Smart BLF and Digium D40 IP Phone Comparison

Now your Asterisk can become even more flexible and functional. Just add Digium IP phone to it;)

The manufacturer has released a new firmware number 1.4, as well as a new DPMA module.

Thanks to a special bundle with Asterisk (not only through the SIP protocol), this phone allows you to see the status of colleagues directly on the phone, log in / out of the queue, listen to voice mail, run your own application and much more.
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Today Digium introduces another concept: “Smart BLF”. Which describes the behavior of speed dial keys on IP phones D40, D50 and D70. Compared with the previous functionality of the speed dial keys, Smart BLF provides a completely new world of possibilities.

Are you interested in what? And you want to know what else is this device so good? I ask to proceed under habrakat.

Smart blf

One touch transfer (One-touch transfer)

What if you are on the phone and want to transfer the call somewhere? Now you can set a speed dial key to transfer mode with one touch and do it literally in “one click” :) And it doesn’t matter where: on the extra employee, the queue or the parking lot. This can also work on incoming calls if they have not been answered.

In-call DTMF

Do you use the built-in functions of Asterisk in accordance with the settings in features.conf? You probably use existing ones: recording conversations, parking or blind translation. Smart BLF now allows you to configure a speed dial key so that it sends DTMF directly during a call. Suddenly, for example, you wish to lose the wav file “Thank you for calling our company” or “For questions about the quality of service, write to us at blablabla@email.com”. The operator on the phone can do it in one click.

Conditional Dialing

Do you want the phone to dial different numbers when pressing the same speed dial key, depending on what the IP phone does or the desired contact? Now you have this opportunity. You can easily set up intelligent call transfer. If the contact is in standby mode, then the speed dial button will have blind translation functionality. If suddenly the employee is busy, then absolutely the same key will be able to transfer the call to his colleague.

Of course, you can do this with a crazy dialplan. But why complicate things so much?

LED control

Smart BLF allows you to assign a green or red indicator to the user; moreover, you can set the flashing frequency for the status of any contact.

Application Download

With one button, the user can launch your own application. You can assign any speed dial key and the application will immediately appear in the foreground. You no longer need to go to the menu, look at the list of all available applications, and run the necessary.

It is convenient to combine functions in a pair, for example with a set under conditions. You have pressed the call transfer key, but the colleague is busy. It does not matter, on the phone, immediately open additional information about the caller (from the company's CRM), or the calendar of an employee will open. You can instantly inform the client of the necessary information.

Another thing worth adding is that it is possible to assign speed dial keys to existing applications (parking, voice mail, queues, etc.)

Installation of sound indication

Your Digium phone can play a given melody, for example, if a call comes to a colleague. That is, some kind of audible notification will be activated ...

What if you are very eager to hear the other person? You have the opportunity to make his phone ring, and the only way to stop this is to call you back. Interesting entertainment. :)

Smart BLF can do all this, and much more. To start using, you only need to familiarize yourself with the documentation, download the latest DPMA 1.7 and the new firmware 1.4.
About innovations almost everything, let's move on to the comparison.

Digium D40 Phone IP Comparison

IP phones, in my opinion, can be divided into three categories.

Budget segment. These devices cost from $ 70 to $ 110. They have no phone stand, a small screen, usually with one dynamic line, hard (cheap) plastic, very poor quality of the speakerphone (bad speakers?)

Recently, the “HD” trend has been pulled up here, but to be honest with the microphones installed in the devices of this class, to real HD, and the full use of the advantages of the G722 is far away.

For example: Grandstream GXP1160 / GXP1400, Fanvil C56, D-link DPH-150S / F3

Middle segment : The most interesting and popular. These are IP phones, costing from $ 120 to $ 160
In this category, a larger screen appears, a more pleasant appearance, PoE, real HD.
And this is where the heroes of this review fall.
Examples: Cisco SPA504, Yealink SIP-T22P, Digium D40

Top segment : Price from $ 170 to $ 500 ...

This could include various unified communications devices, IP phones on the Android family, or with color / touch screens. Enough specific devices with low demand.
Examples: Snom 821, Polycom CX500 / CX600, Cisco SPA525G2, Digium D70

Digium D40 VS Cisco SPA504

Comparing these two phones, which have almost the same value, you should start with common features.
Phones with similar ergonomics: ABS plastic, the same number of function keys, heavy (comfortable) handset. Two Ethernet ports, support for Vlan tagging, Voice Vlan. Indication of incoming and missed calls, highlighting of active lines. Actually everything. Next, go to the differences.

Both phones allow you to connect a headset, but Digium can, in addition to EHS, Cisco - not.
Digium D40 has a clearer screen of 240 x 120 pixels, compared to 128 x 64 for Cisco, while the physical size of the LCD display is almost identical, which means that more useful information will fit on the screen of the Digium phone.

D40 has a more fresh and pleasant, in my opinion, design. But the main difference between the Digium product and its competitor Cisco is that this phone has its own API and can be integrated with external systems. Using JavaScript, you can write your own application, for example, to link to a website or a CRM company.

Digium D40 is a phone-level unified communications system. When bundled with Asterisk or Switchvox unified communications platform, the operator receives not only a tool for receiving calls, but also, for example, can enter / exit the queue, take a pause, view your voice mail box, view the list of company employees and much more ... This add. functionality is already available out of the box, without intervention from the developers.

Cisco phone is simple and reliable at the same time. It has been on the market for several years now and has a very low reject rate.
The following factor can also be attributed to the protection of the Digium phone: out of 1000 phones sold, only 2 are returned for repair.

Digium D40 VS Yealink T22P

IPmatika, promotes Yealink phones in the Russian market quite successfully. Yealink SIP-T22P is a functional and decent device. It has a recommended price of $ 127, which gives us a reason to compare these two devices.

As an advantage of Yealink you should write its 100% localization. Translated as a phone interface and its web interface.
However, Digium does not stand still, and in the last revision they localized the device in a very unusual way:



English Msgs, Conf, Hold, Redial changed to icons.
True interface on the screen (as well as the web-muzzle) remained the same. Which brings some inconvenience for ordinary users. (although this is all a matter of habit. In addition, knowledge of English has not prevented anyone;))

Yealink, like Cisco, is inferior to the D40 in the screen: 132x64 pixels versus 240x120. And he also does not have the ability to connect EHS. In terms of tactile sensations, the plastic T22 is smooth, almost like a budget Fanvil. (everyone remembers the hit BW210?).
In all other respects, these IP phones are similar: a set of codecs, 2 Ethernet ports, auto-provisioning, PoE, clear keystrokes, bright backlighting.

And just forgot one more interesting difference. Digium phone does not have a handset key. The phone determines its position with the help of magnets. Know-how, which is inconvenient to use in practice. It may, of course, be a matter of habit, but my hand is constantly reaching for the reset key when I incorrectly dialed the number. But you have to put the whole tube ...

Conclusion

Digium - well done, and they never cease to amaze us with new, functional and high-quality products. Do you still remember that buying their products, you support the further development of Asterisk? Yes, that Asterisk, which is probably the engine of every second IP PBX in Russia.

And with what phone would you compare Digium D40?