First Look From Afar*: Aastra MBU 400 SIP/DECT System

Back in September Aastra made a few announcements, starting with a new SIP/DECT cordless phone solution targeting the SMB market. Designated the MBU 400 this new system is starting to show up in vendors catalogs. I recently found it listed at .E4 Strategies where availability is given as “Early November.” Furthermore, the retail price is given as $299 for the base and one handset with additional handsets $189 each.

Being a curious sort I downloaded the brochure and the manuals and gave them a quick look. The system certainly appears to be built on a platform from Denmark’s RTX Telecom. This is not at all surprising as they are a leader in the DECT space and OEM for many popular brand names. Snom’s m3 is built on RTX technology as is the as yet unreleased Polycom IP200W.

From the print material the MBU 400 definitely seems like it’s one step up the line from the m3. To start, it includes a single POTS connection along with usual 8 VoIP accounts. It can handle 3 SIP calls and one PSTN call simultaneously. The analog line can act as an emergency fail-over line if IP connectivity is lost.

While a little more expensive than the snom m3 this new system from Aastra looks like it packs a little more in the box. It could be a contender for many small business and home offices.

* You’d be surprised what you can learn from the admin manual for a new device, sometimes even before the device is shipping. Polycom’s admin manual for the IP200W is great, more detailed than the snom wiki for the m3 at time of launch. But the IP200W has not even been released yet.