in the immediate vicinity of the user. This is disadvantageous if discussing private, personal or business matters that one does not wish to share with the public.
Availability
Nextel introduced the Push to Talk feature and offered it built-in cell phones provided under their service agreements. As the feature gained popularity other mobile service providers introduced the service to many of their phones. While Nextel still offers the service built-in on their phones, other providers only offer it on certain phones making it only usable when a user's phone and the person they wish to communicate with both have the Push to Talk feature on their phones.
Instructions
To use Push to Talk calling you will first need to press the Push to Talk button and decide upon your screen name, you can use your real name or a name that you would use in a chat room or game server. After this you will then add any Push to Talk contacts you have; this will separate the users of Push to Talk from the non-users. To make calls on Push to Talk you will press the Push to Talk button and view the availability of other users. Choose an available person or party and then press the Push to Talk button and speak your message, which will instantaneously transmit to the other Push to talk user. Upon completion of your statement you will release the button to allow other users to respond.
Tags: Push Talk, Push Talk, Push Talk feature, Talk feature, Push Talk button