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

The functionality and ease of use of Siemens' optiPoint 400 were comparable to that of the Mitel 5055. The $440 retail price of the Siemens phone was highest of all the devices tested, edging out Polycom's $435 offering and a lot higher than Mitel's price of $350.

On the bright side, if you're moving from H.323 to SIP, the Siemens phone supports H.323, though it does require a different software image. Featurewise, the Siemens phone can complete numbers dialed in memory and is the only phone besides the SipTone to support the G.723 codec. G.723 provides even greater bandwidth optimization than G.729, with 6,000 bps necessary to carry the audio. Of course, the flip side is that G.723 codecs also can incur even more latency than G.729 codecs thanks to higher compression rates.

It was easy to make calls with the optiPoint. It has a 48-character by two-line display, with most navigation done via two arrow keys and a Check key. Siemens did a nice job making navigation intuitive with this limited number of keys.

optiPoint 400 standard SIP 2.2, $440. Siemens, (800) 765-6123. www.siemensenterprise.com