Wireless IP phone

[stash]

Anyone can suggest a brand of wireless IP phone? that works great in 3cx. with a distributor here in philippines.



Thanks,


STASH

 

[jpillow]

I'm not sure whats you have access to in the Philippines however the PanasonicTGP-500 Dect Phones work great.

 

[stash]

Sir jpillow


Is DECT and wifi the same? because it will be a WIFI building.



Thanks,


STASH

 

[leejor]

No they are not the same. the drawback with most WiFi SIP sets is battery life, cost, and the fact that most (none?) will do a call hand off from one node to another.

The Panasonic is a DECT SIP set.

 

[stash]

Sir leejor,


What is the most efficient when it comes to wireless? i have no idea on DECT. and the client has setup already a wifi in the building. can you give me advice in wifi SIP. what is the best brand working in 3cx?



Thanks,


STASH

 

[leejor]

I'm not an expert on what's out there now. I have used a few in the past, mostly for access while travelling, so nothing that had been turned on for long periods, or, in an office environment/day to day basis. In fact all of the models I own have been discontinued for a few years now.

When you are dealing with portable equipment, you risk damage. So, you have to consider the environment that these are to be used in. Most new models are not inexpensive, so you have to consider replacement costs (you know that will be dropped), and, the eventual replacement of the batteries (hard to get?). A lot of models of WiFi SIP phones have come and gone over that last several years, so you want something that will still be around when it comes to parts and service. If they are to be used on a desk, then you probably want a set that has a desk top charger(docking station) available.

Some people have unrealistic expectations about WiFi SIP and expect them to behave like a mobile phone. If the environment that these will be used in involves a number of Access Points, be aware that a conversation started on one will drop if you move beyond it's range towards a second AP. There is no hand-off, like a mobile, and it may take a few seconds to establish a connection to the second AP, they don't "talk" to two at once.

Some sets are much better at handling things like transfers and a second call and other 3CX specific features. You need to figure out exactly what the customer expects the set to do, what they are planning on using it for, and then make a post, with those specifics. That would narrow down your search a bit.

 

[stash]

Sir leejor,


the WIFI phone will be use in a hospital environment. the nurse will carry the WIFI phone so they can answer calls from the doctor or from the room's extension number if there is an emergency.



Thanks,


STASH

 

[leejor]

Then you are probably looking at an environment where there is more than one Wifi access point. Something to take into consideration, when it comes to making a choice. I would narrow it down to models that are available in your area, then contact the manufacturer/distributor, for their opinions on any limitations you may run into. Run any choices by the forum, for the opinion of members that may be familiar with them.

If the company that you ultimately purchase them from, ends up selling you something that does not perform in the manner that they said it would, then be sure that you can get a replacement or refund. Get that part in writing.

If the coverage area can be handled by a standard cordless handset (DECT), then that could be used in conjunction with an ATA.

 

[stash]

Sir leejor,


yes the area will be establishing more than one access point. i have no idea what model to use with WIFI phone cause this is my first time to implement something like this. so i seek on someone to give me advice regarding on the model to choose.


Thanks,


STASH

 

[albertc]

One solution you may want to consider is to use iPod touch and install Bria from Counterpath on the iPod touch. As long as the iPod touch has wifi signal, the call will come through even when its at sleep mode (As long as you configure Bria to run in the background and use TCP as its SIP Transport). It works very solid and the iPod touch can offer you more than just voip call. Like Email and other type of messages service. At USD$199 for the iPod touch + $7.99 for the Bria app. It a better deal than just a wifi sip phone.

 

[albertc]

BTW, Bria support video call with iPod touch and video call is support by 3CX. That may open up some other possibility like nurses can show what is going on with the patient in real time if needed. And the doctor can see the patient right from their desk.

 

[stash]

Sir albertc,



Thanks for the feedback i will consult that with my client. but can you recommend something else beside ipod touch?



Thanks,


STASH

 

[albertc]

If you are looking for something that is more solid, I'll recommend Polycom [ http://www.polycom.com/products/voice/wireless_solutions/wifi_communications/handsets/spectralink_8020_wireless.html ]. 3CX has the provisioning template build in. So, setting it up as an internal ext will be just as easy as connect the phone to your wifi network. And they are very solid in terms of build quality. I once saw a youtube video where a few guys where dropping (more like throwing) one of those phones on a hard floor many times and it still work right after. It seem like its unbreakable.

 

[stash]

Sir albertc,

Thanks, i will endorse this to my sales so he can find a distri here.




Thanks,


STASH

 

[charris]

Regarding wifi you will need a very solid network to do this. This means managed wifi systems which are expensive. Some of the best vendors on this are Ruckus, Cisco and Aruba. A managed wifi system uses a central controller to manage the handoffs (roaming) from one access point to another. The change is fast and instantaneous so there is usually no loss of data even in a very sensitive sip call. A managed wifi system will also offer much more features and advantages but as I have mentioned above it is not cheap.

 

[stash]

Hi charris,


OK i will look into that so i can also give this as an alternate solution.



Thanks,


STASH

 

[stopher]

hi

Dear Wi-Fi has a good range indoors, of around 65 feet, and can also cover better distances outdoors. You might block out your hotspot signals within a signal room, or cover an entire university campus with many access points overlapping each other. Please click this link here http://www.techyv.com/blog/why-you-should-switch-wi-fi-connection you can get Why you should switch to a Wi-Fi connection. Hope its important Please check it .

 

[leejor]

I would hope that by now (unless one has been been living in a cave), we are quite familiar with what WiFi is, how it works, it's limitations, etc.

The original question was regarding a WiFi phone, for use with 3CX, that is available in the Philippines.

 

[stash]

@Sir stopher i will check on that but sir leejor has a point i need a wifi phone

 

[moon1234]

Resurrecting an old thread, but I will filly endorse Polycom's spectralink phones. I have been using them for years with 3cx as a mobile solution in my building.

You don't need a central wireless controller for handoffs between access points if your access points support WDS and MMS. Almost all of the better business class wifi access points do. We are using Cisco access points with WDS. One is setup similar to a controller, but using WDS built into the access point. All of the other access points connect to this access point and relay which nodes are registered on which access point. When a roam happens it is instant and the new location is recorded by the WDS manager access point.

I have tried many wireless handsets and Polycom are by far the best. You will have all day or sometimes multiday battery life depending on how long you use it. The phone will ALWAYS ring if it has a wifi signal. They take a lot of abuse and keep going. Our facilities manager dropped his off the 2nd story room when he was working up there and it hit the grass. Battery popped off. He put the battery back on, powered it up and away he went. Not even a scratch.

I had a UT Starcom device, the little clamshell one. I really liked it, but they stopped development on the device and there were too many missing features. It supported WPA PSK, but not WPA2. It only supported TKIP with WPA and you could NOT have AES or WPA2 even enabled or the phone would not register. This was a deal killer for us. It worked really nice when we just had WEP for security many ages ago, but without proper WPA support, the device was obsolete.

I supposed an IPod might work, but there is not front facing speaker like an iphone. You would need a headset to make that work. In a hospital environment that would be very awkward.

In our city, the university hospitals are using vocera badges with all of the nurses. They wear it around their neck and it looks like a small communicator device. It has a single button on the front. The user clicks the button and then speaks the command. Say a nurse wants to call a number. She pushes the button and says "Dial 1452", the device is in speaker phone mode and then confirms the command via voice and dials. Announcements can sent by the device auto answering in speaker phone mode. The same for incoming calls. It seemed to work really well.

In a hospital environment you will want devices that can be sanitized and that have sanitary surfaces. Vocera and Polycom and both meet this need. You will want reliability in a hospital and not frilly toys, which is what I see in an ipod used for a VoIP.