Polycom joins media phone wave, adds video

Polycom has rolled out a media phone for the business environment. Unlike the media phone Avaya introduced last week, the VVX 1500 includes a "personal" video conferencing system.

In addition to video conferencing, the device includes a full-featured VoIP phone with HD voice, an XML-based open API for customization and a "microbrowser" for real time delivery of personalized web content and integration with business applications. The phone's software bundle includes Polycom's Productivity suite for enabling users to initiate and control audio conference calls right from the VVX's screen, as well as the ability to record calls locally using a flash drive in the phone's USB port. There's also a bundle to a free web portal for information updates.

At a list price of $1099, the VVX 1500 includes a 7-inch color LCD touch-screen display, the aforementioned USB port, SIP, power over Ethernet (PoE), a two-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, a 2-megapixel video camera, and a bunch of power-saving features to keep consumption under 11 watts when fully active.

Polycom gives a shout-out to BroadSoft for helping to bring the phone to market and "deeply" integrating with the BroadWorks platform. Ultimately, the product is expected to be SIP video-certified by more than 30 "call control" partners, including NEC Sphere, Objectworld and Zultys.

For more:
- Polycom release

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