[Asterisk-Users] IP Phone recommendations?

brian at txshirts.com brian at txshirts.com
Wed Dec 29 09:46:50 MST 2004 

Ah.... That makes sense.
Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm so used to thinking of phone as bricks with a wire and handset and
some stress relief buttons.  :)

Your other post about the ATA adapters is dead-on.  Multi-line display
and friends (address book etc) are invaluable.

I thought about going soft-phone.  But I'm not sure I trust our windows
systems that much.  We still have a couple of applications that have us
hogtied to windows.  Evil UPS OnlineWorldship is one such poorly written
application.  Ironic that UPS uses Unix on the backend but won't support
it for clients.  I have about 8 Win9x machines because of that issue.

I'm eyeing a flight from Exchange/Outlook later this year.

And our graphics stuff is all Windows/Adobe based.  

I guess the thing with soft-phones is that I'm not sure how stable the
machines are.  It's bad enough to lose your phone or your computer, but
both at once is really spooky.  ;)

On a bright note, we have gigabit everywhere in the building.  So QOS
and bandwidth had better not be an issue internally.  :) 


Brian Greul
Texas Shirt Company
www.txshirts.com
713-802-0369 / 713-861-6261 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: Damon Estep [mailto:damon at suburbanbroadband.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 10:39 AM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] IP Phone recommendations?

You will always want access to firmware, SIP phones evolve quickly and
new features and bug fixes are usually implanted via firmware updates. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
> [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of 
> brian at txshirts.com
> Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 9:29 AM
> To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] IP Phone recommendations?
> 
> Okay,
>   I'm feeling a little stupid here.... But I'm gonna ask anyway.
> 
> You mention support and firmware on the Ci$co phones.
> 
> I understand the support item.
> I guess it makes sense that the phones have firmware.  Does it have to

> be updated or changed or messed with that often?
> 
> If there is an article somewhere that covers this I'd love to read it.
> 
> It seems like most of the VOIP marketing-speak is aimed at companies 
> with mega$$$ who want to spend $500/head on it.
> We're a tad smaller and we have $ to spend not $$ or $$$ or $$$$.  :)

> Worse yet, we need $ to go find and bring back it's friends.  :)  
> Anyhow, I haven't seen anything that really tackles moving from a CISC

> Nortel Meridian KSU to a IP based system.  I'm guessing that this is 
> Nortel's absolute worst nightmare.  It seems like they trickle down 
> the technology from the
> large switches to the micro PBX systems.   
> 
> 
> Brian Greul
> Texas Shirt Company
> www.txshirts.com
> 713-802-0369 / 713-861-6261 (fax)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Damon Estep [mailto:damon at suburbanbroadband.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 10:10 AM
> To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] IP Phone recommendations?
> 
> Many use cisco IP phones, almost any model. Support and firmware 
> access has a fee.
> SNOM 190 works well, free firmware, good community support.
> Lots of reports of good luck with Polycom phones (IP500), but they 
> wont provide any support when used with * and you have to get your 
> firmware from the net, not from polycom, even if are willing to pay.
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
> [mailto:asterisk-users-
> > bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of brian at txshirts.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 8:51 AM
> > To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> > Subject: [Asterisk-Users] IP Phone recommendations?
> > 
> > Hey gang,
> >   I'm looking at escaping from a Nortel Meridian CISC system to 
> > Asterisk/Digium/SIP phones.  I'm currently in the testing
> and proof of
> 
> > concept phase.  I'm going to need a SIP phone and don't want to 
> > re-purchase and have "orphans" around.
> > 
> > We currently run Nortel 7310 phones and they work great.
> > I'm sort of overwhelmed by all of the different IP phones.  I was
> hoping
> > some folks would share what they have found.
> > My primary goal is to replicate the 7310's features and to
> allow room
> > for growth in the future with telephony applications.
> > 
> > Our primary driver is configurability and features that we
> can get in
> > Asterisk, that we can get without a lot of money from Nortel.
> > 
> > Namely-
> > Voicemail, telecommuting workers on the pbx, better call handling, 
> > better automation.
> > I'd like to be able to integrate smart features like directory and
> call
> > handling to the handset, but I'll freely admit I'm just
> starting out.
> > My initial goal is to just to get onto Asterisk and get it working.
> > I'll worry about cool stuff later.
> > 
> > Our integration and migration plan is as follows:  If
> anyone has some
> > suggestions or pointers I'd love to hear them.
> > 
> > 1. Test and evaluate Asterisk with TDM400 with 1 FXO/FSO port each.
> > 2. Configure Asterisk to be the primary PBX and slave the Nortel 
> > Meridian system to it using a second TDM400.  This avoids immediate 
> > replacement of all handsets.  Will allow immediate access
> to features
> > such as Voicemail.
> > 3. Overtime, upgrade desk phones to IP phones.  When all phones are 
> > replaced, decommission Nortel and sell on Ebay.  :)
> > 
> > Cold turkey option is to spend the extra $ and buy the handsets
> upfront
> > and just ditch nortel without a transition period.
> > 
> > We currently have 4 pbx lines and 1 dedicated fax/credit card line.
> > We have 10 handsets.
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > Brian Greul
> > Texas Shirt Company
> > www.txshirts.com
> > 713-802-0369 / 713-861-6261 (fax)
> > 
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