The DECT opportunity for VoIP providers

I’ve written a few times about the growing popularity of DECT based endpoints.

Thanks to the combination of familiar form, features  and performance many consumers, home office and small office professionals are selecting SIP based DECT phones for use with their BYOD VoIP service. It’s a trend that continues to growth month over month.

Yet there aren’t many non-BYOD VoIP providers who’ve capitalized on this opportunity.

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New Aastra 600D series DECT phones

Aastra has been on a roll the last two weeks. Especially with the growing popularity of VoIP mobility solutions.

Fresh off announcing stateside availability of the 312w wireless VoIP phone last week, Aastra has announced that three new DECT VoIP phones will be hitting the streets soon.
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Aastra releases new WiFi VoIP phone

It’s been a year and a half since I first laid eyes on the Aastra 312W.

Once only available through Aastra channel partners in Europe, the 312W has finally made its way stateside. The Aastra 312W is the latest in a string of new WiFi VoIP phones to hit the streets in 2009.

Designed for consumers and prosumers alike (although it is a higher priced offering), the Aastra 312W supports 802.11 b/g wireless network connections, sports a high resolution color screen and utilizes a memory card to store contacts. The 312W, as expected, is SIP based.

Aastra has a strong track record for releasing popular mobility solutions. Their Aastra 57i CT (and legacy 480i CT) desktop/cordless VoIP phone combo is one of the most popular phones on the market today. Not to mention their popular SIP DECT solution.

With that strong track record expect the Aastra 312W to be a much talked about handset, despite the $349.99 USD retail price point. That number might fall with time, but it’s still on the pricey side.

Even so, if you’re in the market for a WiFi VoIP phone the Aastra 312W is a solution worth exploring.

For more information on the Aastra 312W, check out the 312W product page on VoIPSupply.com, an Aastra Certified supplier (and my employer).

Cisco unveils new small business VoIP phones

Never one to be outdone, Cisco Systems has joined the bevy of VoIP equipment manufacturers to announce new VoIP phones.

First hinted at last week on the VoIP Insider, yesterday word broke that perennial VoIP powerhouse Cisco Systems will be releasing five new VoIP phones aimed at the small medium business sector. Part of the Cisco Small Business Series, these new SPA5XX models mark the next generation in desktop VoIP phone technology for the company.

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VoIP phone market heating up

It looks like this summer is shaping up to be a hot one for VoIP phone manufacturers.

Thanks to the rapid adoption of standards based open source and open source based VoIP systems, the emergence of HD Voice and the rebounding of prosumer spending, a plethora of manufacturers will have a new VoIP phone hitting the streets over the next three months.

Here’s a quick round-up of what you’ll see.
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Cisco SPA8800 Released

Earlier today pal Cory Andrews broke the news about the newest SMB VoIP product from Cisco, the SPA8800.

The Cisco SPA8800 is an affordable VoIP Gateway option for small medium businesses and VoIP service providers. The Cisco SPA8800 is SIP based and features four (4) FXS ports for connecting traditional telephones and or fax machines.

The Cisco SPA8800 also features four (4) FXO ports for connecting POTS lines, allowing PSTN connectivity for VoIP phone systems. In addition, the SPA8800 features a convenient amphenol connector interface on the back of the gateway allowing for an easy connection to a telco punch-down block or mini RJ11 patch panel.

The SPA8800 comes with the familiar Linksys web based GUI and in playing with unit, even inexperienced users shouldn’t have much trouble setting up and maintain the gateway.

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Top Five VoIP Adapters for VoIP Providers

For the more advanced reader a post on VoIP adapters might be a bore.

When compared to other types of VoIP equipment, VoIP adapters are simple. But for some, especially those who are getting ready to launch a VoIP service, VoIP adapters are a critical component of their service offering.

Inspired by a half dozen or so soon-to-be launched VoIP service providers that I’ve been working with lately, I thought I’d write up something about the top VoIP adapters for a VoIP service provider. This isn’t anything scientific – it’s just based on six years of experience working with all of the VoIP adpaters on the market and hundreds of VoIP providers.

With that out of the way, let’s take a closer look…
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