Polycom SoundPoint Pro SE-225 Phone Power Supply Included
by Polycom Inc.
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Polycom SoundPoint Pro SE-225 Phone Power Supply Included
Customer Review: OUTSTANDING home office speaker phone+
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this Polycom Pro SE-225 for so long I do not remember when I bought it but it could have been as far back as 10 yrs ago. This phone has performed flawlessly. The speaker phone is to die for although the rear mic usage by itself can have some echo effect. However, using both front and rear mics or just the front mic, people on the other end of the tele call do not know that I am on a speaker phone. I've even asked them if they could tell and none could. I have knocked this phone onto the floor on many occasions, and it still works perfectly.
The single cable from the T-splitter to the back of the phone is an added nice feature. I still use this with a printer/fax machine. I've previously used the data port interfaced to an internal modem in my desktop PC and NB computers using the auto-dialer in Outlook, Goldmine and ACT. All performed flawlessly. The settings for each of the 2-lines is more than adequate!
The only thing that I wish Polycom would add is the capability to program the address book via a PC or NB from Outlook or similar. Also, restricting the total entries to 99 could be increased since chip and memory storage capabilities are substantially better today than yesteryear.
Since I smoke in my home office, I have completely dismantled this phone on several occasions and thoroughly cleaned the key pads, mic ports, etc. This phone is rugged. I tried a whole bunch of phones in the past and have even recently tried a few for other rooms in the house, and I returned those due to lack of quality audio, lack of ruggedness or lacking features. This phone does get a bit warm underneath, but who cares when it works flawlessly.
In my opinion and at this price point without spending $1K+, this is THE PHONE for home offices. There is nothing else that I found that is like it.
Customer Review: Good value for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
With some trepidation I bought the PolyCom SoundPoint Pro #225 but it turns out to be just fine *for the price*. I suspect that a lot of the disappointment comes from making a direct comparison of this phone with the high end PolyCom equipment found in so many office conference environments. I think it's unrealistic to expect this desk top phone (...) to be as good as PolyCom's conference phones selling for three to four times as much.It is the best desk top speaker phone I've used. The loud speaker perhaps emphasises the bass too much. Thus sometimes recorded voices sound "boomy" but normal conversation seems excellent. It's a bit like hearing voice programs on a high fi system designed for music. I find it definitely good to acceptable. My correspondents have reported good quality sound.
Full duplex operation is excellent *as long as the highest volume for the speaker isn't used*. This is important since at the maximum volume full duplex seems to break down a bit. I suspect that some of the disappointment comes from trying to use this phone at the high volumes normally used for a conference phone. For normal conversations at my desk, I find setting the volume up half way is plenty loud enough and full duplex works well. Conversations are extremely natural.
All in all, I find this a good desk top speakerphone, better than anything else I know of. Yes, I would like and would pay for something better in the configuration of a desk top phone. Until I find one this phone is serving me well.
Note: I would save the money of buying the model with the second speaker. I never use it. This is not a true conference phone. Buy a high end PolyCom phone for that. You won't be disappointed.
Customer Review: Polycom SE-225 ... Simply the best.... worth every penny
Summary: 5 Stars
In short, this is the best phone I've used in over 20 years of telecom experience and selling over the phone. The sound quality is the best I have ever had... by far... and I have used everything from Nortel, Lucent, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola, etc... The speakerphone is flawless in both directions (the receive side is particularly good with richer bass and smooth treble frequencies).
I like the whole "feel" of the unit. The keys have a soft but positive-feeling touch to them, and it is difficult to mis-dial because of inadvertent double entries from the key pad. Practically every key provides a unique "one button" function (i.e., speed dial, choose a line, etc..) and it is easy to begin a new call or drop an old one off the 3-way conference function.
I also love the ease with which one can move from handset to speakerphone to headset... and without the slightest chirp to the far end letting them know you are changing postions or putting them on mute. It's as easy as pressing a button. And you don't need to leave the handset off-hook when using the speakerphone. That's really nice!
The only criticisms I have about the unit are:
1) No backlight in the LCD screen (not a biggy, but makes me position it differently in my office)
2) Too long a button sequence to go through in order to check missed incoming calls (5 button presses)
Other than that, it is perfect, and well worth the $200 you will pay to get one (check eBay for deals, though). Do yourself a favor and buy one; you won't be disappointed.
Customer Review: High Quality Phone
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a bit hesitant to purchase this phone given the mixed reviews. Ultimately, I was glad I did. The phone has an excellent build quality and doesn't require batteries. Many speaker phones with caller ID require batteries and those batteries drain very quickly. I have two lines into this phone and they are easily managed with the console buttons. Yes, the display should be angled up since it is a desk phone and you are usally not right on top of it, however, imo, not a deal breaker. Yes, it is true, while you can set ring tones, ring volumes and the dial tone volume, I have not located a way to adjust the keypad volume which can be a bit on the loud side in a quiet environment. Now on to the voice quality over the speaker which so many people have had issue with. Your voice will have that typical Polycom sound, a bit on the high side and it will sound like you are talking from a large room, however, no echo, just kind of like a concert hall EQ if you will. The voice quality is very clear and the two-way duplexing is unmatched. For an analog two line A/C operated full-duplex speakerphone with caller-id, I just don't know what other alternatives are out there other than this Polycom phone. The Panasonic's have lackluster reviews and the "office" phones you would find in a large company are usally digital pbx. Now, I'm no phone expert, however, I see no reason not to reccomend this phone. It is abit on the expensive side and you are likely paying a premium for the Polycom name, but the phone is solidly built and works well.Customer Review: Simple but works
Summary: 4 Stars
I had the phone for a week now. Here are the main observations I had so far:
Good:
Setup is easy and straight forward
Speaker quality is very good
Mic quality is good, support of duplex is great for long conf calls.
The rear mic, really helps the other side hear better. I am using it in a small home office room, and the phone is placed on my work table next to the wall.
All basic work functions are available and easy to use on the phone (mute, hold, conf, redial)
The bad:
The phone has zero bells and whisles. LCD display is dim,small and not up to date
The touch buttons are not led
speed dial is not easy to remember which is which
headset functionality is limitted to the 2.5 jack
hand set has a back noise due to the amplifier. It also sounds kind of remote when using as a regular phone. On top of it,the hand set is a little on the heavy and not comfortable side.
Using a Plantronics CS55 wireless headset provides good sound quality, but requiresthe lifter to be added for smooth operations.
I am using only a single line, so not sure how it would work with two lines.
Bottom line:
If you spend hours on conference calls, and don't care for old technology, this is a solid phone. I tried finding a phone that has it all, and just couldn't find one.
BTW, I bought mine on ebay as these type of phones can easily work for years, and didn't want to spend full retail price on old technology.