Aastra 312W WiFi VoIP Phone First Impressions

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This weekend I was doing some research on new WiFi VoIP phones and came across a slick new WiFi VoIP phone on Aastra’s European website, the Aastra 312W. The Aastra 312W is Aastra’s newest addition to their line-up of IP phones and their first WiFi VoIP phone. It is an interesting move for Aastra, since they previously released their new Aastra SIP DECT phone and it has been widely discussed (especially by me) about the downfalls of WiFi IP phones. Nonetheless, out of all of the IP phone manufacturers, Aastra has consistently put out products that perform above and beyond expectations which has earned them an ever increasing percentage of the US handset market.

The Aastra 312W is a SIP based solution built for the small medium enterprise who is looking to leverage their existing wireless network infrastructure. Although the Aastra 312W is scalable enough to be deployed in large enterprises, it is recommended that these enterprises first make sure that their wireless infrastructure is upgraded so that it can handle the increased traffic and seamless hand off’s between access points. In addition to scalability, the Aastra 312w features:

• Colour display (1,8“, 128 x 160 dots, 65536 colours)
• MEM-Card (for phonebook entries, device-specific data and MAC-address)
• Telephone book wit 100 entries
• Hands free operation (key with red LED)
• Headset connection (2,5 mm jack)
• Vibrating alert

One of the biggest problems folks have had with the WiFi phones, is battery life. While the official specification sheet does not state the exact stand-by and talk times, according to my sources as Aastra, they have been seeing battery life that is equivalent to that of a cell phone, which in this neck of the woods is much better than current offerings and certainly acceptable for the average user. For those out there who are “power users”, you’ll just have to wait.

No MSRP was available, but I believe you will see this phone on the streets in a few weeks at the $349.99 to $399.99 region (in Europe). While the Aastra 312W is certainly at the top end of the marketplace for WiFi IP phones, Aastra is widely known for their high quality and ease of use and maintenance making the 312W a great investment if you are seriously about giving WiFi VoIP a shot. It is not currently known whether the phone will be released stateside, but for more information, check out Aastra’s European site.