VoIP blog No Jitter picked up on an interview with Tim Yankey, Polycom Director of Product Marketing for Voice Products.
Tim purports that the common desktop office phone is far from disappearing from the workplace due to the fact that alternatives such as softphones built to be used with PC’s are not decicated to the job of handling a phone call but rather they use PC resources that can and will be split between multiple applications.
Reports to back up the trend – that does go against the idea that the modern UC-empowered employee is on the move, using a mixture of smartphones, laptops, headsets and such like to take their office with them – show that companies such as Cisco have seen orders for desktop phone units increase in recent months.
A report by analysts Frost & Sullivan also projects an overall growth in shipments and revenue for IP desktop phones for the coming years.
Interesting reading and something for every business to consider when ooking to upgrade their IT/communications infrastructure.
You can read the entire No Jitter article here.
Cisco Systems are releasing five new VoIP phones targeted at the small medium business sector. The new SPA5XX models are part of the Cisco Small Business Series, and are the next generation in desktop VoIP phone technology for Cisco.
Developing further from the successful Linksys SPA9XX series, the SPA5XX series are designed to meet the VoIP consumers changing needs. All five phones in the series include:
- Dual switched ethernet ports with IEEE 802.3af Power Over Ethernet (PoE) support
- Full-duplex speakerphone, Message Waiting Indicator Light, 4-way navigation key, and 12 button dial pad, dedicated illuminated buttons for Volume, Hold, Menu settings and Voicemail access
- G.722 Wideband Audio codec support
- Optional line expansion through the NEW Cisco SPA500S attendant console
- Auto-provisioning via TFTP, HTTP or HTTPS
- Support for both SIP and Cisco’s SPCP (Smart Phone Control Protocol)
To help you decide which model would suit your business, here is a summary of each:
Cisco SPA501G – the entry level model with a basic grey scale LCD screen and single line appearance. Suitable for waiting areas and break rooms.
Cisco SPA502G – this model features a higher resolution grey scale LCD screen and two line appearances. Suitable for the average business user.
Cisco SPA504G – this has four line appearances and the middle model out of the series. Suitable for any associate, manager or executive.
Cisco SPA508G – a step up, this model has eight line appearances and the ability to add up to two Cisco SPA500S sidecars. Suitable for a secretary, assistant or someone that needs to handle multiple calls at one time.
Cisco SPA509G – the final model features a twelve line appearance that is also designed for secretaries and assistants. It can be used with a maximum of two SPA500S sidecars – allowing 76 line appearances.
The availability of the SPA5XX series is September 2nd 2009 but pre-orders are accepted already. Want to learn a bit more about the series, head here.
