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Posted By: Bullfrog IPK II Questions - 09/19/07 01:03 PM
We have been researching new phone equipment for several months now. I have been following these boards to see some of the pros/cons of the systems we have considered. We are seriously considering the IPK II, as it has a very nice feature set and seems to be of high quality.

However, the only thing I am not crazy about is the phones for the IPK II. They seem to be the same handsets that were released back in 2002. (I think...) Anyway, in an earlier thread, I saw reference to NEC preparing to release new phones. Are these for the IPK II? If so, do you know when they may be released? The thread I found the reference to the new phones can be found here: New Phone Ref

Also, how good is the EliteMail LX with unified messaging? We are considering an upgrade to that voicemail for the added features. Does it integrate well with Microsoft Exchange/Outlook? Are the features robust for mobile sales people? (Such as forwarding calls to cell phones during business hours, but taking a message after hours?)

Thanks for answering my questions. wink
Posted By: paulw Re: IPK II Questions - 09/19/07 01:44 PM
Hi Bullfrog.

You are correct. The fones are looking a bit dated but NEC has a new range due out in the next month or two which are very nice.

The LX mail with UM. Unfortunatly this is basically a mid 1990s design and is way short of what I would expect from a modern UM. Its fine for VM delivery to the inbox but if you want CLID popup or dial from contacts as a part of it forget it..
Posted By: Bullfrog Re: IPK II Questions - 09/19/07 06:45 PM
Hmmm. That is a little disappointing about about the LX mail. Is there another solution available from NEC that I should inquire about if UM is important? What about the features and performance of the LX mail option if we disregard the UM? Is it on par with everything else out there?
Posted By: paulw Re: IPK II Questions - 09/19/07 09:03 PM
Forgetting the UM function. If you have allot of digital sets then the LX is a good way to go as it is menu driven from the fone. Not to wonderful for the analog fone user. If your voicemail requirements are less than 128 stations and a vanilla front end Automated Attendant then you could consider the cheaper InMail that also has nice menu driven buttons on the digital sets and is Ok for analog users..

Have a talk to one of your NEC dealers and arrange a demo of both units..
Posted By: dans Re: IPK II Questions - 09/20/07 05:55 AM
The LX mail does have unified messaging and has a lot going for it with more to come. The more options you want such as UM than you buy the key code to open it up. NEC is now focusing on 2 different models of voice mail instead of the multiple models they have now. The LX is part of the upcoming models

The new phones due out sometime in early 08 will only work with the new IPK II platform due out January, all existing hardware ie phones circuit cards will migrate.
Posted By: Bullfrog Re: IPK II Questions - 09/21/07 08:06 AM
dans - If I understand what you said, the current IPK II will not be compatible with the new phones once they are released? I'm a little nervous investing in a technology if I know it is at the end of its lifecycle. (We have that problem with our current system. It was discontinued months after purchase. 8 years later, our only choice for phones are overpriced refurbs.)

What advantages will these new phones offer? Anything significant?

Our quote does not specify which voice mail is included. The line item says: UM512 (8) (With Features). Is that the EliteMail LX?
Posted By: dans Re: IPK II Questions - 09/21/07 08:07 PM
Per NEC the future for the IPK II is at least 10 years. If for any reason anyone with the current platform wanted to upgrade due to advance features will very little expense.

New phones are modular. If you bought a 6 button phone and in 1 year you decided a 12 button is needed instead of buying a whole new phone you buy a 6 button kit, you remove a blank cover on the phone and the button kit slides in and presto you now have the 12 button phone. The same will work with 3 different displays, the largest being touch sensitive.
Decided you need a cordless, slide off the handset cradle from the main phone and slide in the cordless base unit.

I will have to look into what the UM512 is, top of my head I don't know, I will find out.
Posted By: IPKII Re: IPK II Questions - 09/22/07 06:04 AM
The UM512 (8) is the flash media for the VMP U-40 Elitemail card. It should be licensed for Unified Messaging with 8 ports.
Posted By: Bullfrog Re: IPK II Questions - 09/25/07 02:07 PM
So, with EliteMail LX, the Unified Messaging only gives you a copy of the voicemail in the users' inbox, correct? It does not allow you to dial your phone from MS Outlook or see Caller ID on the computer screen?

Also, I want to confirm another capability of the system. We have several sales people on the road. We would like the system to follow a schedule that would transfer calls to their extension to their cell phone (outside of the system) during business hours, then just go straight to the user's voice mail during evening hours and on weekends. Is it possible to set this up?
Posted By: doghart Re: IPK II Questions - 09/25/07 04:55 PM
If you want you NEC phone to dial from your outlook or ACT contacts you'll need to get a TAPI adapter in each phone you need this function. That has nothing to do with voicemail or UM.

You can set only one system schedule, but you can route the salesmen's DID line to their cells during business hours then to their individual VM boxes after hours. They would all have to be on the same schedule though.


D
Posted By: Bullfrog Re: IPK II Questions - 09/26/07 05:34 AM
doghart - Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, we do not have DID lines. Is this same thing possible when callers dial their extension number from the automated attendant? The good thing is that all of the salesmen have the same schedule, so that shouldn't be such a big issue. But, it sounds as if we can put those 3 or 4 salesmen on the same schedule to have their calls routed to cell phones during business hours, correct?

Thanks for all of the feedback. It is very valuable to understand these details from experienced professionals and users. wink
Posted By: Bullfrog Re: IPK II Questions - 09/26/07 07:00 AM
On the new phones, paulw mentioned they should be out in a month or two and dans suggested that it may be early '08. Bad thing is, we are getting a little pressure to close the deal by the end of the month (pricing...), but it will be about 45 days before the Telco can update our phone line delivery. I would hate to close a deal this week, then have the equipment updated before it is even installed. :bang:

If waiting 30 days to order the equipment is all that is necessary, then perhaps we should wait to benefit from the updated phone lineup. Any thoughts? :confused:
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