As the title says, I’m sick and tired of the GrandStream GXP-2000. The sound quality sucks and my 4th phone (not my office’s 4th phone, MY 4th phone) just crapped out. I no longer can use the handset as I get almost no volume coming through (although the person on the other end can hear me just fine). It was working perfectly until about 30 minutes ago and then it just got VERY quiet. That makes 4 completely dead phones and about a half-dozen flakey ones where one or two things (like this one with the bad handset) don’t work correctly. In case you’re wondering, we’ve only bought 13 in the first place.
What else is there in the sub-$200 price range? I need units that have speakerphones, can have multiple SIP accounts (2 is required, 3 or 4 would be nice for testing), and are easy to get working with Asterisk in a small business network.
I’m not willing to do any of the following (or rather, my employer is not willing to let me):
Buy phones that need a TFTP server to boot. TFTP for firmware updates is OK but not just to get them to turn on.
Buy phones that have to have manually edited config files uploaded to the phone. We want web GUIs.
Buy phones that require manual edits to the Asterisk config files or patches to the source. I don’t mind mucking around in .conf files but, again, my boss likes GUIs (ie. AMP).
Finally, buy phones that require PoE. Our switches don’t support it so whatever we buy needs to ship with a wall wart that we can plug into an AC outlet.
They have basic webGui in V1.2.2 production firmware. There is V1.3.0 firmware available in beta now which should be production released in a few weeks which greatly expands the WebGui and will meet your requirements. I have a GXP2000 and a 9133i and there is NO comparison. The 9133i is a much higher quality TRUE business phone. V1.3.0 also has BLF (busy lamp field) which is a feature I have been anxiously awaiting
I’d sell the damn GXP2000 if I though I could get close to what I paid for it. It still works as a second extension to test with but it’s just a toy compared to the 9133i.
I’d looked at that one, but it seemed to me like I would need a switch with PoE because the description says “Optional Power Over Ethernet (POE) injector available for networks that do not supply power”. I couldn’t find a picture of the back of the thing though so I don’t know for sure. Can you answer that one for me?
EDIT: I might get one for testing, where can I find the 1.3b Firmware? The web site only has up through 1.2.2. Also, I scanned the admin guide, it seems like some of the phones capabilities can only be used through “Server provisioned configuration files”.
It’s got a separate power connector just like the GXP2000. It takes 48v and I believe that it is wired in parallel internally to the relevant ethernet pins so you don’t need a splitter but I am not 100% sure of that. The PoE injector option they are talking about goes on the other end of the ethernet if you don’t have a switch with PoE capabilities. I don’t know of any phones that actually come with a PoE injector as standard.
Currently there are some features that are only configurable via tftp config file. With the web enhancements in V1.3.0 I believe that will not be the case anymore.
Your best bet to get these questions answered and to get a copy of the 1.3.0 beta firmware is to contact Sayson directly.
Try looking at the Linksys-Sipura SPA-941.
I saw it at ITEXPO last week and it was drop-dead gorgeous for $150.
It is an iteration of the SPA-841 so it still doesn’t have a built-in ethernet switch for your computer, but the case has a plastic knock-out for it, so I suspect it will be imminent in a future model.
The handset is heavy enough to feel like a solid phone unlike the GXP2000.
I just got off the phone with Sayson but the guy I talked to doesn’t have the answer to a very important question that popped into my head (but he did say he’ll get back to me).
The question is: Does the 9133i support the use of multiple SIP accounts (on multiple servers)? For example, the GXP-2000 I’m using now is connected to x200 on 192.168.1.51 and x300 on 192.168.1.52. I’ve spent the last hour reading the documentation and it doesn’t seem like it supports more than one SIP account. Hopefully this is just an oversight in the documentation.
[quote=“litkaj”]I just got off the phone with Sayson but the guy I talked to doesn’t have the answer to a very important question that popped into my head (but he did say he’ll get back to me).
The question is: Does the 9133i support the use of multiple SIP accounts (on multiple servers)? For example, the GXP-2000 I’m using now is connected to x200 on 192.168.1.51 and x300 on 192.168.1.52. I’ve spent the last hour reading the documentation and it doesn’t seem like it supports more than one SIP account. Hopefully this is just an oversight in the documentation.[/quote]
It only supports 1 SIP server unlike the GXP2000. I don’t know about the V1.3.0 firmware but I doubt that feature has been added. It’s designed as a single provider/pbx phone, not a multiple VoIP internet service phone.
The Linksys SPA942 (2 ethernet ports) has potential and supposedly will be available shortly. It’s gonna cost a bit more and have less features then the 9133i though. For example, you get 2 incoming lines and gotta pay more to activate 2 more. No speed dial buttons either. The Aastra/Sayson 9133i can be configured for between 3 and something like 7 or 8 incoming lines using the speed dial buttons with some to spare. All that for less money so I give the nod to the 9133i based on what I know now.
I don’t know if the SPA841/941 support multiple sip servers either.
[quote=“dsuh”]Try looking at the Linksys-Sipura SPA-941.
I saw it at ITEXPO last week and it was drop-dead gorgeous for $150.
It is an iteration of the SPA-841 so it still doesn’t have a built-in ethernet switch for your computer, but the case has a plastic knock-out for it, so I suspect it will be imminent in a future model.
The handset is heavy enough to feel like a solid phone unlike the GXP2000.[/quote]
I can’t find any documentation on this phone, does it support multiple SIP accounts (on different servers)?
I’m definately agreeing with you about the Grandstream 2000.
It was rushed to the market, and has too many unfinished “features”.
My latest peeve: No Daylight savings time rules.
Essentially, you have to tell it (using a web page radio button) that daylight savings time is in effect right now or not.
I might as well just reset the time manually… Oh, wait! I can’t! It has to be set by an NTP server… Grrrrrr!
Good thing I only bought one. Labs are wonderful ways to learn what it would take to manage a bunch of things in large numbers.
In my lab, the Sipura 841 changed properly with the daylight savings time rule I wrote.
The Polycom IP500 needed no help at all.
The Grandstream GXP-2000 had to be manually changed. If I had 200 of these in an office, I’d be annoyed as hell having to login to each one to change the time twice a year…
Alright, the 841 says that it supports up to 4 line appearances with independant registrations. I would assume that that means that it is like the GXP-2000 where I can give a different server for each one. One thing I did notice though is that it seems like this phone will only notify you of voicemail on the first line, not on all lines like the Grandstream.
Overall, I’ve heard that the 841 is kind of crappy. Since the 941 is twice the price, what justifies the extra cost?
Essentially, they took the Sipura 841 firmware and crammed it into a Cisco phone body.
The hardware isn’t what you’d find in a Sipura phone, but the web interface (I hear) is the same. This is (presumably) to free you from the chore of having to build all those .cnf files that get uploaded to the phone.
If you think about it, it very nicely gives them a new market (SOHO) for phones they’ve already designed for a much bigger system.
I’ve been dropping hints to my boss that I would like one to play with. Since we’ve been less than entusiastic about all the other phones we’ve tried, I may get one.
[quote=“dufus”]Essentially, they took the Sipura 841 firmware and crammed it into a Cisco phone body.
The hardware isn’t what you’d find in a Sipura phone, but the web interface (I hear) is the same. This is (presumably) to free you from the chore of having to build all those .cnf files that get uploaded to the phone.
If you think about it, it very nicely gives them a new market (SOHO) for phones they’ve already designed for a much bigger system.
I’ve been dropping hints to my boss that I would like one to play with. Since we’ve been less than entusiastic about all the other phones we’ve tried, I may get one.[/quote]
Alright, thanks. I’ll see about ordering one to give it a try.
I wouldn’t say it’s different hardware. If the firmware is essentially the same then the guts are going to be essentially the same. The outside phone body, handset, buttons may be more like Cisco phones.
Probably will be a good combination but seems a bit pricey for what you get. Maybe the price will come down once the volumes go up. We shall see. If they get it down to $100 like the SPA841 used to be then it’s worth another look.
my gxp-2000 r0x0rz my b0x0rz!!! I dont know what you are talking about. It takes only like 5 secs for a call from my polycom to go to the grandstream right next to it. It is flippin sweet!!! And better yet, the http interface only works with windows browsers (IE 4EVA!!!)
actually, the phone went into a infinte reboot after locking it up while configuring it using a linux based web browser (firefox). I had to let it sit for like 30 mins without power just to get it to boot again.
[quote=“james”]my gxp-2000 r0x0rz my b0x0rz!!! I dont know what you are talking about. It takes only like 5 secs for a call from my polycom to go to the grandstream right next to it. It is flippin sweet!!! And better yet, the http interface only works with windows browsers (IE 4EVA!!!)
actually, the phone went into a infinte reboot after locking it up while configuring it using a linux based web browser (firefox). I had to let it sit for like 30 mins without power just to get it to boot again.[/quote]
The Aastra version of the SIP firmware does support the ability to access lines from different servers from one phone. This isn’t something our firmware currently supports. Please contact Aastra at support@aastra.com for information on obtaining their firmware.
[quote=“litkaj”][quote=“james”]my gxp-2000 r0x0rz my b0x0rz!!! I dont know what you are talking about. It takes only like 5 secs for a call from my polycom to go to the grandstream right next to it. It is flippin sweet!!! And better yet, the http interface only works with windows browsers (IE 4EVA!!!)
actually, the phone went into a infinte reboot after locking it up while configuring it using a linux based web browser (firefox). I had to let it sit for like 30 mins without power just to get it to boot again.[/quote]
I use FireFox on Windows and it works just fine.[/quote]
[quote=“james”][quote=“litkaj”][quote=“james”]my gxp-2000 r0x0rz my b0x0rz!!! I dont know what you are talking about. It takes only like 5 secs for a call from my polycom to go to the grandstream right next to it. It is flippin sweet!!! And better yet, the http interface only works with windows browsers (IE 4EVA!!!)
actually, the phone went into a infinte reboot after locking it up while configuring it using a linux based web browser (firefox). I had to let it sit for like 30 mins without power just to get it to boot again.[/quote]
I use FireFox on Windows and it works just fine.[/quote]
try using it on a nix box…[/quote]
Can’t, all 5 of my Linux servers are console-only and I don’t have any Linux workstations.
Anyhoo… I just got a voice mail from a guy at Aastra. He told me that their new 1.3 firmware (which should be “stable” today or tomorrow from what he said) supports a different server on each line. As soon as it is released I think I’ll order one.