Tuesday, May 26, 2009

KIRK 2010 WiFi DECT VoIP phone

polycom-kirk-2010.jpg The KIRK 2010 WiFi DECT VoIP handset launched today. This is the latest edition to the Polycom KIRK Series. I wonder if Captain Kirk is aware that Polycom is trying to copy his copyrighted 'communicator'?

Then again, Kirk's communicator didn't have a numeric keypad. Just turn the dial and instantly talk to the Star Trek Enterprise's bridge (hundreds of miles away) with seemingly no latency either. You can compare the look of it here:
kirk.gif
Or this closely resembling USB-based Star Trek communicator:

star-trek-usb-voip-communicator.jpg

They definitely kept it simple, by going with a black & white screen, but they no doubt kept the costs down. The pricing for its brethren is certainly pretty expensive, i.e.:

The list price for the Polycom KWS 300 is U.S. $360. The KWS 6000 list price is U.S. $1,200 and includes a server and one base station, which supports up to 30 users. With the scalable nature of the KWS6000 it can also be set up for more users. The KIRK 5040 handset sells at a list price of U.S. $310.

I couldn't find pricing info online for the KIRK 2010, but certainly businesses are looking for affordable WiFi & DECT VoIP phones.

Update:
I accidentally assumed this was a Wi-Fi phone. It is not. It's a DECT phone. I'm going to assume the base station has an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection that does the SIP registration. Since last I checked, wireless DECT doesn't connect to Ethernet!

Features and Benefits of the KIRK 2010
  • Black & white LCD screen (3 lines of text/icons)
  • Internal/external ring pattern, volume control and silent modes
  • Telephone book with room for 40 numbers
  • Speech/stand by time > 12/150 hours
  • Weight incl. battery: 120g
  • Size (LxWxH): 124x47x31mm

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    Comments on this Entry:

    (headset on Apr 9, 2009 3:16 PM) these are SIP compatible right Tom?

    (Johannes Harald Kingma on Apr 10, 2009 7:12 PM) Oh no, it's a phonedesign from the former DRS Electronics - Hong Kong, but bought by RTX from Denmark in 2006. If it's the same quality as the other DRS DECT products, I cannot recommend this phone at all. Polycom has another phone from RTX, just as SNOM did. Also this phone isprobably based on the RTX 3081. See info here: http://www.gotele.com/Images/RTX/Datasheet/RTX-3081.pdf

    Microsoft UC Developer Sandbox Featuring OCS 2007 R2 & Exchange Server 2010 Launches

    Want your own little UC sandbox where you can learn how to develop speech and UC applications using Unified Communications Managed API (UCMA) without the hassle of setting up your own OCS 2007 R2 & Exchange Server 2010 beta environment?

    Well, today Marshall Harrison over at GotUC.net announced a Microsoft UC sandbox for developers to play in, enabling them to develop UC applications quickly and easily.

    Well, whatcha waitin' for? Head on over and kick some sand in your very own UC sandbox!

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    Tweefind a new rank-based twitter search

    tweefind-logo.jpgFellow VoIP blogger Luca has launched a new endeavor called Tweefind, which is a rank-based twitter search engine rather than a simply timeline search on keywords.

    Luca explains:

    How is the Tweerank calculated? Behind the scenes there is a sophisticated algorithm which analyzes how users use Twitter and calculates their rank accordingly. The rank is obtained taking into account a certain number of different parameters in a certain timeframe:

    • # followers
    • # following
    • # of tweets
    • # of RT he/she receives
    • # of replies
    • # of distinct users who reply
    • # of distinct users who retweet
    • # of RT he/she makes
    • # of links the user shares
    • much more...

    Luca explains that a twitter user's ranking can change daily, depending on how much they use twitter, and other variables. It's an interesting model. Read his post for more details.

    I just tried it out on various keywords, including voip, skype, iPhone, and others. It's pretty fast. It must preload several pages of search results, because when I click the paginate/next page button at the bottom, it instantly loads. It appears to max out at 7 pages of results, so that may explain why it loads so fast.

    Interestingly, there is no submit or 'Go' button to submit your search. You simply hit enter to submit. Still for people that are not keyboard-centric or don't know you can simply hit 'enter', a submit button would be nice.

    It's too early to tell if I'll use this regularly, but I'll have to bookmark tweefind and try it out over the next few weeks to see how well it works vs. my usually twitter searching.

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    Plantronics Voyager PRO

    plantronics-voyager-pro.jpg
    The Plantronics Voyager Pro is the successor to the much-loved Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset, which goes on sale today, although, Best Buy started selling its stock a bit early. I have a review unit which I plan on testing and giving my thoughts/opinion on in the new few days. I reviewed its predecessor, the Plantronics Voyage 510, which had a cult following. I was a big fan of the Voyager 510 and have one on my desk. It is an excellent headset and one of the first to feature PC audio support via a Bluetooth dongle allowing you to use the headset on your mobile phone or your PC, supporting all your PC sound applications, including VoIP apps such as Skype.

    plantronics-voyager-pro-2.jpgThe new $99 Voyager Pro is pretty similar to the 510, though it is clearly targetting the Jawbone 2, with their AudioIQ2 technology which Plantronics claims results in superior sound quality which combines noise cancellation and wind reduction. I heard a few people that had early units say it's sound is even better than the Aliph Jawbone 2. Can't wait to test and see if that is indeed the case. [Note: the Jawbone Prime is newer, so will have to compare with that as well]

    Plantronics stated, "Today's headset users expect great noise cancellation and Plantronics Voyager PRO delivers it with AudioIQ2 and a unique adjustable dual-microphone boom. While other headsets deliver noise cancellation at the expense of overall audio quality, the boom provides the advantage of capturing your voice close to your mouth so the AudioIQ2 technology can more effectively remove ambient noise, while still maintaining the natural sound of your voice."

    Plantronics Voyager PRO features three layers of WindSmart technology. Dual external stainless steel microphone screens and acoustic fabrics that surround the microphones together help to eliminate wind noise. The AudioIQ2 DSP algorithms also intelligently decipher your voice from the wind to enhance the sound quality.
    plantronics-voyager-pro-3.jpg
    The Voyager PRO also features a custom speaker that delivers full-spectrum audio so conversations are richer and more vibrant. It sports an adaptive 20-band equalizer that helps eliminate distortio in the audio and automatically adjusts sound levels based on the noise level around you. It sports a talk time of 6 hours and a standby time of 5 days.

    Price:
    The Plantronics Voyager PRO is available at Best Buy for $99.99 and at www.plantronics.com, but will be available in other retail and wireless carrier stores in late May.

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    Comments on this Entry:

    (Wayne on Apr 23, 2009 1:02 PM) The headset looks like a great updated design of the 510, which I've liked for many years. I will be very interested in the noise canceling ability of the microphone. It definitely looks better than the 510 mic, but will need to block background noise to be considered a success.

    (wireless headset on Apr 23, 2009 6:31 PM) many people say the 510 is large in compare to the other BT headsets on the market. From it's balanced design, it's one of the most comfortable BT headsets I've ever worn. I've tried them all including the Jawbone. Maha http://headsetplus.com