Cisco adds colour to IP phone range

But would you pay $1000 for a phone you can't take out of the building?

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Data Networking, 11th September 2003 12:25 GMT

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Cisco this week announced a new IP telephone with a high resolution, colour touch-screen, as well as enhancements to two of its entry-level IP phones to make them better suited for the delivery of business applications.

The networking giant's first ever colour IP phone, the 7970G, is due in the first calendar quarter of 2004 with a step price of $995 that will put it out of reach of most users, we suspect.

For most IP telephony shops the addition of XML support and network-based application support on the entry-level Cisco IP Phones 7905G and 7912G is likely to be of more immediate relevance.

According to Cisco, the added XML-support on these entry-level phones enables users to access business information using the monochrome pixel-based display, extending productivity applications to a broader range of users.

The Cisco IP Phone 7905G and 7912G are available now at list prices of $135 and $165 respectively. The enhanced XML capabilities are scheduled to be available with the upcoming software release of Cisco CallManager near the end of this year at no additional cost.

Cisco lifted the kimono on developments to its IP phones portfolio at its third annual Cisco Innovation Through Convergence Expo (ITC) in Santa Clara, California this week. The Expo provides Cisco's development partners the opportunity to showcase XML applications running on Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID) networks. ®