I used to think Nextel push to talk (walkie talkie) was a very useful and productive tool, when it first came out for contractors. It did get a little annoying when I was on job sites or in meetings and kept hearing construction worker’s phones making loud beeping alerts as I could not help but eavesdrop in on their conversations. It served its purpose at the time. Since the release of the iPhone, Android and Windows phones, Nextel technology is pretty much non existent. I never owned a Nextel or Push to Talk phone, but saw the value in those short and quick voice conversations. Every time you get on a phone call, it is hard to keep it short. You have to start with a greeting, then an intro of why you are calling, get to the subject, get an answer and then wrap up with a closing statement. It is hard to make each phone call under a minute. With Push to Talk, you could get quick answers to what you needed in seconds.
Push To Talk, Voxer
A few years ago I began my search looking for a Push To Talk-like app, similar to Nextel. I figured that there has to be a walkie talkie app created. I stumbled across Voxer, a free walkie talkie app. I downloaded it and instantly was hooked. Well, almost hooked. I had to convince other people to start using it too, otherwise, it was useless. My wife became my first victim, I mean copilot using Voxer with me. She, the non techie one, now uses Voxer just about everyday with several of her friends and myself too. She loves it. The kids love it!
So what does it exactly do? Well, you create a Voxer account, select people in your contacts that have an account (it lets you know) and start a conversation with them using a big button on the screen that you tap on to talk and release when done (like a walkie talkie). You can also use it to text and/or send pictures, therefore saving you from bouncing back and forth to your text message app. You can have one to one conversations or group chats too (perfect for business users). So a field supervisor can create a group of his key employees, tap the group name and send them all an instant voice message (live). This group Push to Talk feature is by far what makes this a great productivity app for construction workers. I use Voxer more than voice to text features almost exclusively because the voice to text features misspell too many words. I spend more time editing my messages before I send them or end up sending an apology text saying,
“Sorry, didn’t mean to say that…I was using Siri!” Instead, I rely heavily on Voxer to get my mini voice messages across and my responses. It saves me so much time, and I am hoping more and more users will give it a try. There is a little bit of getting used to Voxer. So if you have questions regarding it, let me know. You can use it with a Bluetooth earpiece (and there is a trick to that). You also need to make sure your notification settings are set to make Voxer appear on your screen when you get a message. Let me know what you think.
Download for iPhone Here
Download for Android Here
Download for Windows Phone Here