Polycom, a provider of standards-based unified communications (UC), has introduced a new multimedia phone, the Polycom (News - Alert) VVX 500, saying that it “dramatically” improves productivity for multi-tasking knowledge workers.
An all-in-one, desktop productivity business solution, the new offering combines a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone with streaming video, and instant access to applications and Web content.
The Polycom VVX 500 delivers the “legendary Polycom user experience” with one-touch access to the essential features of a company’s UC environment, and the HD voice and content quality that only Polycom provides, said Michael Seto, vice president of product management for personal products and alliance solutions at Polycom.
With the new Polycom VVX 500, companies can reclaim hours lost to inefficiency and miscommunication by streamlining everyday tasks and delivering access to Web applications independent of employees’ PCs into a single communications device, Seto said.
Based on open standards, the Polycom VVX 500 allows users to check their calendars; dial up contacts; watch video files; check stocks, sports and weather; and launch conference calls, all from a simple touch screen interface.
Company officials said that it’s interoperable with millions of other internet protocol (IP) private branch exchange business telephone systems already deployed. Moreover, thanks to the open architecture, developers can introduce applications that can take advantage of the telephony capabilities and functions in the phone, creating full-featured, context-aware applications for performance business media phones.
The new phone ships with the Polycom Productivity Suite, a set of tools that helps users stay connected with access to calendar information that is stored on their PC, phone and the Web.
The Polycom VVX 500 business media phone is expected to be available through certified Polycom reseller partners in November.
Earlier this month, the company introduced a new conference phone called the Polycom SoundStation Duo.
Anshu Shrivastava is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anshu’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Tammy Wolf