[Asterisk-Users] Opinions on Cisco 7960G, Polycom IP-600, and Snom 360

[David John Walsh]

Dan

I've had a snom 360 "on the bench" for about 10 days now.  I too have
become dispondent with Cisco's licencing structure

The snom 360 provides the majority of the high end Cisco features you
would use 99% percent of the time, it doesn't have the flexibity of
the on-demand buttons around the screen, but neither does it have a
(IMHO) over complex settings file that the ciscos and polycoms seem to
suffer.

As it stands today, there are a few minor bugs in the firmware (sadly
noted in the username / password login wizard) but nothing show
stopping, which I feel is impressive given the phone is only a few
weeks old (to the public).

I have just posted another post asking for help regarding its
provisioning (i'm useless at php), as it doesn't keep its settings for
more than a few minuites without power

At its price point, it seems a bargain for its power and flexibilty. 

I have been sent a pre-release of its manual (in its very final draft)
which should be freely availible within the month.

If it had the abilty to save its settings unless you did a reset, I
would recomend it beyond doubt, as it stands its going to take a lot
to beat it

The softphone (if you have a windows pc) gives you a feel, but doesn't
do it justice.

If you have a few php skills, you help woluld be greatly apreicated -
please see my other post :)

Regards

David

On 5/6/05, Daniel Bingham <dan at apci.net> wrote:
> Apologies for asking more questions so quickly after my last one.  A few
> more questions about the Polycom phones:
> 
> Searching the list I found a few references like this:
> 
> "I would also like to figure out how to make the phone *ring* when
> you're already on another line, but haven't had a chance to seriously
> explore it yet."
> 
> Is this still a problem in the latest firmware?  This could sink my
> hopes of going with a Polycom phone if there isn't a way to have them
> give an audible alert that another line is ringing while you're already
> on the phone.
> 
> The Wiki says the IP-500 requires an additional chip to support power
> over ethernet.  Is this true of the IP-600 as well?
> 
> If anyone can answer any of these questions, I would really appreciate
> it.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Daniel Bingham
> dan at apci.net
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
> [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Wiley
> Siler
> Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 11:14 AM
> To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Opinions on Cisco 7960G, Polycom
> IP-600,and Snom 360
> 
> Those are all three great phones and the choice gets really
> preferential...
> 
> I love my Polycoms and I recommend them all the time.  I give props to
> the Cisco stuff but like you, I can't stand paying extra even if it is
> just a few bucks here and there.
> 
> Polycoms can have a curve for figuring out the config files but once you
> do it is a breeze.   The speakerphones are excellent and the features
> work with * with no real headaches.  The IP500 (or even an IP300) is
> sufficient for most users so save some bucks if you don't really need
> the mini-browser and extra display lines of the 600.  An IP 500 can take
> plenty of concurrent calls and the features are excellent.
> 
> I will let the others speak about SNOM and Cisco though I can say they
> are well respected.  My preference is just Polycom.  If you get the
> Polys let me know if you have trouble and I will assist you with config
> off list.
> 
> Cheers,
> Wiley
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
> [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Daniel
> Bingham
> Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 8:36 AM
> To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Opinions on Cisco 7960G, Polycom IP-600,and
> Snom 360
> 
> Hello,
> 
> We are planning to replace our current PBX with an Asterisk / SIP
> solution, and are now trying to decide which phones to get.  My first
> thought was the Cisco 7960G, but the Cisco licensing scheme irritates me
> enough that I'll probably end up going with either the Polycom IP-600 or
> Snom 360.
> 
> If anyone has any opinions of these phones, especially in comparison to
> each other, I would really appreciate hearing them.  Is there a reason
> you would recommend one of these phones over the others, or any reason
> why you would steer people away from a particular model?
> 
> This is for a small office, with only 8-10 phones.  A receptionist and a
> couple of office staff will be responsible for watching the "office"
> line(s), and three or four support reps will be watching a technical
> support queue.  Our environment dictates that we move around a lot, and
> not necessarily be tied to our workstations, so being able to take calls
> from any given phone is an important consideration.  In the same vein,
> knowing the status of other staff (i.e. if they are on a call or idle)
> would be very useful, and is something we are used to with our current
> setup.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Daniel Bingham
> dan at apci.net
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