VoIP Insider

You know Cisco.

They couldn’t possibly just release one series of multimedia phones. They had to release two.

On the same day that Cisco announced their new 9900 series of high end multimedia phones, they also announced the 8900 series.

The 8900 series multimedia phones are definitely a step below the 9900 series. Gone are things such as a touchscreen, video camera, dual USB ports and other high end options.

But the the 8900 series does appear to have a lot going for it.

• More than adequate 5-inch high res display
• HD Voice through G.722 codec support
• Single USB port for a headset
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• Ability to add an expansion module

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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
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On Halloween, Polycom released its latest edition to the Soundpoint IP family, the Polycom IP 335.

The Polycom IP 335 will complete Polycom’s “HD” voice line-up acting as the entry level 2 line HD voice phone. The IP-335 looks very similar to the IP 331 but has some upgrades. The IP-335 will support the following:

• 2 Line or SIP accounts supported
• HD Voice
• RJ-9 headset jack (instead of the 2.5mm jacks that come suited on the IP-331)
• White-Backlit Display
• Dual Ethernet Ports (one for your LAN connectivity, one for your PC)
• POE (Does not ship with AC adapter)
• Cell Phone Interference
• Electronic Hookswitch (EHS) compatible

Pre-orders on the new IP 335 will start today with orders shipping later this week. Polycom’s stated MSRP is $199.00.

Now Polycom is not replacing the IP 330/IP 331 with the IP 335. Polycom will still offer the IP 330 and IP 331, but has hinted that the IP 330 will stop shipping in December of this year and has already EOL’ed the handset this past August.

Polycom will continue to support the IP 330 for the next 5 years or through 2014. The IP 331 will be replacing the IP 330, with the 321 replacing the 320 with the only difference being that the IP 331/321 has additional internal memory. Polycom has estimated that soon their future releases of SIP firmware and bootrom will require higher amounts of memory, and the IP-330-320 will not be able to support these requirements. Nothing in regards to functionality will be taken away from what currently is supported on the IP 320/ 330. Polycom will not honor any trade ups to the IP 331/321 for the IP 330/320’s.

Aastra has announced the formal release of their new 6739i flagship wideband desktop ip phone. The Aastra 6739i (A6739-0131-10-01) ups the ante for SIP standard desktop IP phones with a huge color touch screen combined with an intuitive interface and navigation menus. The Aastra 6739i also supports high definition sound with Aastra Hi-Q™ audio technology combined with full wideband handset and speakerphone hardware. The Aastra 6739i will also feature convenient native Bluetooth headset connectivity and gigabit ethernet onboard.
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With the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter upon us all I haven’t had a lick of time to play around with the new snom 870. But thanks to the flu, I’ve been quarantined at home by the rest of the VoIP Supply team giving me a perfect opportunity to take the snom 870 for a spin.

Although I’ve only logged three hours of usage on the phone and have yet to take a series dive into all that it has to offer, I’m left with the following first impressions of the snom 870:

• Either I’m getting better at configuring phones or the 870 is simply that easy. I was up and running in a snap. Plus the touchscreen makes such that you don’t have to use the web GUI to set the phone up. Big win.



• I’m an iPhone fan, so you know the color touchscreen on the snom 870 would be appealing to me. It certainly makes using the phone more engaging, but I’m not sure everyone will value it enough to pay the “luxury tax” to get it.
• The speaker phone is outstanding. In working from home I find myself in rather unfamiliar territory, so I’m often moving around to grab a pen, paper or my laptop in another room while on a call. With the 870, there’s no need to put the other person on hold…I can pretty much hear them throughout the entire house.
• Since the entire industry is abuzz about HD calling, I figured I’d mention that the snom 870 is up to the snuff when it comes to supporting wideband codec calling. From internal calls to external ones with other HD capable participants, the call quality that I’ve experience has been awesome.
• Finally it is a sharp looking phone. Both family and friends have commented on how slick the 870 looks – especially on an end table.

So if first impressions count for anything, the snom 870 is a winner. Hopefully this cold holds up and I can give the device a few more days of undivided attention.

Then again who knows – it might just become my new desktop.

Look for more on the snom 870 in the coming weeks.

Last week at Astricon Sangoma announced a new series of connectivity cards poised to make building open source PBX systems easier and more affordable for do-it-yourself end users and professional systems builders.

Based off the highly successful B600 series that was released last year, the B601 series cards feature a single T1/E1/J1 digital port, plus four analog FXO ports and one analog FXS port. This hybrid set-up eliminates the need for multiple cards and slots, accounting for both the time and cost savings.

The B601 series comes in two different flavors; the B601D for standard PCI slots and the B601DE for those servers utilizing PCIe. Both models come with an on-board DSP echo canceller that offers telco grade echo cancellation.

In addition to telco grade echo cancellation, each card can handle up to 34 simultaneous PSTN cards and are compatible with all commercially available motherboards. Of course both the B601D and B601DE carry Sangoma’s 5 year warranty.

For more information on the B601 series or to purchase the B601D or B601DE check out their product pages on VoIP Supply.