Last Evening, VoIPon attended the ITSPA Awards celebration. The event was well attended by leading companies in our industry, such as Snom, Digium and Polycom, and all in all over one hundred people including parliamentarians, civil servants and industry representatives attended. The awards were presented in five categories, representing different areas of the VoIP and Unified Communications industry.

The ITSPA is the UK’s industry body for Internet Telephony Service Providers. Founded in 2004 with over 60 members that range from the largest Tier one operators to the newest entrants, members provide services to millions of consumers and businesses.

We want to offer our congratulations to all the ITSPA Award Winners.

Polycom VVX

Polycom VVX1500

We want to especially congratulate Polycom, who took home the award for Best VoIP hardware for its Polycom VVX1500.   We’ll cover this product in more detail in an upcoming VoIP Uncovered podcast.

Another product that deserves coverage in more detail snom’s 870. Although only receiving what amounts to second place at the awards, coming in behind the award winner BT’s IP Exchange, the snom 870 is a particularly innovative product and we think it deserves special mention.
The snom 870’s screen design is extra large and can be viewed at many angles, while allowing users to easily handle complex tasks like swapping calls or creating conference calls for three callers via a simple “drag and drop” arrangement.

A structured address book ensures each caller can be quickly identified. Because the beautifully German-designed phone has such a large screen, there is more space for displaying information, such as company name, e-mail and other items. Plus, the phone is designed for active call handling, so the correct contact is selected, even in multiple call situations.

In addition to the exceptional call quality that customers expect, there is even an integrated XML mini browser that provides a wide range of additional applications—such as to control an external USB device or access the latest share price—there is loads of space for extras.

Even security is important in the Snom 870. Features like secure VPN, TLS and SRTP are integrated into the 870’s firmware and a secure connection via VPN, TLS and SRTP prevents the unwanted recording of data.

snom 870 touchscreen VoIP phone in Black or White snom 870 Touchscreen VoIP phone in Black or White

All in all it’s a very interesting product and one that is worth checking out the next time you’re in the market for IP phones. You can read more on the technical specifications on the snom 870 phone on the VoIPon website.