[Asterisk-Users] Polycom vs. Cisco IP Phones

[C F]

My $0.02
Cisco pros:
1. Very easy to configure thru TFTP.
2. Great sound quality.
3. Great tech support.
4. High value even on used.
5. Power Over Ehternet support out of the box (even 802.3af, if you
play around).
6. Excellent handling of multiple lines (using one SIP account for all
buttons will just jump to the next one).

Cisco cons:
1. Expensive
2. Aside from standard features (DND, CallFWD), they weren't very
creative in putting in any pluses.
3. Upgrading the firmware on new phones can be a pain (sometimes you
have to first upgrade to version 2, and work your way up to the latest
one, try doing it on 30 phones).

Polycom pros:
1. Easy to configure using either TFTP, or FTP.
2. FTP support for configuration.
3. Great sound quality.
4. Excellent features, including call reject (will send to voicemail
if configured the right way in *), auto answer thru call header (a
most if you plan on doing intercom and/or paging, on cisco phone you
have to make sure that it's enabled localy), and more.
5. Very easy to upgrade the firmware.

Polycom cons:
1. You have to buy a cable for $40 to make POE work (this brings the
price very close to cisco). The exception is the IP600.
2. Doesn't handle multiple lines nicely, will not jump to the next
line, even if the same SIP registration is used, and you can't disable
Call waiting.
3. They don't realy support their phones, unless there is a hardware problem.


This is what I could remember on the spot. I'm sure there is more. I
personaly like the Cisco phones better, mostly b/c of the multiple
line handling. Also the Cisco's are a bit easier to configure in a
text editor, since the Polycoms use xml style.