Last week we confessed to a VoIP product backlog and we began to reduce the queue by looking at a software-only, Session Inititation Protocol-based VoIP PBXs and adapters that allow you to use analog phones with a SIP-based service.
This week we’ll look at a couple of hybrid telephony solutions, that is, products that combine analog phones with VoIP.
Our first product is Actiontec’s VoSky Call Center (VCC). The VCC is a micro-PBX that supports one Skype line and a plain old telephone service line or a VoIP service that presents what looks like a POTS line (such as Vonage).
Many moons ago we reviewed Actiontec’s Internet Phone Wizard and we liked what we found. We like this new product even more.
A nice feature of the hardware, besides being small (11.5 by 8.5 by 2.5 centimeters) is it doesn’t require YAWW (Yet Another Wall Wart) as it is powered by its USB connection to your PC.
When we referred to the VCC as a micro-PBX we weren’t kidding: It allows you to make and take calls on your POTS line or your Skype line, and you can use the built-in call-waiting features to toggle between lines. There’s support for Skype’s speed-dialing feature, and you can enable “follow me” to route incoming Skype calls to a POTS number and incoming POTS calls to a Skype number.
But wait! There’s more! You can also call in on the POTS line and with the right security code the VCC will route your call to Skype and let you call any number you like on the Skype network.
If the Skype user is unavailable at the time, the VCC can automatically call you back. It also provides a voice mail service that takes messages from your POTS line and your Skype line.
The VCC is a terrific piece of engineering, and for $60 it is a steal for anyone who uses Skype along with a POTS line or standards-based VoIP services and who would prefer to have just one handset.
Actiontec also offers larger systems that cost about $1,000, add four or eight Skype lines to existing PBXs and offer loads more features.
Our other hybrid VoIP device this week is the TalkSwitch 284vs from Centrepoint Technologies. This is a PBX that comes with all of the expected features, such as support for four POTS lines and eight local analog or IP extensions along with 10 remote extensions.
Other TalkSwitch models support two or eight POTS lines and four local analog or IP extensions, and you can add eight IP extensions as an option. What’s interesting is that all the models support four VoIP trunk lines.
Another neat feature is that up to four TalkSwitch units can be connected over a LAN to give a maximum capacity of 16 POTS lines and 16 VoIP trunks and up to 32 local and 40 remote extensions with a maximum of 64 IP extensions.
Installation and setup was easy enough but, as you might expect, there are lots of configuration details to deal with — not surprising given what these devices can do.
We set up the TalkSwitch with a POTS line and an external SIP service line. For extensions we used a TalkSwitch TS-600 phone, which is a sophisticated analog business speakerphone, along with a regular analog phone connected to an analog port on the 284vs, and an analog phone connected by a D-Link VoIP DVG-2001S terminal adapter connecting as a SIP phone. Everything worked beautifully.
The TalkSwitch is a really good PBX but its addition of more or less seamless VoIP support puts it in a completely different class. Priced at $1,395, the TalkSwitch 284vs and the TalkSwitch TS-600 phone at $189 are an excellent value.
Read more of Gearhead's thoughts on these hybrid telephony products.