[Asterisk-Users] Polycom 600 phone

[info at beprojects.com]

We use the 500's and they are great.  It has 3 lines, which is plenty. 
The resolution on the 600 screen is better, but unless you are using 
graphics on the LCD, it isn't worth the extra $$.  We have a couple of 
300's and the screen is ugly.  It is small and hard to read.  I would 
stick with the 500's.  You can get them for less than $200 each brand new.

Dan Perik wrote:
> 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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