New Grandstream GXP1700 Series IP Phones
At the end of November 2016, Grandstream Networks announced the launch of a new line of IP phones. The new GXP1700 range belongs to the mid-price range and includes three models - GXP1760, GXP1780 and GXP1782. Characteristically, the new devices do not replace obsolete models, but expand the already rather large product line of Grandstream IP phones. Why is it necessary for the manufacturer and what are the new products - we will try to understand this article.
At the moment, the company Grandstream produces two lineups of IP-phones. This is a conditionally budget line GXP1600 and conditionally premium GXP2100. Conditionally - because, for example, the oldest phone of the sixteenth series GXP1630 with three lines, 8 BLF keys, with not the smallest display and price ($ 85) falls into the budget category already quite conditionally. A similar situation with the GXP2130 - the cheapest device ($ 105) from the older series. The only thing that can relate it to the category of premium phones is a color display.
But, despite all the conventions, a certain gap in positioning between these two series of phones still exists, and new models are designed to fill this void. Grandstream marketers are pushing for it, calling the GXP1700 series nothing more than “Mid-Range IP Phones.” I see another reason for the emergence of a new lineup, but this is solely my subjective opinion. On the left in the photo is the youngest model of the new Grandstream phones - GXP1760, and on the right - the Yealink SIP-T42G IP phone from the Yealink SIP-T4 lineup quite popular in the States and Europe. It is clear that there is no question of direct borrowing here, but the phones are stylistically quite similar. To try in this way to win part of the market from a competitor is, in my opinion, a fairly logical and understandable idea.
As already mentioned, the new model range consists of three devices and they are all pretty similar. GXP1780 and GXP1782 are generally twin brothers, the only difference is that the model with a double at the end supports Gigabit Ethernet, but the GXP1780 does not. GXP1760 Differencesfrom older models a little more: firstly, fewer SIP accounts (3 vs 4) and lines (6 vs 8) are supported. Secondly, the number of BLF keys to the left and right of the display has been reduced from eight to six, due to which the number of actions programmed for them has been reduced from 32 to 24. Grandstream sent us the oldest model GXP1782, which we will meet today for testing. However, everything written will also apply to two other phones in the series, subject to the amendments voiced above.
Appearance GXP1782 is fully consistent with modern trends in the design of IP-phones. This is black matte plastic at the bottom and a glossy black frame at the top. The keys are rather large, rectangular in shape with minimal rounding. Numeric keys are made in metallic with black silk-screen printing, the rest are in classic black with white lettering. The handset of the phone is wide and not very curved, because of this it is not very convenient to remove it from the phone. The phone itself is also quite wide, due to which all the elements are located on it quite freely and do not put pressure on each other.
From the original features of the appearance, a bright light strip separating the top of the phone from the bottom and a pretty nice indicator of voice mail next to the display, which is almost invisible when turned off, can be distinguished. It is a pity that Russian users, for the most part not used to using voicemail, will not notice this original move by Grandstream designers.
The display of the new Grandstream phones is graphic black and white with backlight. Resolution - 200 by 80 pixels, diagonal - 3.4 inches, backlight brightness and contrast level are adjustable. Grandstream GXP1782 is another proof that the black-and-white display in the case of IP phones often outperforms the color ones in terms of usability. All information is displayed clearly, read easily, without stress. And a beautiful picture on the phone screen is not the second or even the tenth matter.
The only thing that upsets and slightly surprises is the organization of the graphical interface of the phone. In particular, by default only two of the four programmable keys located below the display are involved. They perform the functions of “call back” and enable / disable call forwarding. In the Web interface, you can assign an action to two other keys, but among the available options there is, for example, such an important function as “do not disturb”. To turn this mode on and off, you have to go deep into the menu, which is very inconvenient.
We’ll move from the standard context-sensitive keys to the main feature of the new phones - the BLF LED keys, which are located to the left and right of the display. More precisely, BLF is just one of several features available, so Grandstream prefers to call these keys Virtual Multi-Purpose Keys (VPK). In addition to the BLF function, the keys can perform functions such as active line selection, speed dialing, dialing in tone mode, intercom call, call recording, call parking, intercom, paging and others.
Despite the fact that there are only 8 physical keys (the GXP1760 has six), each of them can perform up to 4 different actions. Switching between actions is carried out by turning the virtual pages of the screen (therefore, the keys are called virtual). Of course, such a solution is less convenient than having 32 hardware keys, but in this case the phone would be much more bulky and expensive.
Let's move from the front of the phone to the back. On it we see two network ports: one hundred megabit in the case of the GXP1760 / GXP1780 and one gigabit in the case of the GXP1782. Naturally, there are two 4P4C connectors for connecting a tube and a regular wired headset. When using Plantronics headsets, the Electronic Pickup (EHS) feature is supported when calls can be received, rejected, and terminated directly from the headset. There is also a separate EHS port reserved for future use of an external EHS adapter.
All new phones support the ability to power through PoE (maximum consumption - 5 watts). Despite this, Grandstream, according to the old tradition, comes with all its phones with power supplies, and does not offer to purchase them separately. The microUSB port is used as the power connector, as in all the latest Grandstream products. This is convenient: firstly, such an adapter is always easy to find, and secondly, there is always something to charge your smartphone (if it is, of course, not an iPhone).
In addition to the microUSB port, the phones also have a full USB, hidden behind a plastic plug. Its use is very limited: at the moment it can only be used to store Pcap data. However, there is one useful application for this port - this is again charging the smartphone and other devices. The last of the connectors on the back of the phone is the Kensington lock.
Like all modern Grandstream phones, the new handsets stand out in terms of sound quality, both in normal mode and in speakerphone mode. The sound is quite normal, no rejection, as, however, does not cause delight. Of course, “HD” is written on the handsets of the phones, which means that they support the G722 broadband codec. However, here I would pay even more attention to the support of the free Opus auofioformat, which is still quite rare in other IP phones.
The new Grandstream phones support all major phone features. Of the interesting and unusual things, one can single out only the possibility of organizing 5-sided conference meetings without using the resources of the telephone exchange and a truly gigantic phone book with 2000 numbers. Filling it manually is almost impossible, but it is possible to import via XML. Search in the LDAP directory is also supported.
As for network functions, first of all, it is worth noting OpenVPN support (work with TLS certificates is not supported yet). Security is also provided through support for the SIPS and SRTP protocols. To control the access of phones to the network, 802.1X support is provided. When installing a large number of devices in the local network, VLAN and QoS will not be superfluous.
The new Grandstream phones have standard configuration options - an on-screen menu (can be disabled for security reasons), a Web interface, and automatic configuration from TFTP, HTTP, and HTTPS servers. As for the management and monitoring of telephones, support for the TR-069 and LLDP protocols can help in this matter.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, Grandstream GXP1700 series phones have not yet gone on sale in Russia, so their exact price is still unknown. However, the indicative figures are as follows: GXP1760 will be sold for $ 105 at retail, GXP1780 - for $ 112 and GXP1782 - for $ 117. This is a very good price for functional, convenient and, in my opinion, quite stylish phones. Another question is how relevant are mid-range phones for the current economic realities of our country, when customers are guided by the more and more budget models of IP phones every year? We will begin to receive an answer to this question already at the end of this - the beginning of next year, when the phones of the new series will appear on sale in Russia.
At the moment, the company Grandstream produces two lineups of IP-phones. This is a conditionally budget line GXP1600 and conditionally premium GXP2100. Conditionally - because, for example, the oldest phone of the sixteenth series GXP1630 with three lines, 8 BLF keys, with not the smallest display and price ($ 85) falls into the budget category already quite conditionally. A similar situation with the GXP2130 - the cheapest device ($ 105) from the older series. The only thing that can relate it to the category of premium phones is a color display.
But, despite all the conventions, a certain gap in positioning between these two series of phones still exists, and new models are designed to fill this void. Grandstream marketers are pushing for it, calling the GXP1700 series nothing more than “Mid-Range IP Phones.” I see another reason for the emergence of a new lineup, but this is solely my subjective opinion. On the left in the photo is the youngest model of the new Grandstream phones - GXP1760, and on the right - the Yealink SIP-T42G IP phone from the Yealink SIP-T4 lineup quite popular in the States and Europe. It is clear that there is no question of direct borrowing here, but the phones are stylistically quite similar. To try in this way to win part of the market from a competitor is, in my opinion, a fairly logical and understandable idea.
As already mentioned, the new model range consists of three devices and they are all pretty similar. GXP1780 and GXP1782 are generally twin brothers, the only difference is that the model with a double at the end supports Gigabit Ethernet, but the GXP1780 does not. GXP1760 Differencesfrom older models a little more: firstly, fewer SIP accounts (3 vs 4) and lines (6 vs 8) are supported. Secondly, the number of BLF keys to the left and right of the display has been reduced from eight to six, due to which the number of actions programmed for them has been reduced from 32 to 24. Grandstream sent us the oldest model GXP1782, which we will meet today for testing. However, everything written will also apply to two other phones in the series, subject to the amendments voiced above.
Appearance and Ergonomics
Appearance GXP1782 is fully consistent with modern trends in the design of IP-phones. This is black matte plastic at the bottom and a glossy black frame at the top. The keys are rather large, rectangular in shape with minimal rounding. Numeric keys are made in metallic with black silk-screen printing, the rest are in classic black with white lettering. The handset of the phone is wide and not very curved, because of this it is not very convenient to remove it from the phone. The phone itself is also quite wide, due to which all the elements are located on it quite freely and do not put pressure on each other.
From the original features of the appearance, a bright light strip separating the top of the phone from the bottom and a pretty nice indicator of voice mail next to the display, which is almost invisible when turned off, can be distinguished. It is a pity that Russian users, for the most part not used to using voicemail, will not notice this original move by Grandstream designers.
Display and interface
The display of the new Grandstream phones is graphic black and white with backlight. Resolution - 200 by 80 pixels, diagonal - 3.4 inches, backlight brightness and contrast level are adjustable. Grandstream GXP1782 is another proof that the black-and-white display in the case of IP phones often outperforms the color ones in terms of usability. All information is displayed clearly, read easily, without stress. And a beautiful picture on the phone screen is not the second or even the tenth matter.
The only thing that upsets and slightly surprises is the organization of the graphical interface of the phone. In particular, by default only two of the four programmable keys located below the display are involved. They perform the functions of “call back” and enable / disable call forwarding. In the Web interface, you can assign an action to two other keys, but among the available options there is, for example, such an important function as “do not disturb”. To turn this mode on and off, you have to go deep into the menu, which is very inconvenient.
BLF keys
We’ll move from the standard context-sensitive keys to the main feature of the new phones - the BLF LED keys, which are located to the left and right of the display. More precisely, BLF is just one of several features available, so Grandstream prefers to call these keys Virtual Multi-Purpose Keys (VPK). In addition to the BLF function, the keys can perform functions such as active line selection, speed dialing, dialing in tone mode, intercom call, call recording, call parking, intercom, paging and others.
Despite the fact that there are only 8 physical keys (the GXP1760 has six), each of them can perform up to 4 different actions. Switching between actions is carried out by turning the virtual pages of the screen (therefore, the keys are called virtual). Of course, such a solution is less convenient than having 32 hardware keys, but in this case the phone would be much more bulky and expensive.
Ports & Connectors
Let's move from the front of the phone to the back. On it we see two network ports: one hundred megabit in the case of the GXP1760 / GXP1780 and one gigabit in the case of the GXP1782. Naturally, there are two 4P4C connectors for connecting a tube and a regular wired headset. When using Plantronics headsets, the Electronic Pickup (EHS) feature is supported when calls can be received, rejected, and terminated directly from the headset. There is also a separate EHS port reserved for future use of an external EHS adapter.
All new phones support the ability to power through PoE (maximum consumption - 5 watts). Despite this, Grandstream, according to the old tradition, comes with all its phones with power supplies, and does not offer to purchase them separately. The microUSB port is used as the power connector, as in all the latest Grandstream products. This is convenient: firstly, such an adapter is always easy to find, and secondly, there is always something to charge your smartphone (if it is, of course, not an iPhone).
In addition to the microUSB port, the phones also have a full USB, hidden behind a plastic plug. Its use is very limited: at the moment it can only be used to store Pcap data. However, there is one useful application for this port - this is again charging the smartphone and other devices. The last of the connectors on the back of the phone is the Kensington lock.
Sound quality
Like all modern Grandstream phones, the new handsets stand out in terms of sound quality, both in normal mode and in speakerphone mode. The sound is quite normal, no rejection, as, however, does not cause delight. Of course, “HD” is written on the handsets of the phones, which means that they support the G722 broadband codec. However, here I would pay even more attention to the support of the free Opus auofioformat, which is still quite rare in other IP phones.
Telephone and network features
The new Grandstream phones support all major phone features. Of the interesting and unusual things, one can single out only the possibility of organizing 5-sided conference meetings without using the resources of the telephone exchange and a truly gigantic phone book with 2000 numbers. Filling it manually is almost impossible, but it is possible to import via XML. Search in the LDAP directory is also supported.
As for network functions, first of all, it is worth noting OpenVPN support (work with TLS certificates is not supported yet). Security is also provided through support for the SIPS and SRTP protocols. To control the access of phones to the network, 802.1X support is provided. When installing a large number of devices in the local network, VLAN and QoS will not be superfluous.
The new Grandstream phones have standard configuration options - an on-screen menu (can be disabled for security reasons), a Web interface, and automatic configuration from TFTP, HTTP, and HTTPS servers. As for the management and monitoring of telephones, support for the TR-069 and LLDP protocols can help in this matter.
Price
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, Grandstream GXP1700 series phones have not yet gone on sale in Russia, so their exact price is still unknown. However, the indicative figures are as follows: GXP1760 will be sold for $ 105 at retail, GXP1780 - for $ 112 and GXP1782 - for $ 117. This is a very good price for functional, convenient and, in my opinion, quite stylish phones. Another question is how relevant are mid-range phones for the current economic realities of our country, when customers are guided by the more and more budget models of IP phones every year? We will begin to receive an answer to this question already at the end of this - the beginning of next year, when the phones of the new series will appear on sale in Russia.