I was surprised to see a new Sipura phone listed in one of the telephony catalogs I receive. Last spring Cisco acquired Sipura, a popular VoIP hardware vendor. It seems that Cisco is now starting to offer Sipura products under the Linksys brand which accounts for some of the confusion. Strangely, the Sipura/Linksys 941 is not listed on either the Linksys or Sipura websites yet you seem to be able to purchase them from a number of online retailers. The popular VoIP-info wiki even has a page dedicated to the 941.
What originally caught my eye is the design of this phone, which is quite similar to the high-end Cisco VoIP phones, at a pricepoint of $149. The phone seems to support either four or two lines depending on which software key you enter which is a strange yet very Cisco-like thing to do. Assuming the phone performs as well as the Cisco phones this could be a promising phone for the cost-conscious small and medium size business.
Another development on the VoIP front is the price reduction in Wi-Fi SIP phones. Devices such as the UTStarCom F1000 phone are coming in for under $170. Keep your eye on these phones!
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