atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Other Telephones & Systems Looking for a 1st phone system for my parent's small biz

Andy,
I know we do not discuss specific prices here, but why install yourself? I know for a fact that there are systems out there that would do most if not all of what you are looking at, and they can be refurbished as ed said, or even new and still be in your price range. Certainly you could get a refurbished Partner system installed for around 2-5K and it will be professionally installed (well, hopefully.....LOL). Or you could even get a new system by some brands (NEC, Vertical Comdial, Vodavi) that would fit your price range of around 5k - but not less and possibly more. Search some vendors, thay have good products for the most part and can help educate and make sure a good job is done.

Steve

If all your interested in is auto attendant and not voicemail then you might want to check out the FX-416 made by KCE It has auto-attendant, FAX detection and uses standard telephones so it fits your budget It doesn't compare to a good key system if you need more features.

Why not try a hosted system? Suretel is one of them. Everything is kept at their site. All you have is a soft phone running on your PC. Dont know what prices run but its an option.

My other suggestion, putting aside your budget would be to get an ESI system. You can have all wireless sets and still have all the functionality of a desk top set. You can also have a combination of both. VM, AA, off site forwarding, etc... all in one box!

You can also find a used Avaya Partner ACS and run plain ol' single line cordless sets as an extension. Then again, you would have to purchase VM seperately and lose a few functions that a desk top set would offer.

Hello All,

I am a Representative of Talkswitch, and was interested in seeing Talkswitch on this forum. I hope to address some of the issues that are being presented here and also answer any questions. Warning this email will be rather lengthy.

As you stated in the first response to this thread, most systems including the proprietary phones are going to result in much more than $2000. This does not included cordless. With Talkswitch you can use any cordless phone you like, even one your purchase at circit city, or business depot. Talkswitch markets to business that have less than 32 users or VERY small business. Ability to use any analog phone is a huge selling feature, not a hindrance as you've suggested.

You can put a person on hold from any phone by pressing the flash key. You can have someone else pick up the phone by hitting *500, the Pick up button on our phones, or by programing *500 into a programmable soft key on any handset. Saying Talkwitch does not do this is blatantly not true.

TalkSwitch was founded in 1990. Is a core founder of the SIP connect initiative with the leading IP telephony vendors in the industry including Avaya, BroadSoft, Cisco Systems, and Mitel. Received many awards through the last 15 years, included Comdex awards, Pulver Listings, and Internet Telephony Best of Show. Please, let me know which acronyms you feel are not represented correctly and i'll have a look.

Talkswitch Feature list...
Voicemail
Remote Extensions
Customer Installable
VoIP Enabled
Analog Phones
Remote Management & Configuration
Auto Attendant
Music On Hold
Intercom
Public Announce(PA System)
Fax Detection
Mode Scheduling
Call Handling
Dial – By - Name Directory
Remote Voicemail Access
Call Forward
Call Queue
Call Cascade
Ring Groups
Conference Call
Call Bridge/ Call back.
Call Screen
Call Park
Distinctive Ring

Talkswitch includes all of the above features as STANDARD. They are included on our Less than $700 - 2 line 4 extension box. Im not sure which other features are "in development" that other systems have had for decades. In fact, I dont know of another system that cost so little, that includes even half of the list above. Its possible, and if anyone else does know, please let me know so i can review it.

Interesting. Many of our customers say just such things, Including Clemson State University. “The flexibility of the system is just too good to be true,” he says. “We had a number of criteria that we needed a phone system to meet. TalkSwitch was the only one that met those criteria within our budget. It’s exceeded anything I could possibly have imagined.” But you can see for yourself here; www.talkswitch.com/download/talkswitch/case_studies/Clemson%20case%20study.pdf Or better yet type in "Talkswitch review" in google to see what many customers are saying.

I hope i could clarify some of your questions and would like to hear any other comments or feedback anyone may have.

Regards,

Amanda
Talkswitch Rep

I have a customer in Marina del Rey who is trying to sell off his Intertel AXXESS because he downsized and has a complete system sitting in boxes in his office, working when removed.

Sometimes you can get everying for the price you want, and I emailed him. Now if only I can get the winning lottery ticket without buying one.

you have mail

Re: Talkswitch. Give me a break. The only users who can operate a single line phone on a switch are power users, the guy who bought himself, installed
and wasted a lot of his time reading and working with the system and employees of big companies with PBX's that have in house trainers for in service training and questions. Thats why when you call the City you get cut off and misdirected.
*500 picks up what line?? I answer the phone and
press flash, then page the warehouse to pick up the call. I take another 2 calls and can't see that the w/h has not picked up the call, Im trying to talk to new customer and call is beeping back but i have no idea what the heck is beeping back
and no display to inform me. Now it's BFH time
for the single line phone. Sure there's a place for Slt systems, somewhere. But anyone who's in this business who has a warm body and is breathing knows that for the average person you need a key system with a button for every line and preferably
a display for the anyone who answers the phone a lot and no cryptic codes for things like paging and transfer. You can't do business with a company
you can't get in touch with. Spend your energy doing your business and not trying to figure out
a bunch of complicated codes.

I have a Talkswitch 24-CA. It's awesome. Add to the features listed above because a firmware upgrade was made available recently.

You can now do "call detail record logging"

I really like this system. The other competitors who tried to rival it are no longer in business. Those guys were Solopoint (Los Gatos, CA) and Voice Logic (Dallas, TX)

Mr. Hollis with your industry knowledge you are making Brokeda's case exactly,

There are many features that are already "out there" on many other systems but NOT for small business. SOHO is still catching up but catching up she is. The price for a Talkswitch and what it can do as opposed to the systems that have been around a while cannot be compared. They cater to two different markets.