[asterisk-users] SIP 7960 soft key customization?

[Michael Graves]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:58:06 +0000, Robert Lister wrote:

>Every so often I think that there must be a better handset out there, and 
>indeed there are better handsets out there that allow things like call 
>reject, Busy lamp field etc. (SIP feature-wise the Cisco phones are very 
>basic.) but the interface tends to be quite complicated/weird compared to 
>the 7960.
>
>I was very impressed with the aastra, but if I found the interface a 
>bit too complicated compared to Cisco, the users would have a nightmare!

Not sure which Aastra phone you reference, but its not as bad as you
might think. At least with the 480 it's very programmable so you can
raise or lower the degree of compexity exposed to the end user. The
backlit display is very nice.

Within the Aastra line you can also downgrade to the 480e, which is not
a SIP phone at all. Its an analog phone, so you'd need FXS ports, but
with extensions to allow progammability of the phone over the line. I
once read somewhere that Asterisk supports this capability over Zaptel
lines.

The other alternative, and probably the most popular line of phones, is
Polycom. Like the Cisco's these can be loaded with various protocols.
The SIP load is is very good. They are very well documented and the
mass provisioning scheme is well considered.

I've never had to admin a Cisco installation so I can't comment much on
those phones. I've used them in various places, and they seem simple
enough. I expect that the Polycoms could be just as easy to use,
although they don't provide the screen space or programmable buttons of
the Cisco or Aastra phones.

I've always felt that the Cisco's just were not worth the cost or
trouble in dealing with a company that hasn't really embraced SIP.

Michael
--
Michael Graves
mgraves<at>mstvp.com
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sip:mjgraves at pixelpower.onsip.com
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