SUGGESTIONS IP Phone Recommendations

[Mr. Flibble]

What would you recommend for an office based IP phone? Something like a Cisco or similar. Preferably something that uses IAX2 and SIP.

I know I can pull this info off of voip-info.org, but I am looking for more personal responses of people who are happy with their IP phones.

 

[wardmundy]

The World's Best Asterisk Phone

 

[dad311]

I have the Aastra 57i and love it!

I also have a Grandstream 2000 that I use for target practice.

 

[cjkeeme]

I love me Aastra 57i and all the XML goodness it has to offer.

 

[TheShniz]

::sigh:: A thread like this should be stickied somwhere to avoid further repeats.

Different phones for different people... all manufacturers are different, and it really depends on what you're looking for.

Aastra
Best XML, good quality sound, not best GUI

Cisco
Best GUI, better quality sound (g.722 available), learning curve for first-timers

Grandstream
New models are wanna-be Cisco knock'offs, fair quality sound, easy to setup. Special mention for the GXV-3000 which truly is unique, especially in multi-site applications.

Polycom
Best quality sound, ugly phones (opinion), learning curve for first-timers

Snom
Good sound quality (better with g.722), 12 Lines with no side cars, 370 has OpenVPN, most programmable

This is all without expounding into any great detail on any in particular. While I agree Aastra makes excellent phones, I would urge you to look at what you want out of a phone and pick one based on your needs and expectations. Contrary to popular belief, Aastra does not make the best end-all of telephones... the 57i/CT (while great) is ONE OF the best phones, and NOT 'the best'. Who knows, maybe it'll be the best choice for you... but don't limit yourself if another truly is better.

::updated::

I felt the need to point out, that 'this particular phone' may best for your operator... 'this phone' for the boss... 'this phone' for shipping/etc... 'this phone' for the grunts/workers. Don't be afraid to mix & match manufacturers either.

Even within Aastra's own product line, the 57i would be a complete waste for grunts/workers... they could easily use the 9xxx series or 53i if no XML other than Forwarding & DND is required. If they want a directory, then bump them up to a 480i or 55i. This is by no means an endorsement for you to pick Aaastra, but IF it's what you choose... don't get an office of 57i's (unless you've got money to throw).

For the record, I've used them all and today I have a Cisco 7940G on my desk
(we change them out regularly so our sales guys are familiar w/ the strengths & weaknesses of them all)

 

[JRayfield]

How about the Aastra 9133i and 9143i phones? Anyone have any opinions of those? I can't figure out what the difference is between these phones - does anyone know?

John

 

[aram]

I have used polycom,snom,Aastra and linksys in different projects.
I also disagree to use a phone with too many bells and whistles. I think 9133i or linksys are great for normal office use.
We have used 9133i in many setups and customer were very happy with them.

 

[marv]

I have a Grandstream GXP2000 and have not had any problems with it.

 

[foneman]

Phones

Again, just my $0.02...
We started with Grandstream and for a low budget starter phone, it is ok. BUT...make sure there are no network problems or the quality will be poor. (WIRESHARK IS COOL).
Aastra is the phone we have chosen to run on our systems. You have the grunt/warehouse type with the 9112i, the cubie worker with the 9143i and the 9480i is great for middle management. We use the 55i and the 536m for the reception areas and the 57i for the C-levels.
I have used a snom, but had complaints from the other end about sound quality...Polycom (MY opinion) does not offer a lot of the features but sounds real nice. Cisco, unless a big 24 fan, was not worth the headache for me...but they do look nice. Have heard good things about the Grandstream GVX3000 video phone..but have not tried one yet.
Like everyone has said, it depends on what you are looking for, features, sound quality, ease of use...each offers a variation. Aastra, for us, is still the way to go for a little bit of everything.
Hope this helps some too....

 

[rugby]

Does anyone else think that the buttons on the Aastra 57i feel too rubbery? I've got a Polycom IP501 in the same office and the buttons feel so much better.

 

[RayGannon]

We have an assortment of analog phones in most of the facility. Many of them are older Aastra models which helped with acceptance of the Aastra VoIP phones. Brand recognition goes a long way.

We have 8 or 10 Aastra 9133 VoIP phones which we like due to the sound quality and feel. I've also got one Aastra 9112 which has all the features of the 9133 except for the network switch. I won't be buying any more 9112's because of this but otherwise they're the same high quality.

We have a few Grandstream GXP2000's and the newer BT200's for the labs and were very pleased with them in that application. The two-way hands-free intercom feature is great and the BT200 can be had for less that $50. Sound quality is good but they are not as comfortable as the Aastra's are in my opinion.

 

[krzykat]

How about the Linksys phones? I have heard lots of good things and the 941/942 and the 962 for a 6 line color phone looks pretty cool also. Since its Linksys/Cisco ... I'd think the quality should be pretty decent ??

 

[jroper]

I'm sure Linksys are fine phones - but for me, Linksys just does not have the brand gravitas that say Anom, Aastra, Polycom, or that matter Grandstream has. I'd be embarrased taking them into a commercial customer.

Joe

 

[jehowe]

I still prefer Aastra's, but I have no problem reccomending the Grandstream GXP2020 for those on a budget. It is much improved over the GXP2000 in just about every way, and offers some nice touches.

 

[carlosmp]

We've been standardizing on the Aastra phones. THe 33i (9143), 55i and 57i are the ones we use. The 51/53 are a waste for us. They each have their place. If an office wants them all to look the same, we'll do 55/57s for almos all users and a 51 for lobby, 53's for kitchens, etc. In my opinion the 33 is much better than a 53. We typically use 33i's for general workers, and 55/57 for execs.

The 33i and the 53i have the same display, but the 33i has 7 pogrammable buttons while the 53i has 6. Not too much difference at first look, but when you consider the 53 has no soft/hard key for Conference/transfer, you just lost two buttons on the 53 to get that on there. At the end of the day, 33i has 7 buttons, and the 53i is left with 4. I still have the Snom 320 from the OTTS back in Feb, and I've used the phone twice. Worked ok, but the new scripts for the Aastra phones, make deployment such a breeze, that we don't bother. It's also easier to keep spares around if everyone is standardized.

 

[kevinfvc]

I'm sure Linksys are fine phones - but for me, Linksys just does not have the brand gravitas that say Anom, Aastra, Polycom, or that matter Grandstream has. I'd be embarrased taking them into a commercial customer.

Joe

I personally don't care for the looks of the Linksys phones (although the color screen on the 962 looks nice), but they are popular with several hosted providers I work with. For what its worth, PLCM is by far the most deployed phone in the hosted space followed by CSCO 79xx, Linksys, and Aastra (just my observation).

 

[lunitin]

Low cost off hook auto dial phone

Can someone recommend a low cost SIP or IAX2 phone that can do off-hook auto dial? We want to place a phone in our reception area that will auto-dial our operator group when it is picked up. Don't really need any other features.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FredP]

::sigh:: A thread like this should be stickied somwhere to avoid further repeats.

Different phones for different people... all manufacturers are different, and it really depends on what you're looking for.

Aastra
Best XML, good quality sound, not best GUI

Cisco
Best GUI, better quality sound (g.722 available), learning curve for first-timers

Grandstream
New models are wanna-be Cisco knock'offs, fair quality sound, easy to setup. Special mention for the GXV-3000 which truly is unique, especially in multi-site applications.

Polycom
Best quality sound, ugly phones (opinion), learning curve for first-timers

Snom
Good sound quality (better with g.722), 12 Lines with no side cars, 370 has OpenVPN, most programmable

This is all without expounding into any great detail on any in particular. While I agree Aastra makes excellent phones, I would urge you to look at what you want out of a phone and pick one based on your needs and expectations. Contrary to popular belief, Aastra does not make the best end-all of telephones... the 57i/CT (while great) is ONE OF the best phones, and NOT 'the best'. Who knows, maybe it'll be the best choice for you... but don't limit yourself if another truly is better.

::updated::

I felt the need to point out, that 'this particular phone' may best for your operator... 'this phone' for the boss... 'this phone' for shipping/etc... 'this phone' for the grunts/workers. Don't be afraid to mix & match manufacturers either.

Even within Aastra's own product line, the 57i would be a complete waste for grunts/workers... they could easily use the 9xxx series or 53i if no XML other than Forwarding & DND is required. If they want a directory, then bump them up to a 480i or 55i. This is by no means an endorsement for you to pick Aaastra, but IF it's what you choose... don't get an office of 57i's (unless you've got money to throw).

For the record, I've used them all and today I have a Cisco 7940G on my desk
(we change them out regularly so our sales guys are familiar w/ the strengths & weaknesses of them all)

Well said. The reason we've adopted SIP (et. al.) in the first place is to give ourselves options if our manufacturer of choice doesn't have what we need.

BTW - Aastra now has easy access to G.722 (2.4.1 FW), much better form factor and price (9631i @ < $100 new), and actual diagnostic reporting (2.5.0 FW). Still, you gotta love the build quality of a good 'ole Cisco 7940G - even on SIP.

 

[FredP]

How about the Aastra 9133i and 9143i phones? Anyone have any opinions of those? I can't figure out what the difference is between these phones - does anyone know?

John

Aastra deliberately kept the look and feel of the 9133i the same as the 9143i because it's a great form factor that matches many of their other non-ip phones, so you can have a mixed environment and no one would notice.

The changes are under the skin, with the 9133i stopping at FW 1.4.3 and the 9143i going all the way to the most recent FW 2.5.0 and all the goodies the newer FW offers, which is considerable.

As an old timer it is one of my favorite form factors of any SIP phone. Small, inexpensive, and useful. Most people like the handset better than the 5xi series.

 

[FredP]

Really? Because of price, function, and appearance I've seen customers pick it over the Aastra and Polycom.

Of course, I've seen the Grandstream rejected for the same reason you mention and especially since they're perceived to look like consumer grade appliances.