Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Discuss this article Flame the author     In this article Introduction It's All Good Just Managing Polycom SoundPoint IP 600 Mitel Networks Corp. 5055 SIP Phone 2.0 Siemens optiPoint 400 standard SIP 2.2 Zultys Technologies ZIP 4x4 Snom Technology Snom200 VoIP phone ipDialog SipTone How We Tested SIP and NAT: Not So Perfect Together Web Links Report Card

Mitel is one of only two legacy PBX vendors that participated in our tests (Siemens is the other). Mitel's 5055 is a no-nonsense business-class phone, and it might have scored better if it had some of the features that the company plans to add later this year, such as better diagnostic capabilities.

Mitel's phone looks exactly like a typical business-class phone, with no hint of its IP talents. It has a two-line LCD display and buttons out the wazoo: There are rows of buttons across the top and down either side. There are four lighted call-appearance buttons, four buttons to control the display, and seven programmable buttons. In addition, the 5055 has extra buttons for speakerphone, transfer, hold, muting and headset.

Although it's display control was not as advanced as Polycom's, the Mitel phone was easy to operate--anyone who has used a corporate phone will be comfortable with it. As with the Polycom phone, the first line is activated as soon as the headset is taken off the hook. All the phones have message-waiting indicators, but Mitel's is the biggest and brightest--you could probably use it as a warning beacon for the local airport. The 5055 has only a half-duplex speakerphone, but Mitel says it plans to make full-duplex functionality standard by the end of the year.

We could use the typical TFTP options for downloading new software and configurations, but the 5055 doesn't include any diagnostics capabilities. Again, Mitel says it plans to add remote- and local-access to call-quality statistics by September.

Mitel is a well-known player in the PBX market, but it sells only one SIP PBX, the 3050 ICP, and that supports a maximum of 10 phones. The company says it will add SIP support to its higher end 3300 ICP in 2004.