[Asterisk-Users] Polycom IP-600 phone review

[mattf]

Hello,

After receiving and finally being able to configure my new Polycom IP 600
phone Here are my initial experiences:

GOOD STUFF:
- The sound is wonderful from both handset and speaker (711U)
- The large multi-shade LCD screen is beautiful (for a phone)
- The phone has an integrated Ethernet switch so you can connect a PC to it
as a passthru
- The AC adapter was included (small thing, but after paying $20 for my
extra SNOM200 AC adapter, it was welcome)
- The phone is well constructed and seems to be patterned after the Cisco
79XX phones
- The LCD screen and the buttons around it make for a much easier time
navigating the functions of the phone than a typical 2-line LCD display
phone
- The XML-based configuration of this phone allows a staggering amount of
customization for the way the phone functions
- The XML based config lets you define a different phone number/contact
directories for each phone

BAD STUFF:
- The ONLY way to fully configure this phone to work with asterisk is by
using XML formatted files(named by MAC address of the phone) placed on an
FTP server. While this allows for easier centralized configuration for
admins, it is a bit limiting and not nearly as simple as web-based config.
- There is a web-based config section, but it is very limited. If this is
all you had access to, you couldn't get the phone running with Asterisk.
- I couldn't get Asterisk call-parking to work with this phone, transferring
to extension 700 doesn't work(and it works fine with my SNOM200) maybe just
a config change on my end, but I couldn't figure it out
- The time on the phone didn't adjust for difference from GMT, it always
showed GMT no matter what I set the difference to in the config file.
- The phone comes with no configuration details, you either have to join
Polycom's developer program or ask a fellow Asterisk user who has them very
nicely to get a copy.


In summary, this is a great phone and if I can get call-parking to work we
will probably deploy this phone at our office. I bought the phone from a
reseller for $265 new(not including S&H) so the price is definitely right.


MATT---