Firms Add Business VoIP Phones

By Greg Scoblete On Apr 7 2008 - 6:00am

A pair of manufacturers introduced new VoIP phones aimed at the small- and medium-business market.

Berlin-based Snom Technology announced the Snom m3, a new VoIP-enabled multihandset DECT cordless phone.

The unit works with SIP-based VoIP services. It is expandable up to eight handsets and supports up to three simultaneous calls at once.

The m3 has a back-lit, color LCD display and features three-way conferencing, call transfer, music-on-hold, call forwarding, 100-entry address book, handset speakerphone and polyphonic ringtones.

It offers a battery life of 10 hours worth of talktime and 100 hours of standby time. It is shipping now for $220.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Spracht added the Aura SoHo duplex conference speaker phone to its line last month.

The multiline conference phone works with analog phone systems as well as digital PBX, Skype, Windows Messenger and other VoIP platforms. It features a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for echo and noise cancellation during full duplex calling and an accessory bay for adding a Bluetooth module, a digital PBX or wireless module.

The phone features a five-watt speaker and three built-in microphones that can provide 360-degree coverage for a 20 foot by 20 foot room, the company said. An accessory external microphone can be added for larger rooms. The SoHo also features automatic room acoustic profiling, which adjusts the phone to provide optimum performance in a given setting, alongside a built-in keypad, redial and one-touch conference button.

The Aura SoHo is shipping now for $249.