Snom M9 vs Siemens Gigaset A510

[zhsa]

I need some advice choosing a wireless DECT IP Phone. I've narrowed my choices down to either the Snom M9/M9R or the Gigaset A510. I need to have 16 Wireless Extensions setup and connected to a hosted PBX.

My intention is to have the 16 Handsets connected to either 3 or 4 Base Stations (to save on hardware and cabling). From what I understand the Siemens Base Stations can have 6 Handsets connected to a single base with 3 simultaneous calls per base. The Snom can handle 9 Handsets and 4 simultaneous calls.

My question is if I connect multiple handsets to a single base will they all ring simultaneously? Or can they be setup to ring individual extensions? The Snom seems capable of doing this? Im not sure about the Siemens?

Another plus factor with the Snom is the ability to Roam between Base Stations which increases the range significantly.

Does anyone have experience with these phones or can you suggest any alternatives? Any comments will be appreciated.

Thanks

[drs]

We've used the Siemens Gigaset S685IP and A580IP handsets. The software for those is almost identical, so it could be the same in the A510IP. (Note that there is an A510 model which doesn't do VOIP, so you want the A510IP.)

They worked well enough, but then we switched to a different PBX which uses SIP over TLS and found that our Gigasets only support unencrypted SIP over UDP. We're also considering trying the Snom phones.

[Rocket-Boy]

I have 5 Snom M9's connected to a single base station around the office. They all have individual profiles set so they only ring when they are specifically dialled but can also call internally to each other.
Snom make the best VoIP phones hands down.

[Gambit]

We have snom m3's and siemens a58's in the office. The snoms were way more expensive per handset but they are way better than the siemens. To transfer as call on the siemens phone is difficult and awkward, on the snom it is a piece of cake.

[zhsa]

Thanks for all the advice. I had a feeling the Snom's would be a better choice.

In terms of pricing:

Snom M9R Base and 1 Handset - R1,600 ex Vat
Snom M9R additional Handsets - R700 ex VAT

Gigaset A510IP and 1 Handset - R750 ex VAT
Gigaset A510 additional Handsets - R350 ex VAT

If the Gigasets don't support individual extensions on a single base then the cost would be almost the same as I would have to buy the complete kit @ R750 for each extension.

[Rocket-Boy]

The snoms can support multiple identities per handset too so you can have more than one configuration per unit. The range is also really good on the M9 and the speakerphone is the best I have used.

[Gambit]

Thanks for all the advice. I had a feeling the Snom's would be a better choice.

In terms of pricing:

Snom M9R Base and 1 Handset - R1,600 ex Vat
Snom M9R additional Handsets - R700 ex VAT

Gigaset A510IP and 1 Handset - R750 ex VAT
Gigaset A510 additional Handsets - R350 ex VAT

If the Gigasets don't support individual extensions on a single base then the cost would be almost the same as I would have to buy the complete kit @ R750 for each extension.

The siemens we have which I think are the cheapest ip phones definately support multiple extensions per base and you can assign the extensions to which ever handsets. Same as with our snoms.

[WireFree]

Personally, I would recommend Snom over the Gigaset.

There is more technical and support information available online for the Snom than the Gigaset.
http://wiki.snom.com/Main_Page has almost all the info you would require.
The Snoms also have a more comprehensive feature set that is suited for the business environment.

[morkhans]

We've had lots of comebacks on the M9's purely based on build quality (corded handsets are 100%). It's a mix beween abuse and using them in more rugged environments like factories etc. which they are not suited for.

By far the best DECT phones is the Kirk/Polycom range but they come at a price. They do however support full roaming and call hand-over between base stations. Siemens and Snom can't do this.

Be careful of how many gigasets you pair on a base station as they support limited concurrent calls. Asterisk for instance because of how it bridges calls you won't be able to perform an attended transfer to another phone on the same base station.

[zhsa]

We've had lots of comebacks on the M9's purely based on build quality (corded handsets are 100%). It's a mix beween abuse and using them in more rugged environments like factories etc. which they are not suited for.

The phones will mostly be used in an office environment so Im not too concerned about abuse. There's a couple that will be used in the warehouse (receiving, despatch etc). For those I was thinking of getting this protective cover:

http://www.alloy.com.au/product.aspx?id=SNOM-3352

I believe the hardware's also been upgraded on the M9R. Hopefully its a bit more robust than the M9.

By far the best DECT phones is the Kirk/Polycom range but they come at a price. They do however support full roaming and call hand-over between base stations. Siemens and Snom can't do this.

Does this mean the Snom can roam between stations but not do a call hand-over? I don't really see the point of roaming between stations if calls can't be handed over???

Do you have any idea of pricing on the Kirk 520/2010? I can't seem to find any info locally.

Thanks

[morkhans]

Does this mean the Snom can roam between stations but not do a call hand-over? I don't really see the point of roaming between stations if calls can't be handed over???

Do you have any idea of pricing on the Kirk 520/2010? I can't seem to find any info locally.

Thanks

What the M9 can do is register to more than one base station. So you can take a call on BS1 end it. Register to BS2 and make your next call from it. If you move out of range of a BS while on a call it will drop. With a porperly deployed Kirk/Polycom solution it will hand the call over to the next BS while on the call. What this also means is you have to configure every single extension you expect to be on the BS for the M9, which can be cumbersome.

PM me your details and I can get someone to contact you on pricing for the Kirk/Polycom stuff.

[Hummercellc]

The gigaset can't transfer calls when using any asterisk based PBX...

Snom is better!

[morkhans]

The gigaset can't transfer calls when using any asterisk based PBX...

Snom is better!

Yes it can. If your DTMF is set correctly you can use asterisk transfers.

[gmza]

We sell way more Gigasets than Snoms, however, for the scenario you have described, the Snom M9(r) is the way to go, without a doubt.

BTW, the Gigaset base can do 2 simultaneous VoIP calls. The 3-call limit is only if 1 of the 3 calls is a PSTN (non-VoIP) call.

The simplified rule we use for DECT VoIP: If it is for home/residential/soho on a direct line, go Gigaset; If it is for a switchboard setup, go Snom.

You're talking about quite a large dect setup. The other thing to look at is the RTX I Serve (http://www.evenflow.co.za/prod/IP-Ph...0I%20Serve/648) however, I must stress that I've never used that product before and am not recommending it so much as saying that the specifications of it are, at least on paper, ideal for what you're trying to do.

I also agree with Morkhans on the build quality of the Snom M9; do NOT use it in a factory environment or anywhere other than a regular office space as the handsets are fragile.

Neither the Snom M9 nor A510IP are ideal for very noisy environments either (e.g. restaurants). Either go for a corded handset or use something like a Nokia E51.

[warwickw]

I also agree with Morkhans on the build quality of the Snom M9; do NOT use it in a factory environment or anywhere other than a regular office space as the handsets are fragile.

I can concur the Snom M9 build quality is pathetic.