Lee Carlander: Tell us a little bit about the difference between Polycom’s new VVX line of Multimedia Business phones vs the older Polycom SoundPoint Line.

Chris Rose: Well basically the VVX line is the next generation of the Polycom phones featuring things like color touch screens, additional line keys, and advanced application support. The VVX line completely replaces the old SoundPoint line at a similar price point with increased features and a simpler user interface.

Lee Carlander: Tell us a little bit about the differences between the new VVX phone models.

Chris Rose: Starting at the high end you have the VVX 600 which Impulse will start selling today for $420.  It has a large 4.3 inch color touch screen and bluetooth built right in so you can use a standard bluetooth headset.  The large screen really comes alive when you connect the new VVX 720p camera for a high quality video call.  The larger screen also supports 16 line keys, which when used with Impulse’s new BLF (Busy Lamp Field) feature allow you to monitor the presense of 15 employees.

Next you have the VVX 500 phone which is just the smaller 3.5 inch screen version of the VVX 600 without bluetooth which allows it to be priced at a breakthrough price point of $350.  The VVX 500 still supports video conferencing, and like the VVX 600 you can add a USB memory stick to record calls in HD, which is actually how we recorded this interview.  Using BLFs you can monitor up to 11 users right on the 3.5 inch color touch screen.  Busy Lamp Fields on these high resolution screens are a huge benefit allowing you to see who is on a call and if you want more information you can actually touch and hold on the user to see who they are talking to and for how long.  This is great for an executive assistant or a sales manager who wants a view into the presence of what is going on with their team.

At the midrange you have the VVX 400 which is the non-touch version of the VVX 500 phone with out the video support.  It still allows you to monitor 11 employees and has the same great new upgraded user interface that all the VVX phones support.  At the lower price point of $220 it is a great option if you don’t need video and don’t need touch but still want presence monitoring with all the BLF line keys.

Lastly you have the VVX 300 which replaces the older entry level Polycom IP335 with a much higher feature set and larger screen but Impulse is offering it at the same great $140 price point.  It has 6 line keys for monitoring a smaller set of users, and of course like all the Polycom phones supports their legendary HD voice calling.  This is a killer entry level phone which Impulse will be providing for free via an instant rebate on up to ten phones on a 24-month contract for new customers, and if they want to upgrade to a different phone they can just pay the difference.

Lee Carlander: Tell us a little bit more about the new VVX camera that was just released.

Chris Rose: So the VVX camera is a 720P camera that you connect to the VVX 500 and VVX 600 phones via a USB port on the top, and once connected it enables seamless HD video calls.  When you call another VVX phone with a camera attached you will instantly see each other in 720P HD.  While there are many other ways to do a video call today such as using Skype or FaceTime the difference here is you don’t even have to think about it, you just dial a user’s extension like you always have and all of a sudden you see each other on the screen.  It is pretty amazing what happens when every call in the office is video enabled and integrated right into the phone.  The other nice thing is that it will work with the Polycom room systems, so you can have users call into the conference room and their image is displayed on a large flat screen TV which can be conferenced in with other users all displayed like Hollywood Squares with amazing quality.  We really think at the new price point of $350 for the VVX 500 phone and $120 for the camera you finally have the right price point to get video on every user’s desk in an office.

Lee Carlander: Do you worry that the new VVX line of phones will actually be overkill for some users?

Chris Rose: The feature set is pretty incredible, but the thing to keep in mind is that the VVX 300 replaces the old entry level Polycom Soundpoint IP335 at the same price, so for $140 you just get a phenomenal phone.  If you need more line keys you move up to the VVX 400, if you want touch and video support you move to the VVVX 500 and finally if you want to take advantage of large screen video calling and bluetooth support you have the VVX 600. So, it is a pretty clear cut line all the way from entry level at a great price point up to an amazing large screen video phone.  Don’t forget these all have industry leading HD Voice and full duplex speakerphones.  Looking at the competition there really is nothing that compares at this price point, we are pretty excited to start getting these new phones on our customers desks.

If you would like to set up a live demo with one of Impulse’s product specialists please give us a call at 805-456-5800 or send an email to sales@impulse.net