IP Phones

An IP phone uses Voice over IP technology allowing phone calls to be made over an IP network such as the internet instead of the old-fashioned system. An IP phone is different from a regular phone in that it connects to a signal via an Ethernet port like a computer instead of a standard telephone which connects via a phone cord. When calling other IP phones users typically only pay for the usual fixed cost of internet bandwidth unlike the costs associated with traditional dialing.

Philips VOIP1511B/37 Skype Travel Phone

List Price*: $25.99USD
Discount Price*: $25.99 USD

Voip Telephone

List Price*: $111.36USD
Discount Price*: $60.31 USD

Polycom SoundStation2 Expandable Conference Phone (2200-16200-001)

List Price*: $549.99USD
Discount Price*: $464.20 USD

Polycom Soundpoint Pro SE-225 2-Line Professional Conference Phone with Caller ID

List Price*: $249.00USD
Discount Price*: $207.66 USD

Polycom 2200-07142-001 Soundstation Vtx 1000 Cnfrc Phn with vtx Wideband Voice&gain Ctrlw/mic

List Price*: $1,141.99USD
Discount Price*: $968.99 USD

Voip 2 Line Business Phone

List Price*: $151.68USD
Discount Price*: $91.62 USD

TalkSwitch TS-9133i IP Phone Charcoal

List Price*: $179.00USD
Discount Price*: $170.05 USD

You can use an IP phone to replace your cordless home telephone your office’s desktop phones. Internet phones seamlessly connect with your VoIP provider and let you use all the provider’s available features, such as caller ID, call waiting and conference calling.

Most Internet Phones are made by the following manufacturers:

• Aastra
• Nortel
• Cisco
• Polycom
• ZyXEL
• Snom

Internet Phones are Better for VoIP than Adapters

The number one advantage with an IP phone is you no longer need to plug your phone into an analog phone adapter to use your VoIP service.

VoIP adapters for analogue phones often have bad voice clarity. A bad adapter can make your voice sound muffled or staticky and cause echos or delays. Internet phones, on the other hand, sound clearer, especially with VoIP service.

Internet Phones for the Home

IP Phones eliminate the adapters some VoIP providers charge you for and give you full use of your VoIP features and maximize the quality of your calls. They’re an excellent choice for homes that want quality phones to make crystal clear calls with VoIP service. These phones don’t work without VoIP service, so if you want to stick with the traditional phone company, an Internet phone is not the best choice for you.

Internet Phones for the Office

There are also IP phones available for homes and offices. There’s the classic office desktop phone with a cord, with an LCD display for caller ID. Some desktop models now have a colour LCD display with a photo background, such as the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G.

There are also excellent cordless and wireless IP phones, such as Polycom Spectralink 8002 wireless or the Aastra DECT 142 wireless handset.

Cisco offers four cordless Internet phone models with advanced features built in. Two of them,  the Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phone 7926G 7921G and 7925G, are WiFi certified so you don’t have to plug them in to access the Internet. These IP phones also come with a fully colour LCD display, a base with speaker phone so you can use it just like a desktop phone if you wish, and they have 200 hours of battery life in standby mode, which translates 15.5 hours of talk time.

Internet Phones for Conference Calling

There also IP phones designed for conference calling.

The Nortel IP Audio conference phone 2033 is an excellent conference model, designed to pick up on sounds across the room.  The Nortel model also comes with expandable microphones and speakers, to make it easier to hear and be heard.

Proprietary IP Phones

Some companies also offer proprietary models of IP phones. These VoIP phones are designed to work only with the VoIP providers network.

For example, if you’ve decided to switch your home phone over to Vonage, the company also makes the Vonage VDV21-CVR wireless handset phone, designed to work with their system-. The downside with proprietary phones is if you decide you want a different VoIP provider, your IP phone may not work on the new network.

For business IP phones, Ringcentral and 8x8 offer proprietary Internet phones designed to work with their features and networks. Each company also sells Polycom and Cisco IP phones, in addition to their proprietary selections.

IP phones and price

Conference models cost between $600 and $1000 range, depending on what brand you go with (Nortel’s costs $999).  Standard desktop models tend to range between $200 and $300, depending on brand.

One drawback with IP phones: they cannot be used with a standard phone company. If you do not want to switch to a VoIP service provider like Nextiva or Fonality, don’t buy and iPhone.