First Look: Polycom VVX Phones and Expansion Modules

In the last quarter of 2012 Polycom made a major addition to their video conferencing product offering with the release of their Polycom Group Series. During this announcement they also released the Polycom VVX 600 to build on their existing Polycom Business Media family.  Earlier this year the family grew a little more with the addition of the Polycom VXX Camera but this week the Polycom Business Media phones family really expanded when it had sextuplets with the release of four new phones and two expansion modules. Two more phones and they would have been in the running for a basic cable reality show.

What Is It?

Polycom VVX 300/310

The Polycom VVX 300 and Polycom VVX 310 are the two new entry phones in the VVX family and are targeted to play in the same space as the Polycom IP 321, IP 331 and IP 335. Both the VVX 300 and the VVX 310 have 6 line appearances, Polycom HD Voice, 208×104 grayscale graphical, RJ9 headset jack with EHS capabilities, IEEE 802.3 af PoE and dual RJ45 ports. The difference between the two models is the VVX 300 has 10/100 RJ45 ports while the VVX 310 has Gigabit ports.

Polycom VVX 400/410

The Polycom VVX 400 and Polycom VVX 410 have been designed for “front line staff handling moderate volume of calls.” In a comparison to the SoundPoint phones the VVX 400 and VVX 410 would be a match for people that have been using or considering the IP 335 or IP 450. Both models have 12 line appearances, Polycom HD Voice, 3.5” Color LCD, RJ9 headset jack with EHS capabilities, IEEE 802.3 af Poe and dual RJ45 ports. Like the VVX 300/310 phones the only difference between these models is the VVX 400 has 10/100 RJ45 ports while the VVX 410 has Gigabit ports.

The two sets of phones do share some of the same features when it comes to functionality. Both utilize Polycom Zero Touch provisioning to make deploying, administrating, upgrading and maintaining them easier. Like other VVX phones they both also feature easy integration with third-party UC and productivity applications. For integration with your desktop you can manage your Microsoft Exchange Calendar through the phone, even when the computer is off, and extend the phones screen to your desktop to navigate your phone with your mouse and keyboard.

Polycom VVX Expansion Modules

The Polycom VVX Expansion Module and Polycom VVX Color Expansion Module are the new sidecar modules that will not only work with the new VVX 300/310 and VVX 400/410 but can also be used with the VVX 500 and VVX 600. Up to three VVX Expansion Modules can be paired with each VVX phone turning them into optimal solution for telephone attendants – receptionists, administrative assistants, secretaries, and other “power users” who manage multiple simultaneous telephone calls on a daily basis.

VVX Color Expansion Module

• 4.3” TFT (480 x 272) LCD screen
• 30 illuminated bi-color programmable line keys; GUI configurable
• 3 Page View soft keys to access total of 90 monitored contacts (3 x 30)
• Supports Profile Pictures and other AD objects
• Polycom Desktop Connector (PDC) support 

VVX Expansion Module

•  40 illuminated bi-color LED keys programmable line keys; GUI configurable
• Daisy-chainable for a total of 120 contacts (3 x 40)
• 2 x AUX ports (SPI) for connectivity and power propagation from the host
• Expandability up to 3 modules

Pricing

The new Polycom phones and expansion modules have been priced to be competitive with the SoundPoint cousins:

• Polycom VVX 300 – MSRP $179
• Polycom VVX 310 – MSRP $ 219
• Polycom VVX 400 – MSRP $259
• Polycom VVX 410 – MSRP $299
• Polycom VVX Color Expansion Module – MSRP $225
• Polycom VVX Expansion Module – MSRP $105

Availability

All of the new Polycom VVX phones and expansion modules are schedule for release in April 2013. VoIP Supply is currently accepting pre-orders on all of the new products.