Phones (hardware) recommendation

Hi guys,

Using FreePBX 12.0.9

I’m mainly using DIGIUM PHONES for my system.

But I need to set up 5 phones for phone boots (for salespersons).

I’m looking to purchase 5 phones which are cost-effective and tough.

I find the Digium phones to be quite fragile.

I don’t need anything fancy, and I don’t need features.

I just need phones that are highly compatible with FreePBX (easy to configure), that are also tough and cost-effective.

I’ve been browsing around for my answer but I know phones evolve much over time so I’d like to get a recent recommendation.

For robustness it would be hard to beat a good old 2500 set with an ATA.

But ideally I’d like a real IP phone, not a phone with an IP.

I’ve been looking at the polycoms and yeaklink…

Any thoughts on that?

Personally I find Polycom and Aastra (originally from the Nortel stable) nice and solid. The older Cisco’s also but the are a PITA.

The Polycom SoundPoint line of phones are solid and well supported in FreePBX. For a basic model look at the IP335 or IP450.

I like the ATA + 2500, you will find something like this (usually channel bank -> 2500) in telemarketing centers as it is hard to kill one of those things through general use.

That aside I see older Polycoms like nokia’s. you can probably pickup some old 5xx’s on ebay cheap. I think @reconwireless may have a stash :smile:

Using Polycom IP550 for over a year with no major issues at all! Over a 100 phones running smoothly!!

About Polycom, you’re talking about the IP335, IP450 and the IP550

But what about the IP321 and IP331, which appear to be the cheapest model.

Maybe they are TOO cheap ??

I have used just about all the Polycom models. They are all very well made phones. The IP321 and IP331 don’t have HD voice.

I use the granstream gxp1400.

It has cool features like a public mode where every sales person can have their own extension and log in and out of the phone.

The phone is very durable and less then $40
http://www.grandstream.com/products/surveillance/why_gxp1400_1405.pdf

Wow that’s pretty cool!!!

Can you expand on that log in and out feature ?

How do you make the link with FreePBX… do they get an extension list, or do they type their extension in, maybe with a password, to log in ?

Thanks

HD voice uh?

Does that REALLY make a difference?

Basically you set the server info, and they login with the extension and password on the lcd, then when done they logout.
http://www.grandstream.com/products/gxp_series/general/documents/gxp21xx_14xx_usermanual_english.pdf

Hot desking is not dependent on the brand of phone. You can achieve the same thing with almost any phone.

Just spent the last few days testing the HD aspect of the VVX-300 and VVX-310’s and I can say without any hesitation the sound difference was AMAZING… almost weird it’s so clear and crisp. It made me realize just how BAD cell phone quality is. It also seemed to make otherwise bad phone calls less “fatiguing” if that makes any sense to you. We also test an older Grandstream just not sure what model and we had similar results.

Take all your suggested phones and a good old Bell 2500 set, throw them all at a concrete wall as hard as you can, then get your fat friend to jump on them several times, I’ll take dollars to donut holes on which one is still fully functional :smile:

I second the recommendation of the Polycom VVX series. Very tough phones with excellent sound quality and reasonable prices.

However, I prefer the UI and ease of provisioning of Aastra phones. My favorite is the 6737i, but it’s pricey.

I haven’t tested the latest Aastra crop, but the 6863i looks to be dirt cheap and may meet your needs if you want something durable and simple.

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