[Asterisk-Users] Polycom 600 phone

[Dan Perik]

Just because the phone has the extra "lines" doesn't mean you are
required to use them.  Each "line" can handle 2 calls. 

The 600 has a working XML microbrowser, which the 50x does not.

The Polycom 501 (not sure if the 500 is the same) doesn't have a place
on the phone to plug power in.  It gets it through the network cable one
way or the other.  As purchased, there is a power injector built into
the cable they package with the phone.  You plug the power from the wall
wart into the cable.  The special PoE cables they sell are for plugging
the phone into the respective PoE "standard".  So if you're not using
802.3af or Cisco's PoE "standard", then you won't need the special cables.

Usable is a term relative to your requirements.  I've used a Sipura
SPA-841 and a Polycom 501.  The Polycom is an excellent phone with
excellent sound quality.  The speaker phone is the best I've ever used
(not that I've used alot).  It has a nice solid look and feel.  I only
wish it had a back lit screen, since I keep my office a bit darker than
most to reduce my eye strain, which makes reading the reflective LCD
difficult.

I'd say if you don't need the speaker phone, go with the 301.  If you
need the speaker phone, but don't need the XHTML microbrowser and/or the
extra lines, go with the 501.

- Dan

Chris Gamble wrote:

>>From their website, the key difference between the polycom 500 and 600 phones is the number of "lines" they support. What does this mean in terms of asterisk? Do I have to have a seperate extension for each of these lines or ? 
>
>Also, slightly off-topic, how does the 500 POE "optional" cable work? Is this similar to have a power box on your desk, or is just a differently configured CAT5 cable? 
>
>And finally, being poor as we are, are the cheaper (ie non-400$ each) Polycom's usable?
>
>Thanks,
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