Polycom IP Phones Usher In Conference Call 2.0
Brian Phillips, Polycom's senior marketing manager, said the introduction of the new SoundStation IP 6000 and IP 7000 conference phones is "shattering the IP barrier."
Polycom's latest IP conference end points come as IP deployments are moving ahead full force. A recent VoIP study by research firm IDC found that more than 80 percent of telephony lines and ports are expected to deploy IP this year, which is a 27 percent growth over 2007.
The IP 6000 and 7000 are the first conference phones from Polycom to integrate both open SIP with high-definition voice, which is capable of delivering CD-quality 22KHz audio. The latest end points feature Polycom's own HD Voice and patented Acoustic Clarity Technology for clarity and voice quality, which can lead to more productive conference calls. Most traditional conference phones offer audio quality of about 7KHz.
Operating in HD, Phillips said, eliminates certain sounds dropping out during the course of a conversation. Those drops, he said, often go unnoticed because the "brain fills in the gaps of what our ears aren't hearing." HD voice technology, however, uses wideband codecs and enhanced audio processing to offer a crisp, loss-free sound.
The SoundStation IP 7000 features a new, large display with an XHTML micro-browser for IP applications. The 7000, which lists for $1,299, also offers multiunit connectivity, which means two units can be daisy-chained together to give the phone a further reach, greater microphone pickup, louder volume and multiple call control points from within one conference room. The phone offers 20 feet of microphone pickup range, meaning participants up to 20 feet away can be heard on the call. Coverage can also be extended through optional expansion microphones, Phillips said.
The SoundStation IP 6000 features HD Voice with up to 14KHz audio for a clarity and intelligibility boost. The 6000 has a microphone pickup range of about 12 feet, making it ideal for small and midsize conference rooms. Like the 7000, the IP 6000 can have greater range with the addition of optional expansion microphones, Phillips said. The 6000, which lists for $899, also features a high-quality backlit display for call information and multilanguage support.
Both devices feature Power over Ethernet (PoE), meaning they can be connected with one wire, not requiring a separate cable for power and connectivity. Both phones include an option port that allows a conference phone to be plugged into a mobile phone or into a PC so others can join a call at a moment's notice.
Garrett Smith, director of marketing and business development for VoIP Supply LLC, a Buffalo, N.Y., voice solution provider, said Polycom's attention to detail in this space has given resellers confidence in its gear.
"For the longest time, Polycom's been known as a leader in this space," he said. "With this release they really listened to the end customer and reseller."
Smith said it was easy to sell the first IP conference phone model, the Polycom SoundStation IP 4000. The addition of the 6000 and 7000 to the lineup, Smith said, should be just as easy because of the new features.
"They brought out a substantial product and it doesn't cost much more than traditional conference phones," he said. "Before, Polycom won a lot of business because they're good and they're taking those products and making them even better. It's a win-win situation for everybody involved."