[Asterisk-Users] Grandstream BudgeTone 102 initial experiences

[Reed Wade]

Just to toss in my very limited experiences with the Grandstream phone--

I haven't tested it enough to really know nor is my Asterisk
config set up enough to fully try all the features.

Mostly, it just works. It was very easy to configure and
get running. I've been toting it around to clients as a
show and tell exhibit and it has helped get people excited
about the possibilities.

Voice quality is great using the handset. I have had
some problems using the speaker phone. Folks say they
can barely hear me. Also, it's prone to double digiting
when the speaker phone is used--you type 307 and Asterisk
hears 33077.

I haven't upgraded the firmware or messed with any settings
so these problems may be resolvable. I do intend to try
because it's an otherwise reasonable phone and I want it
to work.

It seems to work well behind a NAT.

I agree with others regarding the look and feel. I've seen
far worse but it does feel a little cheap. If they just changed
the name or labeling from BudgeTone to ExpensiTone but kept
the good pricing that would help a lot. It lacks elegance.
The soon to be released grey model may improve it's image.

You cannot wall mount this phone (easily). There are mounting
holes on the bottom and the handset has a little concavity
in the right place but there's no nub/pin to keep the
handset in place when on hook. I haven't asked the Grandstream
folks about this--maybe I got a dud or maybe they already
plan to address this.

I just bought a new house and am seriously thinking about
sprinkling these throughout and using Asterisk to control
things like the lights and thermostat (oh, and for phone
calls, too).

-reed