Aastra’s Popularity On The Rise…

Thanks for returning. You're a very smart person.

Wait. Stop.

Did you hear that.?

Huh? Oh, that?

Aastra?

Yeah, folks, that’s Aastra. Quickly and quietly Aastra has gone from unknown third fiddle to a top contender in the VoIP phone space. Over the last six weeks I have been engaged in a tremendous amount of product merchandising and I have consistently been impressed with the amount of consumers - and resellers - interested in Aastra’s IP phones. It’s not just their latest models, like their impressive 57i, even their older series phones like the 480i have vast pools of interest around them.

What a stark contrast to 18 months ago.

18 months ago Aastra was behind the likes of Cisco, Polycom, Linksys. But, that is true no longer. Today and this isn’t my opinion - this purely observational - is that interest levels are as high in the Aastra as they are Cisco and Polycom. Now, none of this is to say that Cisco or Polycom is losing favor - it’s just that Aastra interest in Aastra is growing faster. The funniest thing about this is - Aastra did this without alot of advertising or marketing flash - they just kept making great products and listening to customers. Something that is refreshing to see in a time when sadly consumer interest is driven solely by flash ads or marketing flaire.

It should be interesting to see how the landscape shapes up at the end of the year especially since we will be able to see if my observation is a widespread truth. Oh, and just in case the big guys thought it was safe, don’t count out Grandstream. They are getting better and better with each and every series - especially look and feel - and they are affordable (a recession could actually be good for them). Whatever the shake down may be, it’s good to see action and innovation in the space - something you won’t find many other categories.