What is a VoIP Phone?

In the last post, we talked about what SIP is and how it works. Today, we are going to go one step further to discuss what a VoIP phone is and how to select your VoIP phones. Let’s get started! 

What is a VoIP Phone? 

A VoIP phone is a telephone with built-in IP technology and transport protocols that is used in conjunction with a VoIP phone system or VoIP service allowing you to send and receive calls. VoIP phones are similar to a traditional desktop telephone (landline) except it uses a different underlying technology (IP). 

VoIP phones come with many varieties including corded VoIP phones, wireless VoIP phones, USB phones, video phones, conference phones and more! Click here to see more types of VoIP phones!

How to select your VoIP Phones

There’s a VoIP phone for every role! Selecting your ideal VoIP phone doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start from answering a few questions:

1. What phone system or VoIP service provider are you using?

It’s important to make sure that your phone is compatible with your VoIP phone system or service provider! Many of our customers thought they could just plug in the phone and get it work with any provider. That’s not true! You can download our compatibility guide here to learn more about it. 

2. Who will be using these VoIP phones?

An executive probably needs several line appearances to accommodate multi-party conference calls; while a manager might need a VoIP phone that has the ability to pick up, transfer and juddle several calls at once. Determine the role first will help you narrow down your options quickly. From there, you can decide what features and functionalities are necessary for your user. 

3. What’s the typical call volume?

Your typical daily call volume will determine how many line appearances your VoIP phone should have. Usually 3 to 5 lines will be sufficient for an average office worker, however, for receptionists and operators, you will probably need more than 10 lines.

4. What’s your budget?

Believe it or not – a VoIP phone price can range from $40 to over $400! While price should never be the most important factor in selecting an IP Phone it is important that you have a budget set for your IP phones, since you don’t want to overspend. A budget will also force you to take a hard look at what features and functions are most important to you.

The easiest way to find an ideal VoIP phone? Call one of our VoIP consultants at 1-800-8647! We have an experienced team here to help you, why not take advantage of it?

Check out our FREE VoIP Phone Guide to learn more about VoIP Phones! This educational guide to VoIP phones covers the phone technology, features and functions, phone types, purchase instructions, user based phone recommendations and more!