"Never in the history of telecommunications has a phone system so suited to the needs of business been avail-able, at any price."
IP Phone Options
When it comes to choosing an IP phone for your business phone system, there are many options. New styles and features are being introduced all the time from well known manufacturers. Here's a collection of some of the most popular IP business phones available today from the industry's top manufacturers all of which integrate with Asterisk. We have worked with all of these manufacturer's phones and are comfortable recommending them. Best of all you can mix-n-match any of these IP phones from any manufacturer on the same business phone system to meet the unique needs of your business.
Grandstream
Grandstream is a leading designer and manufactuer of both affordable and high quality IP phone devices for the telephony market. We've been impressed with Grandstream's offering of low-cost yet quality IP phones and have installed both the GXP-2000 and GXP-2020 with our systems. In our view, Grandstream currently represents the best overall IP phone for small business given their low cost, good quality and ease of deployment and web browser based management.
GXP 2000 |
GXP 2020 |
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Key Features |
Key Features |
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The GXP2000 features 4 lines, 7 programmable keys, and dual switched 10M/100Mbps auto-sensing Ethernet ports. The GXP2000 can be configured via a web browser which makes management of this phone easy. The GXP2000 is the first phone in the GXP Exnterprise SIP Phone line. It makes for a great entry level IP phone for business. Note too that GXP2000 now supports a keypad expansion module (GXP2000EXT) which adds up to an additional 112 keys. We've found this expansion module to be ideal for a call center environement or receptionist station where large number of phone extensions need to be monitored at a glance.
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The GXP2020 features 6 lines, 7 programmable keys, 4 dynamic context-sensitive soft keys, dual switched 10M/100Mbps auto-sensing Ethernet ports with integrated PoE, a backlit 320x160 high resolution graphic LCD with multi-level grey scales, SRTP and TLS (pending) for privacy protection, as well as secure and automated provisioning for mass deployment. The GXP2020 can be configured via a web browser which makes management of this phone easy. The GXP2020 is the second phone in the GXP Enterprise SIP Phone portfolio. It is ideal for both the executive office and advanced enterprise users.
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Aastra
Aastra develops and markets IP based communications networking products far beyond just IP phones. While Aastra offers a number of models, for most standard business applications we prefer the Aastra 9133i, the 480i and the 57i. The Aastra IP phones are known primarily for their outstanding call quality and ease of management. The Aastra IP phones can be managed via a web browser (on a per phone basis) or via a file configuration for larger installations where many phones need to be configured all at once.
Aastra 9133i |
Aastra 480i |
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Key Features |
Key Features |
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Aastra 9133i IP Phone |
Aastra 480i IP Phone |
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Aastra 57i |
Expansion Module for 57i |
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Key Features |
Key Features |
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Aastra 57i IP Phone |
Aastra 536M Expansion Module |
Cisco
Cisco is the "grand-daddy" of IP telephony and is the recognized leader in the IP telephony world. They offer without a doubt the largest selection of IP phones available today. Not surprisingly, their IP phones too are the most expensive -- although with Cisco's acquisition of Linksys, they're now offering consumer level IP phones using the Linksys name. For most executive business applications however we prefer the Cisco 7941G and the Cisco 7965G. There are of course many other options Cisco offers. In our view, you can never make the wrong decision if you purchase a Cisco IP phone for your business phone system.
Cisco 7941G |
Cisco 7965G |
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Key Features |
Key Features |
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Cisco 7941G IP Phone |
Cisco 7965G IP Phone |
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The Cisco IP Phone 7941G (CP-7941G) is an upgrade to the CP-7940G. The CP-7941G has added IEEE 802.af Power Over Ethernet compliance and a higher resolution LCD display.It has two programmable line or feature buttons which can handle 4 simultaneous calls. The 7941G includes a large pixel based LCD display, full duplex speaker phone and an internal Cisco Ethernet switch. The internal two port Ethernet switch allows a computer and the phone to be daisy chained, reducing the amount of cabling and Ethernet jacks needed for the office. The system administrator can designate separate virtual LANs (VLANs) (802.1Q) for the PC and the IP Phone providing improved security and reliability of voice and data traffic. The Cisco IP Phone 7941G supports inline Power over Ethernet (PoE) which eases installation and reduces clutter in the workspace. The foot stand is adjustable from flat to 60 degrees to provide optimum display viewing and comfortable use of all buttons and keys. The foot stand is also keyed to match standard wall jack configurations for wall mounting. The Cisco IP Phone 7941G is multi-protocol enabled, supporting Cisco's CallManager Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP). A dedicated headset port eliminates the need for a separate amplifier when using a headset. This allows the handset to remain in its cradle, making headset use simpler. The Cisco IP phone's convenient volume control button provides for easy decibel-level adjustments for the speakerphone, handset, headset, and ringer. The handset in Haring Aid Compatible (HAC) and meets FCC loudness requirements for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Section 508 loudness requirements can be achieved using industry standard inline handset amplifiers such as Walker Equipment W-10 or CE-100 amplifiers. |
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G demonstrates the latest advances in VoIP telephony, including wideband audio support, backlit color display, and an integrated Gigabit Ethernet port. It addresses the needs of the executive or major decision maker, administrative assistants, and those working with bandwidth-intensive applications on colocated PCs. This IP phone includes a large, backlit, easy-to-read color display for easy access to communication information, timesaving applications, and features such as date and time, calling party name, calling party number, digits dialed, and presence information. It also accommodates Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications that take advantage of the display. The phone provides direct access to six telephone lines (or combination of lines, speed dials, and direct access to telephony features), four interactive soft keys that guide you through call features and functions, and an intuitive four-way (plus Select key) navigation cluster. A hands-free speakerphone and handset designed for high-fidelity wideband audio are standard, as is a built-in headset connection. The Color Display 5-inch (12.5 cm) graphical TFT color display, 16-bit color depth, 320 x 240 effective pixel resolution, with backlight. Allows for greater flexibility of features and applications, and significantly expands the information viewed when using features such as Services, Information, Messages, and Directory. Display also supports localization requiring double-byte Unicode encoding for fonts. |
