[Asterisk-Users] Re: Polycom vs. Cisco IP Phones

[Noah Miller]

 > If you've considered the Snom, you might also want to test a
 > Zultys 4x4 or 4x5. I picked a 4x5 up off of ebay recently and
 > have been pleasantly surprised by it. While I don't currently
 > have a Polycom to compare it with, I would rank the audio
 > quality equal to the Cisco's. It also just 'does the right
 > thing' with multiple lines - only one registration, no hints
 > needed. Can be configured through TFTP with both default and
 > phone specific config files. Software updates are freely
 > available from the Zultys website.

I took a look at the Zultys phones when I was first shopping around. 
One of their reps was kind enough to lug an entire working phone setup 
into our office.  He had some 4x4's and 4x5's and also a Cisco 7960 
(just to show that their system was open standards compliant).  I liked 
the 4x5's ease of use, the 4 port network switch, the native PoE, and 
the hard buttons for holding and transferring.  Much to his chagrin, 
though, I was actually much more impressed by the 7960.  The 4x4's and 
4x5's just looked like lower quality equipment.  I suppose it didn't 
help that the plastic casing on his 4x4 was cracked and broken.

In the end I went with neither, though, because the Polycom units were 
so much cheaper.