Travel Technology - OT: Field VoIP phones

Not entirely OT, but I'll flag it nonetheless.

Running an Asterisk 1.4 PBX. What phone would you want in the field? and which phone would you want to pack with you on trips?

In the office we're currently running a mix of Cisco 7960/7961 & Polycom 601 phones. I like the feel, look, and function of the Cisco, but can't deny the sound quality on the Polycoms is superior. Out at people's homes we're running Cisco 7912, 7960, and a few analog ATAs. I always have an ATA in my carry-on and usually just "borrow" the hotel phone during my stay. Softphone on the laptop if all else fails.

I was looking at the new Cisco SPA-525 due to its Wifi capabilities and small size but want to play with one in-person.

Any thoughts/experiences out there?

Maybe a Nokia mobile phone with WLAN which can run a VoIP client?

Maybe a Nokia mobile phone with WLAN which can run a VoIP client?

I did ponder that, but unfortunately I'm in the USA, where mobile phone technology is one step above caveman. CDMA cellular providers, huge areas of non-3G networks, locked phones, and limited phone selection. Our mobile phone provider doesn't even carry a single Nokia product.

I'm looking more at desktop phones. Some of our staff often find themselves at other companies' offices for 2-3 weeks at a time, sometimes 2-3 years at a time, stopping in for a week or two a month.

Good quality speakerphone and good quality feel are two most important qualities I'm looking for.

Good quality speakerphone and good quality feel are two most important qualities I'm looking for.

From a technical standpoint, the most important thing to look for is the best possible match in CODEC support. You should make sure that the device you're buying supports all of the codecs that your VoIP system supports. Since you're taking these devices in the field to places where you don't control the quality of the network, you need to expect that they'll encounter low-bandwidth situations occasionally. Ideally, you'll get both phone and the provider to work with a set of both low-bandwidth and high-bandwidth codecs so that you'll get optimal sound quality and sure connections on every call.

It's been a couple of years since I've researched VoIP hardware, but I used to find that Grandstream phones and ATAs had the best codec support.

We use Microsoft Office Communication Server and I carry a Polycom CX100 USB speakerphone in my bag. Works wonderfully.

I believe this particular device is optimized specifically for OCS, but Polycom may have a similar device that will work for your phone system.