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Kate Stolworthy

Answer and control your ProTalk IP Door Entry phone using your mobile phone

videocall on the iPadVoIP applications for smart phones
It is now possible to integrate your ProTalk IP Door entry system with: iPhone iPad iPod, Blackberry, Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices using a video softphone applications such as Vippie.

Using this softphone you can now have a videophone call with whoever is calling at your door from where ever you are with a wifi Internet connection. You can then decide whether to allow the visitor access by simply dialling in an access code to operate the door release.

The ProTalk door entry devices support both H263 and H264 video codecs, please check that your SIP service provider or PBX supports at least one of these.

The Vippie softphone supports both video codecs, it is a 3rd party application, please visit their website for more information: voipswitch.com

Snom Summer Special – Buy 5 Get 1 FREE!

snomProVu are delighted to bring you the ‘snom summer sales special’, until the middle of August we are running a promotion on the snom 821 and snom 870.

snom 821

snom 821

The most popular handset in the 8 series range due to its versatility, price and feature set which recently qualified for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

**Buy 5 snom 821s and get one snom 821 free, all with snom OCS edition Firmware included!**

snom 870

snom 870

The latest model of the 8 series is the snom 870 with 5 way call conferencing, 12 different SIP identities, 12 freely programmable virtual keys and an advanced touchscreen display enabling 5-way conferencing via drag and drop.

**Buy 5 snom 870s and get one snom 870 for free!**

ProVu and snom are offering you the following snom summer sales special, valid until August 15, 2011.

To place your order for this amazing offer please contact a member of the ProVu Sales Team on 01484 840048.

Reasons why NOT to buy the German variant of the Gigaset DX800A for use in the UK

Over recent days, having tested a German variant DX800A purchased from two of the Amazon UK German traders I have discovered the following:

  1. Fixed line is only configured for ISDN, major issue for most UK users unless they are connecting to ISDN.
  2. Outbound call “line” Selection differs: when you make a call using UK variant you can select from DX800/IP line (if set up), Fixed Line (PSTN) & Mobile. For German variant you can only select ISDN, IP & Mobile. I looked through the Web UI and can find no option to enable the PSTN.
  3. German language menu settings as default (we know about this already and can be changed in the menu).
  4. German language for answering machine voice option prompts which cannot be changed. This makes the answering machine completely unusable to anyone that doesn’t speak German.
  5. Gigaset.Net doesn’t and can’t be used for outbound calling (refer to point 2, need to call via the DX800A which isn’t offered as a connection path).
  6. German PSUs.
  7. German language UG.

The UK version of the Gigaset DX800A is only available to Gigaset Pro Authorised and Certified resellers.

Find out more about becoming a Gigaset Pro Authorised reseller

Aastra Promotion – buy 10 and get 1 FREE

Aastra PromoHere at ProVu, we have been working closely with Aastra and are pleased to announce this fantastic offer to you

Through the month of July we are able to offer you a BUY 10 GET 1 FREE offer on the following phones:

There is no limit to the number of offers you can purchase.

To place your order and for more information please contact a member of the sales team on 01484 840048

SARK meets PIKA

Article published by Maarten Kronenburg from Pika technologies. View the original article

“Sometimes I enter the office of a customer and just FEEL it – something’s brewing. A few weeks ago I was in the office of Provu in Northern England (www.provu.co.uk), and “that atmosphere” was in the air. Laptop computers were installed when I came in, the PIKA WARP Appliance fired up – it wasn’t going to be a meeting around a table with a firm agenda.

Provu sells software called SARK. The people from Provu had a demo ready for me of their SARK software running on the PIKA WARP Appliance. The Provu people have spent a fair bit of time on the subject which explains why they were excited. Their software is available in various configurations of course and the smallest one is now almost converted to the PIKA WAR Appliance. And I was blown away; the feature set of their software is very, very broad, the software is responsive, the screens look good, wow, very, very professional.

But what I liked best is the remote management facility that the SARK PBX offers. The unit can be accessed by a control room for a sanity check, performance measurement and more. But you can also click through to every IP device connected to the PBX and do the same thing. This is what I call “Controlled Devices”!

So if ever you don’t want to spend the (wo)man-years on developing software at this level of sophistication you’re in good hands at Provu.”

Find out more about the SARK 500

Recommended replacement products

Recently we have added lots of new items to our product portfolio but have also had to say goodbye to some old ones too.

A lot of the items do not have a direct replacement from the manufacturers, so here is a guide to our recommended replacements:

Discontinued products Recommended replacements
Gigaset C47 Gigaset C59H
Gigaset C475IP Gigaset C59H and Gigaset N300 AIP
Gigaset S68 Gigaset S79H
Gigaset S685IP Gigaset S79H and Gigaset N300 AIP
Gigaset HC450 ProTalk SIP doorphones
Cisco SPA-901 Cisco SPA-301G
Cisco SPA-921 Cisco SPA-303G
Cisco SPA-922 Cisco SPA-502G
Cisco SPA-941 Cisco SPA-303G
Cisco SPA-942 Cisco SPA-504G
Cisco SPA-962 Cisco SPA-525G2
Cisco SPA-525G Cisco SPA-525G2
snom M3 snom M9*

As these are not direct replacements some of the features may vary. Please check out the product information pages to make sure the items have all the features you need.

* Please note the snom M9 handset is not fully compatible with the snom M3 base and vice versa

10 cool things you can do with your snom desk phone

snom video integration1. You can integrate video and can open doors with your snom phone when using the ProTalk SIP door entry phone
How: Connect your door with ProTalk door entry system and control it using snom phone. You can even see door phone video on snom 8xx series phone. The door phone has relays that can be activated using DTMF tones.

2. You can customise the screen of your snom phone
How: For the 821 and 870 use our idle screen generator or if you have a phone from the 3xx series view our information on snom screen branding

3. You can customise your ringtone
How: Choose your desired ringtone then visit our ringtone generator to upload it.

4. You can completely restyle your phone including touch screen buttons, icons and display colours (snom 370, 821 and 870)
How: visit the snom wiki guide on how to brand your phone

5. You can customise the outside look of your phone with a DesignSkin
How: visit snom DesignSkins and choose from many designs or even create your own.

6. You can add images of your contacts so that when they call, their picture appears (snom 821 and 870)
How: Browse to your phone and add a phone book entry. You can also add a nickname, e-mail address, birthday, include in a group and make them a favourite.

7. Stream videos on your snom 821 or 870
How: visit snom’s video wiki guide for more information.

snom the iPhone phone changer8. You can charge your mobile through the USB port of your 821 or 870 snom phone
How: Simply plug in your mobile cable into the USB port of your phone, see the snom blog post.

9.You can create your own custom apps
How about being creative and making some really useful applications for your phone whether its a game or a calendar feed. snom shares some apps that other users have created on their did you know… webpage.

10. You can call people using click-to-dial
How: By integrating your snom phone with your existing database.

Have fun 🙂

Please note: we do not offer support on the services not provided by us

Snom UK to demonstrate new VoIP solutions at the Unified Communications Expo

UCExposnom will be launching its complete telephone solution, the snom ONE Plus, to the UK market at Unified Communications Expo in Olympia on 8th – 9th March. To find out more about the snom ONE plus, you can visit stand 717 in the Microsoft Partner Village at the UCExpo event.

Read more from snom Channel UK: snom UK to demonstrate new VoIP solutions at the Unified Communications Expo