But for those unwilling to heed Sprint's many early warnings and make the switch to its CDMA-based Direct Connect plan before this coming January, there'll be an additional monthly penalty fee.
ENGADGET: Sprint plans $10 monthly charge for iDEN push-to-talk subs in the new year
However the bigger reason seems to be the failure of the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), the intelligence-fusing body over which Mr Blair has direct oversight, to connect the dots of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.
ECONOMIST: America��s intelligence system has yet to be fixed
"Sprint Direct Connect Now expands access to next-generation push-to-talk functionality, " said Michael Wallace, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Internet Services.
ENGADGET: Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices
The Torque packs a lot of average features that would likely put it somewhere in the mid-range (we haven't been given pricing yet), but it's definitely not going to win any beauty awards -- it's still a Direct Connect device, after all.
ENGADGET: Kyocera Torque coming to Sprint's Direct Connect lineup in March, we go hands-on (video)
They're touting twelve SATA connections for up to 9TB of storage, 20 USB 2.0 channels, four gig Ethernet ports, four or eight monitors powered by up to four PCI-E cards, and Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture designed for optimized performance (or so they tell us).
There's WiFi connectivity with a dedicated Mobile Device Connect button, for direct access to an ad-hoc sharing mode.
As you'd come to expect on a Direct Connect device, it's also certified mil-spec 810G and IP67 and is water-resistant (it can be in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes).
Sprint Direct Connect Now marks another major milestone for the Sprint push-to-talk franchise.
ENGADGET: Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices
As prior reports suggested, the carrier is reporting that push-to-talk services will continue to carry the treasured "Nextel Direct Connect" branding that has largely represented enterprise PTT service in the US for ages (14 years, to be exact).
ENGADGET: Sprint to preserve Nextel Direct Connect branding for PTT
Airfare is another cost, depending on where you're coming from and where you choose to connect from, as there are no direct international flights into Ushuaia, the jumping-off point in Argentina.
Using a feature called Nextel Direct Connect, a user can link up with a friend, family member or co-worker over a link that allows only one of them to speak at a time.
It would connect with NJT commuter line and the Hudson-Bergen light rail and offer NJ commuters direct access to the east side of Manhattan instead of just dumping them at Penn Station.
The Sprint Direct Connect launch in October 2011 ushered in the next generation of PTT service from the company that pioneered push-to-talk.
ENGADGET: Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices
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