I work in IT for Law Enforcement, and we use Nextel w/ Direct Connect for a multitude of reasons. 4 years ago, I got the 7100i for myself and a bunch of users. Great piece of equipment - 4 years ago.

Now I carry around this enormous Zack Morris blackberry while all you cool kids have these fancy "pearls" etc - that are 1/4 the size of this enormous device. Its clumsy, works like crap, and hasn't been updated in 1/2 a decade.

Is there any hope in sight for direct Connect users that need a blackberry? i heard that Nextel/sprint may be scrapping the band for their direct connect or whatever. Can we finally get rid of this thing? Anyone have any scoop?