9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Quality SIP phone. Needs BLF buttons/extra line keys.
Date of Review: Dec 10, 2006
The Bottom Line: Like anything, every job has the right tool. This is a nice set, but needs more buttons to be the best.
I bought this phone for use with both my SIP provider (vitelity.net) and testing with my Asterisk 1.2.x server. It works well for both of them.
The phone has a good quality feel, comfortable handset, speakerphone is very sensitive.
On the downside, Cisco/Linksys needs to wake up and realize that business customers simply are not satisfied with only a few line buttons. Hey guys, they simply are not that expensive to add to the phone! Business customers always want labeled buttons for one touch speed dial, busy lamp field (BLF) buttons, and call pickup buttons to name a few. This is the sole reason I go with other brands for business use.
I like the way the call transfer works (yes, simple concept, but it often isn't that obvious on competitors phones). I also like that you can just hit the desired line button and dial. Again, not always that easy with the competition.
Lacking is the ability to NOT have a dial plan, but have each digit sent to the provider/server and once a match is found, then complete the call. Having to maintain a dial plan can be a real hassle. Yes, there are some advantages to having the dial plan as well.
Another thing that adds to the frustration of configuration is that many of the options are not documented anywhere, even after you locate and download the manual that should be included with the phone.
For the money, Linksys should really just enable all 4 lines/accounts. By default, it comes with 2, and it is about $30 for the license key to get the second 2. Again, competition often gives you 4 or more without spending more money. (I have another brand with 7!)
Overall, the phone is a good sounding, well built phone for the money. If you need the "standard business features" from a phone though, you may need to look at another brand. Sorry Linksys, but if you want to be a player in the business market, you need to provide the basics that customers have had in their systems for 20 years. Changing system is tough enough, telling people they are losing features they use 50 times per day just isn't going to fly!
