[asterisk-users] Use DECT GAP handsets with Snom M3 base?

[Paul Chambers]

Hi Michael, thanks for the response.

Michael Graves wrote:
> I have the snom m3 system with two handsets at the moment. My wife
> would take issue with your characterisation of the snom handsets as
> "nice." She thinks that they're too small and the smooth buttons are a
> bother. I have no such reservations. I generally like them.
>   
Yep, the WAF can be pretty hard to predict at times. 'Cute' and 'easy to 
figure out' seem to be a recurring theme, but it can be hard to 
second-guess what that really means :)

Another reason why it'd be great if the 'already accepted' Panasonic 
DECT handsets worked with the Snom base station.
> I have used the m3 side-by-side with a Siemens S685IP. Both claim to be
> GAP compliant and yet they worked as totally separate systems. I might
> have expected some interaction. Perhaps the snom handset attempting to
> register with the siemens based or vice versa. But that did not happen.
>
> There is a well qualified rumour that Siemens will soon be offering
> their DECT wares in the US. This is very interesting as some of these
> are G.722 capable, although they have some quirks as well. Like no mic
> mute button for example. They are cheaper than the snom systems.
>   
I'd certainly love to see that happen. I'd asked about importing one a 
couple of months back, if you remember.

I assume you're referring to the -IP products specifically, since I 
though some of their vanilla DECT products are already available in the US?

I don't suppose the well-qualified rumors come with a timeframe, do 
they?  (yeah, I know, but I thought I'd ask anyhow ;)
> Finally, Aastra is about to release their MBU-400, which is a SIP/DECT
> system from RTX Telecom...just like snom's m3. It appears to be on move
> up the hardware ladder, supporting one POTS line as well as 8 ITSP
> accounts. But it's even more expensive than the snom.
>   
Thanks for the pointer. It turned up in some recent googling. I'm a 
little more price-elastic on the base station, since I'd only need one. 
The PSTN line is a bonus, since I'm still a little paranoid about 911 
service (two-year old daughter...). But a handset is $190, painful when 
multiplied by six. I did come across an archived email thread where 
someone was trying to use generic GAP handsets with Aastra's previous 
SIP/DECT gateway products, and failing miserably. Not a good omen.

I'm also curious about the QuickPhones QA-342 you'd mentioned on your 
blog. Though that curiosity is kept in check by the $200 price point.

Maybe is my best bet it waiting to see if the Siemens rumor pans out. 
I've liked the Siemens cordless units I've had in the past. Hopefully 
they'll have sorted out some of the SIP kinks.

Paul