I was pointed recently towards a blog entry from VoIP phone vendor Snom, entitled "Why desktop phones rule". An entry which really struck a chord, echoing my views (or at least some of them) when it comes to the merits of desktop phones over softphones and mobiles.

Encapsulated in a list of 10 top reasons why desktop phones are still king of the business communications world there were the inevitable frivolous entries. Such as "headset hair is such a career-limiting look", and,  ever tried to slam a headset?"

Other, more serious, reasons however included a comment on how long a desktop phone can be expected to last - ten years apparently - compared to around two for a smartphone and just 10 months for the average headset. Then there was the fact that the desktop phone is always on, never needs its batteries replaced or re-charged and always gets a full set of bars, i.e. a full signal. Moreover, assuming you're talking to someone with a good connection at the other end, you can expect few issues when it comes to call quality.

Now, given that Snom sells mainly desktop phones, it's fair to say "they were bound to say all that, weren't they?" I should also point out that I can't verify the assertions regarding product life, and that as I've mentioned in other posts, desktop phones could be improved upon.

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Still it's hard to argue against a lot of the points in the Snom list, at least not given the current state of play in mobile and softphone technology, both of which need work if the desktop phone is to be dethroned.



This article is written by Alan Stevens and sponsored by Avaya. The opinions reflected in this piece are solely those of Alan Stevens and may not reflect those of Avaya management