Just a clarification on the batteries.

You buy gel cell batteries that do not outgas and you put them on something just above the floor so they are not subject to cold from concrete.

You can source these from a battery wholesaler locally, you just need to know the system capacity which should be in a general description of the phone system.

I don't know about the other systems, but Toshiba and Samsung both have battery backup just by adding batteries and it is much less expensive than the AC powered units.

I push battery backup on every system I sell just because it is so cheap for the customer to get the batteries and the guideline is that after 5 years you will have about 50% of capacity that you had new.

If you buy a system that has no true battery backup such as a Norstar MICS, then even if you have an APC unit, it will keep you free of flickers that happen to the AC supply.

The cost of the addition of a few batteries to a 50 phone system is insignificant and you get the added run time of not wasting power to convert batteries to AC to have the system convert it back to DC to run the phones.

No matter what system you buy, it will work. None of the systems you mentioned is an unreliable system. I still suggest a 5 year warranty on any voicemail as that has always been the weakest link in the reliability of a phone system.

Your biggest issue should be how well the system fits your needs to do what you want, and not everyone wants VOIP phones in the Execs homes. If you want to check on customer service, ask the salesman for the name of some company they have serviced for 5 years or more and call them up while the salesperson is in the office.

The one thing we include with every system is an EFI surge protector. They and others give you a lifetime $10,000 or more warranty on damage from an AC surge. For $60 or less this is the cheapest insurance in the world.

We had a customer call us one morning and say that their Toshiba was dead. I responded that Toshibas don't die and sure enough when we got there the phones didn't work. We went into the phone room and unplugged the EFI surge protector. It rattled like a box of marbles. Taking the unit apart it was a bunch of black pieces blown apart so the surge had to be huge but it protected the Toshiba.

We plugged the Toshiba in another outlet and the phones were back up. Went to the car and replaced the EFI surge protector. There are other brands of surge protectors but this brand had $10, 000 of insurance that will pay for new equipment if the surge protector blows up. Get a surge protector of any brand that will buy replacement equipment if it fails.

Many vendors will give you or sell you a five year warranty that comes from the manufacturer themselves. I would stay away from buying a 5 year warranty that covers the last four years from a third party vendor. You never know if these people will be in business or not any you've paid your money.

THE Bracha, old blond specialist in Rube Goldberg solutions.