Ubiquiti Networks Announces New VoIP Hardware
Several folks have reported that yesterday Ubiquiti Networks sent out a marketing email announcing a new line of VoIP products under their UniFi brand. A quick look at the information offered online reveals some very nice looking hardware. Very nice indeed.
The hardware includes a trio of handsets; UVP, UVP-Pro and UVP-Executive. All are Android powered, reported run Kit Kat (v4.4.2) on dual core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz. They all sport 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of local storage.
The entry-level UVP model is a bit feature constrained in order to hit a $149 MSRP.
The UVP and UVP-Pro are more-or-less mobile phone-ish in that they feature a 5” capacitive touch screen resolving 640 x 960 pixels. The UVP-Executive is more tablet-like, with a 7” capacitive touch screen resolving 1024 x 600 pixels.
Audio codec support includes; G.722, Speex, iLBC, PCMU,PCMA and GSM. Thus they are capable of wideband telephony.
Wired connectivity support includes (2) 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports with support for 802.11af standard power-over-Ethernet. The Pro and Executive models also include 802.11 a/b/g/n Wifi connectivity.
Headset use is supported via 3.5mm jack, with the Pro and Executive models adding Bluetooth 4.0, for those who like it cordless. The Executive model is also said to support stereo audio.
There’s a micro USB port, but it not explicitly stated how it is used. The Executive models adds a USB A type host port.
The phones are supported by the companies new UniFi Controller, which sounds a lot like an IP-PBX. The software runs on their UniFi Security Gateway, which seems to be their take on an application-capable firewall/router.
Some poking around the companies support forum turns up some guidance on the connection between the phone and the USG, also the fact that none of it is currently shipping.
At first glance, I’m interested in trying the handsets simple because they look like nice hardware. They are the most interesting new designs that I’ve seen in some time. In truth, they remind me a lot of Open Peak, who were perhaps more than a little ahead of their time in offering the executive tablet-phone.