Polycom Communicator C100S
 

Lately I've been spending hours on the phone (3.5+) when I'm at home on Fridays. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of having my cellphone glued to my ear (I don't have a landline), the speakerphone on the iPhone that great, and I can't bring myself to wear a headset.

So, I just bought this little device on eBay last night and I'm wondering if anyone has one. It's a USB speakerphone that you can use with Skype. It seems pretty cool and I'm guessing the quality is good, since it's Polycom. Since you can call toll-free numbers for free from Skype, I wont be burning minutes on my cell either.

I have had one of these on my desk, plugged into my iMac for more than a year. I use it routinely. For long periods of time I was having daily conference calls with a group of people in my office and one or more people on the C100s. I love it. It is as good as your Skype connection of course, but it is a great device. I am very happy I have it.

How do you use the C100S on a Mac? The Polycom webstie describes the unit as Windows XP compatible only. :rolleyes:

For Mac do you just plug it in and the Mac sees it as a USB microphone / speaker?

My Mac and I missed that in the fine print. ;) Yes, I just plugged it in and set it as the input and output device in Skype. I may had set something on the Mac sound preferences but I dont remember. Im currently in England, back in my office Wednesday. I can check settings then. But, yes, I have been using it with Skype on an iMac routinely for more than a year. I suppose they changed it since I bought it but I suspect they just mean that they dont have Mac software for it and dont provide support.

I Googled and found a lot of reviews for it on Amazon. It seems that it works with MacOS but the buttons on the device dont all work (you have to initiate calls from within Skype not from the device) and the echo cancelation and automatic gain control dont work.

For a cheaper (and IMHO better) option, check out the TR-10 from Ipevo:

http://www.ipevo.com/products/pro_detail.php?id=14

It works as a really good speakerphone and a handset.

That looks nice. The Polycom is actually pretty old. This one is listed on Amazon as not yet available and out of stock at the link you posted. It does appear that its echo cancellation also works on Macs.

I have the Polycom CX100 USB speakerphone that I use with my company's Microsoft OCS VoIP solution. It goes with me everywhere I go; I use it daily and love it.

I know this is not the OP's question but I got the US Robotics one. I liked the size and especially the price. Like $10-15 on ebay. You get what you pay for, that's all I'm saying.

question on an external USB speakerphone.

How big an improvement is it over the speaker/mike that's built in your laptop?

I've always used the built-in setup and been pretty pleased with the quality of VOIP calls. Done this with Thinkpads as well as ASUS and ACER netbooks with both Skype and dialer for our VOIP system. Been pretty pleased with that setup in either conference mode or with a earbuds.

I use the C100S with Cisco's softphone (IP Communicator) and it's awesome, people have no idea I'm using a softphone and most don't even know I'm using a speakerphone. Works well and looks nice, too. Well made, comes with a nice zipper case.

I've been trying to see on Polycom's website the list of supported 'softphones' and Cisco is not there.

Before I go and buy a device, could you confirm this works with a Cisco softphone? Which version are you using?

Also, C100S is the 'skype-certified' model, which I assume means that it also works with skype, is that right?

Thank you!

My wife uses my C100S on her Cisco softphone, and it works perfectly.

Although not as portable as the C100S I have a Logitech QuickCall USB Speakerphone which works very well, and I really like this.

However I also have a Kensington Vo300 USB Internet Speakerphone and it sucks big time as a speakerphone. If you need to connect a microphone & headphones to your laptop via USB then this isn't bad but I suspect there are cheaper options. I've never used the address book feature so I can't comment on that. I paid £8 for it and I think that was far too much. Wouldn't touch it again if you paid me.

It's a Skype model because it has a button with the Skype logo that launches the Skype app. Beyond that, it's just a normal speaker/microphone. I think the Polycom's noise cancellation works with any app as long as the driver is installed.