Where Motorola pulled this one from we'll never know, but Irvine based Boost Mobile is soon to start distributing the i425, which is apparently the world's thinnest walkie talkie phone. Besides being one of the best looking Motorola phones in a while, the i425 features GPS, instant messaging, and is crafted out of 100% recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate material (whatever that is.) Before you go off and start extolling the virtues of the "new Moto," realize that one essential feature is missing from the phone. So, we ask you Motorola / Boost Mobile, why no Bluetooth?

[Thanks, James]

Although Sprint has decided to dump the Nextel name from all its marketing efforts, it is (of course) keeping that billion-dollar iDEN network operational. To drive that point home, the wireless carrier made the first walkie-talkie connection between two different phones (one on each network) recently. Yes, Nextel's "Direct Connect" talked to Sprint's upgraded EV-DO revision A network as the carrier prepares to make that newer EV-DO revision A network interoperable with the older iDEN network sometime next year when it comes to that chirping walkie talkie feature.

Hot on the heels of Nokia's own bus stop gimmick comes none other than Solo, which has erected a clever display on a number of waiting areas to allow perfect strangers to yap it up on giant mobiles. The interactive billboards each sport a larger-than-usual flip phone, which allows curious onlookers to mash an enlarged walkie talkie button and get on the horn with a faraway stranger. The active two-way radio setup was reportedly installed in transit shelters in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary, and the system supposedly connects users in the different cities to one another when a conversation is initiated. Unfortunately, Engadget HQ doesn't happen to reside in the land of the Canucks, so for our brethren in the north, why not stop on by and give a shout to a fellow Canadian, eh?

[Via Core77]

The AK-47 Walkie Talkie phone is the perfect thing for that urban warrior on your gift list, featuring a built in dual band 900 / 1800 GSM phone and working Walkie Talkie all bundled in a slick retro handset. Packed in its cleverly designed carrying case -- replete with a Chinese Army red star -- is the handset, headset, USB cable, instruction booklet (in Chinese only), and thanks to the belt strap, it's ready to accent any modern military ensemble. With a huge 6800 mAh battery, this 255 gram handset will give you one month of standby time or 30 to 50 hours of talk time, which is ideal for really extended assignments or cross-country treks. Rounding out a pretty full list of specs is a 2.2 inch touchscreen, 2 megapixel "shooter" (that's a pun, get it?), GPRS connectivity, MP3 ringtones, LCD flashlight, and a microSD slot that supports up to 1GB. All of this mighty backwoods mojo can be yours for the paltry sum of $225.

Sprint-Nextel landline spinoff Embarq is starting to look more and more like its ol' corporate parent; first, it promptly gets right back into the wireless business, and now it's going all Nextel on us by offering push-to-talk. The service, dubbed "Wireless Press & Talk" (how creative), is initially being offered on the Sanyo 2400 clamshell -- a phone that goes out the door on the cheap at $30 with a two-year agreement. With the meager one megabyte of internal memory, we think we're understanding the value pricing, but (for the time being) it's the only game in town for PTT on the MVNO. The Sanyo 2400 and Wireless Press & Talk are both available immediately.