Graves On SOHO Technology

Introduced in early 2009, the Gigaset SL78H is the top-of-the-line cordless handset that they offer in North America.

Like the C59H and S79H, the SL78H is only being offered as an expansion handset with respect to the IP-capable A580IP and S675IP systems. You may see it offered as part of the SL780 or SL785, but these are not IP-capable systems.

As I’ve moved up the product range there has been a natural progression in features and physical attributes. Each better model builds logically upon the previous, but adds certain improvements in hardware or software.

At the top of the range the SL78H is physically a very different device. To start, it’s heavy. Unlike the prior models there is a lot of metal in the SL78H. Even the keypad itself has a brushed-metallic finish.

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Thus far in this series I’ve looked at things common to all the Gigaset handsets, the A58H, C59H and S67H. This time I’m examining the S79H.

The S79H has actually become my favorite of the five Gigaset handsets that I’ve tried. My challenge now is to describe how it came to earn that honor.

You may look around and find it offered as part of the S790 or S795 DECT systems. These include a DECT base that provide only an analog line interface and are not SIP capable.

Like the C59H, the S79H is only being offered in North America as an expansion handset. It can be used in conjunction with any existing A580IP or S675IP system.

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Thus far in this series I’ve looked at things common to all the Gigaset handsets, the A58H and C59H. With this post I turn my gaze to the middle-of-the range S67H.

Since there are already some good reviews of the S675IP available online I’m not going to go into great length describing it here. However, I will highlight the differences between it and it’s siblings in the Gigaset range.

To start I recommend you read the review offered by Alan Lord at The Open Sourcer.com. In his review Mr. Lord details his use of the S685IP with an Asterisk system. His review has been online for a while and collected a long comment trail with a lot of good information.

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Thus far in this series I’ve looked at things common to all the Gigaset handsets and the entry level A58H. With this post I move up the product line one step to focus on the C59H handset.

Newly offered for 2010 the C59H is a significant step up from the A58H described previously. Listing for just $10 more than the A58H, I suspect that many people will find the C59H worth the added cost.

With respect to the A580IP and S675IP the C59H is being offered only as an optional expansion handset. You must have one of the two IP capable systems, then you can add the C59H if desired.

Within the Gigaset SIP/DECT product range the IP enabled base systems are clearly indicated with an “IP” model designation. You may also see Gigaset offering a model C590, if not in the US at least in other parts of the world. The C590 is a complete system comprised of a DECT base and one C59H handset. However, the DECT base in question is not IP capable. It does not have a network connector, only the analog line interface.

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In the first post in this series I described the common aspects of the the various Gigaset SIP/DECT systems being offered in North America. This post will go on to examine the entry-level handset, model A58H.

This handset was already described in depth back in my review of July 2009. That review, which has proven to be very popular, was done on a system using the most current firmware at the time. There have been several firmware releases since then, some adding significant new functionality. I’m not going to burn the cycles to go through that entire process again, but I will offer a brief summary of its features.

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Gigaset Communications reintroduced their line of SIP/DECT cordless phones into the North American market at CES in January of 2009. It wasn’t until a few months later that I received a couple of sample systems; the A580IP and S675IP. After actually using it for several months I reviewed the entry level A580IP system in July, and we have since been using it as our primary home phone.

One of the great things about the Gigaset phones is the way you can mix a variety of handsets against a single DECT base. The basic systems are complete systems, meaning that each includes one DECT base and one cordless handset. Beyond that you can add up to five more handsets, and they don’t need to be the same model.

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