Here's a short guide to help you choose the best VoIP phone for your conference or meeting room. We'll be looking at the Polycom range of IP conferencing phones, as they are widely regarded as the best for this purpose. All three models are based on the SIP protocol which is the open standard for VoIP.

There are now three models of VoIP conference phones in the Polycom range; the SoundStation IP 5000 (recently released, stock not quite available at the time of writing), the SoundStation IP 6000, and the SoundStation IP 7000, shown from top to bottom in the embedded images of this post.

The IP 5000 is the smallest and lowest price unit, ideally suited to executive's offices or small conference/meeting rooms. It has an approximate microphone pick-up range of 2.1 meters (7 feet) so works well on smaller tables. The IP 6000 has a pick-up range of 3.6 meters (12 feet) and at the top of the range the IP 7000 pick-up range is 6.1 meters (20 feet). The IP 6000 and IP 7000 also support a set of external microphones to increase their range making them suitable for even larger rooms.

At the top end of the scale for the largest rooms, two IP 7000 units can be connected together in tandem, along with one optional expansion microphone on each phone. The phones work together in this configuration and either unit can be used to control calling.

All three models support Polycom's HD Voice, have dynamic noise reduction, and resist interference from nearby wireless devices such as mobile phones. The IP 6000 and IP 7000 also have automatic gain control which keeps the in-call volume at a more consistent level.

All three devices also support Power over Ethernet (PoE) which means they can be powered from a compatible PoE switch (PoE devices will still work with standard switches too).

Being the top of the range, the IP 7000 also has a few additional features such as; mobile phone and computer connectivity, advanced software features like LDAP directory integration, integration with Polycom video conferencing systems and the ability to connect to external audio systems.

You might notice that there's no wireless VoIP conference phone like there is in the analog SoundStation range. If you do need a wireless solution then you can always use one of the SoundStation 2W wireless conference phones with an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) to hook into your VoIP system.

For further reading the Polycom website has a comparison page which you may like to read, there's also the detailed data sheets for the IP 5000, IP 6000 and IP 7000.

I hope this helps you choose the right VoIP conference phone for your situation. If you have any questions then please feel free to leave a comment below or drop us a line.