Well it’s official – the multimedia phone movement is here to stay.

First driven by the likes of Polycom, Linksys and Snom, Cisco has placed their stake in the multimeda phone market with yesterday’s introduction of 9900 series. Part of Cisco’s Unified Communications Solutions suite, the 9900 series phones combine voice, video and applications to deliver just about everything you could want.

  • VGA touchscreen display
  • Video camera with H.264 video support
  • Support for HD voice through G.722
  • Dual Gigabit Ethernet
  • Embedded Blutetooth radio
  • Dual USB ports (for accessories and wired/wireless headsets)

And the list goes on…making about the only thing these 9900 series multimedia phones don’t have is Microsoft Office :)

Currently the 9900 series features two models (the Cisco 9951 and 9971), but sources tell me to expect additional models in the future.

(You can view each model here: Cisco CP-9951-C, Cisco CP-9951-W, Cisco CP-9971-C, Cisco CP-9971-W)

The Cisco 9971 is the more robust of the two offerings, supporting options such as 802.11 b/g and all of the goodies listed above. The Cisco 9951 is a scaled down version of the 9971 and comes in two different form factors (streamlined, standard) as well as two different colors (white, charcoal).

Both of models show a large step away from Cisco’s iconic styling that business users have been drooling over for years. Time will tell if this new design aesthetic becomes as popular (I have my doubts).

So what’s one of these bad boys going to set you back?

Good question. Right now pricing information on these models is scarce.

But given where other multimedia phone offerings are currently priced, be prepared to drop at least 10 or 12 Ben Franklin’s on one of the 9900 series offerings.

Of course street prices will come down some over time. However, these will never be affordable nor cheap offerings.

So if you’re budget conscious it’s best to look elsewhere. Then again if you’re budget conscious why are you looking at multimedia phones!