Tag: G.722. wideband

Polycom Revisits DECT with the VVX D60

vvx-d60-tb-com-650x500-enusToday saw the introduction of a new model in Polycom’s VVX Business Media phones. The Poycom VVX D60 is described as a “wireless accessory” to compliment the existing VVX series of desk phones.

Examining the brochure it seems that the D60 works along side the VVX-300/400/500/600. It requires that the desk phone be running UC Software v5.4.1A or newer. The D60 is actually setup via the VVX web interface.

The feature set of the D60 closely matches the VVX series. Some of the highlights that catch my eye include:

  • Two-port Ethernet switch (10/100 mb)
  • Support for P.O.E.
  • Support for HDVoice (G.722)
  • Support for up to 5 cordless handsets
  • Support for 5 lines per handset
  • Up to 4 simultaneous calls
  • Provisioning via the VVX desk phone
  • Close integration with the VVX desk phone

Since I have the VVX-500 and 600 models hereabouts I certainly see a lot to like in the D60. I think that the D60 could be very well received by SOHO users. It’s certainly an interesting alternative to a DECT headset.

I’m curious about pricing, which doesn’t seem to be available as yet. Rest assured that I’ll be trying to acquire a D60 for review.

The idea of a DECT handset that pairs with a desk phone is not new. I once used an Aastra 480i CT that had a DECT base built into the desk phone and a small cordless handset. Ultimately that cordless handset was less than satisfactory as too many common functions were buried in menus or simply not available.

The Gigaset DX800a also has a built-in DECT based, supporting the use of any of the Gigaset DECT handsets. However, Gigaset’s US presence has faltered, making their offering less than appealing to North American users.

Gigasets: Comparing Handset Output Volume

A few times I’ve seen people complaining about unacceptably low volume being provided by one of the Gigaset handsets. Most recently this was being said about the S67H handset, but I can recall a similar complaint about the A58H as well. We don’t feel that the handsets we’ve used have a problem in this area.

However, when the complaint occurs more than once it makes me think that perhaps a little investigation is worthwhile. Could this be production variance in the handsets? Is there a difference between the various models of handsets? How do they compare to the output of some respected desktop phones?

So the past two weekends I set about a little informal testing.

Continue reading “Gigasets: Comparing Handset Output Volume”

Deal Alert: Dreamwave DP Series Phones

While I’ve had a Dreamwave DP-28 in-house for some months I’ll admit that I’ve not yet made much of an effort to put it into service. I bought it because it was relatively affordable and G.722 capable. I was seeking to try some low-cost wideband capable hardware.

Mark Sumpter, National Marketing Manager for Dreamwave, has been in touch to spread the word of a year-end sale on the phones. He posted a comment but I feel that this could be of interest to folks so I’m giving it a little more attention.

The fact is that we have provided both the D28 and D26 models of this phone to PBX in a Flash for testing. Early results from Ward and Tom are that the sound is phenomenal but we don’t have lots of the fun scripts like Aastra units.

If anyone is interested we have a sale on both models in the PIAF forum in this thread:

http://pbxinaflash.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6873

Mike we are really interested to hear your opinion on the phones also.

Mark Sumpter
Dreamwave Networks
mark@dreamwave.net

The very fact that they’re working with PIAF implies that the phones interop well with Asterisk. Dreamwave themselves offer a line of Asterisk-based PBXs. If you visit the PIAF forum you’ll find that they’re offering the 6 line DP-28P model for $133.09 (drops to $115.34 in qty) and the 3 line DP-26P for $109.69 (drops to $95.60 in qty)

These phones are made by Yealink and they have some interesting features. For example, the DP-28P can itself function as a router. In so doing it provides itself a QoS solution, ensuring that voice streams get priority over other data. This is ideal  where a company might want to place one phone in the home office of an employee and have a simple, inexpensive, easily managed QoS solution.