Gigaset unveils Pro range of IP phones for SMEs

German company Gigaset has unveiled new desk-based IP phones aimed at what it sees as a burgeoning SME market.

The Gigaset Pro range includes three PBX and two deskset phones that embrace the benefits of IP telephony such as scalability, interoperability and reliability, the firm said.

Jan Costa Thiele, vice president of Gigaset, told V3.co.uk that the firm is providing SMEs with a way to increase their IP telephony use with a simpler and easier deployment method.

"Because all the new products are interoperable with one another and all our existing products, SMEs can easily install the products and scale as and when necessary without having to do expensive installations," he said.

"We can also offer connectivity between offices around the world so we can scale the system to meet users' needs, and we expect the corded IP desk phone market to hit 45 million units by 2014 as this is how businesses are starting to communicate."

The new products are the DX800A (£254 excluding VAT), a self-contained PBX that supports five to seven users and is aimed at branch or home offices with a 3.5in cursor-controlled screen for navigation.

The DX800A also has Gigaset's Bluetooth-enabled Link2Mobile connectivity option that allows users to route calls to a desk phone from a mobile device but still using the tariff plan for the mobile device to take advantage of free minutes.

The TX300 (£1,273 excluding VAT) supports up to 15 users and is a dedicated PBX, while the TX500 (£2,122 excluding VAT) supports up to 30 users and can be scaled to up to 100 users.

Lastly, the DE700 (£195 excluding VAT) and DE900 (£280 excluding VAT) are large-scale IP phones with a 3.5in screen and a scroll wheel for navigation which can direct dial contacts stored in Microsoft Outlook.

All the phones can interoperate with network equipment from Cisco, HP, Avaya, Broadsoft and Shoretel, while the Link2Mobile connection works with all major manufacturers including Apple, HTC and Samsung.

Thiele added that Gigaset has undertaken a number of trials with customers and used the feedback to tweak the final versions. Two further phones will launch in three to four months' time.