Walkie Talkie Usefulness

The modernization of walkie-talkies has helped to keep the "two-way radio" from losing its footing. Cell phones have made a charge at stealing the walkie-talkie industry, but cell phones are only good while in the range of your service provider. This leaves large areas such as the backcountry out of luck.

Becoming more popular in recent years, Nextel's Direct Connect technology allows Nextel phone users to communicate in a style similar to walkie-talkies. Of course, the huge downfall of this service is the limited area that these cell phones can operate in. The map below shows the coverage area offered by Nextel. As you can see, large amounts of the United States are not under coverage. Reasons like this have kept walkie-talkies popular among people in the outdoors.

Among others, companies like Motorola and Audiovox are selling walkie-talkies with tools and features to provide certain information and help with navigation. Certain Motorola models contain useful tools such as a digital compass, altimeter, barometer, and thermometer. Many models have also made the switch from Citizen's Band (CB) radio to less-populated radio frequencies featured by the Family Radio Service (FRS). This will help maintain the privacy of walkie-talkie users.

Audiovox's GMR GPS two-way radio has a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Satellites orbiting the earth can pinpoint your location within about 100 feet or less. GPS allows you to track your path and help you reach your destination.

As you can see, technology is being integrated in to walkie-talkies to make them more useful then ever. Being such compact devices, their practical use should make walkie-talkies a necessary commodity for those in the outdoors.