The Bottom Line
- Great looks
- Excellent voice quality
- Interesting features for business
- Relative high price
Description
- 2 100BaseT Ethernet ports
- Four line display
- Hi-resolution display
- Solid and good-looking handset
- Full-duplex speakerphone, network based ring tone support, VLAN enabled
- Fully SIP compatible and interoperable with Asterix and other products
- Backlit display
- Codecs supported : G177u, G711a, G726, G729a, and G723
- Remote configuration and provisioning via HTTP, HTTPS and TFTP
- Power over Ethernet (PoE) Capability (Can be powered through the Ethernet cable)
Guide Review - Linksys SPA 942 IP Phone
Sipura was one of the first manufacturers to make a name in SIP phones. Another giant, Linksys, itself owned by a bigger giant, Cisco, bought Sipura, and one of the products that resulted is this great phone. There is nothing much to complain about this phone, save that it does not have unique features that make it stand out, like the two above it in the top 5 list of IP phones. But it does have a very interesting array of standard features that make up a marvellous business phone. Another thing that prevents it to be first in the list is its price. At the time I am writing this, the phone costs around $175.
The SPA 942 model is an improvement on the already successful SPA 941 phone. Linksys has listened to customers and added another Ethernet port, backlight and some other features. They both have exactly the same casing and look.
It is easy to configure the phone, save that the number of programming options available (which is a plus for skilled people) throws some confusion in the minds of novices. The phone can also be remotely configured through XML files via TFTP.
The voice quality of the phone is great. The phone is also very handsome with keys and display designed not only to impress lookers, but also to make the touch more pleasant for users.
The phone does not come with an AC adapter. This is not a drawback, but rather an advantage - it draws its power form the Ethernet cable itself!
The phone comes with very nice features, which you can see in the description above. It is fully open to SIP programming, and hence serves well the purpose of a business phone. It is therefore better suited for offices rather than homes.
