Good Business Network Telephone - Cisco IP 7940 Phone Review

I've been using the same Cisco IP 7940 phone for years now.  I use the telephone very heavily for work.  

I figured after all these years of experience with this phone, I should do a product review on the Cisco P 7940 series phone.

I am not a phone systems specialist, nor do I get involved with the network set up with this phone.  Our IT department handles this.  Beyond the network, program technicalities of the phone (which I know little about :-), I do believe I am a very experienced end-user of this phone and can provide a good, plain language product review of the Cisco IP 7940

The phone I have is a black and silver model.  What appeals to me is that the IP 7940 has a very universal look to it.  This phone can look good in a professional office with mahogany furniture and also look good in a more rugged environment such as an auto mechanic garage or plant floor supervisor office, etc

The phone has an overall good feel.  It is easy to manage.  The keys are spaced far enough apart to all accurate dialing without 'fat fingering' any of the keys.  

The speaker phone is easy to activate and turn off. The phone also transitions easily during a continuous phone call from hands free speaker phone to handset (against the ear) as well has from handset to back to speaker phone.

The receiver, though not remarkable in anyway,  is lightweight and comfortable on the ear.  No accessory is attached to the receiver that allows for comfortable 'ear to shoulder' holding of the receiver (not recommended on any phone :-) but the easy speaker phone use should reduce the amount of times this is necessary. There is also a jack for headset use if you buy a headset/earphones separately.

The Cisco IP 7940 telephone has a good clear sound as any phone should.  The speaker sound and the receiver sound all work great.  I have not used a headset/ear phones with this phone so I can not comment on that quality.

The volume control is very easy to use and the volume adjuster is right on the control panel of the phone. Easy to find.  The volume control adjusts volume of the call as well as adjusts the ring tone you receive when a phone call comes through.

I speak very often to people using the hands free speaker phone mode.  I typically speak either right at the speaker phone, or more often, I speak while looking at my computer screen with the phone about 90 to 45 degrees to my right.  I rarely have anyone complain that they have difficulty hearing me unless my head is looking 180 degrees (opposite direction) from the phone.

I do wish the LCD screen was a little better.  I'm lacking technical expertise in explaining this so bear with my description, but I find the LCD a little too reflective. If there is bright light beam shining onto the screen, there is considerable glare. This is easily corrected by just turning the phone and inch to the right or left, but it definitely isn't a glare-free screen. Also, and I'm not sure if other phones offer better LCD options, but the graphics aren't very sexy on the LCD. It IS completely readable and no trouble to due pixel strength or anything like that, it just that there is nothing overly appealing about the LCD.   Very functional but not exactly artwork.

The phone is just the right size. It is big enough to easily use the functions but small enough that takes up little on my desk. Taking a rough tape measure measurement, the area the phone covers is 10" wide by about 7" deep.

The  Cisco IP 7940 Phone is a real good phone for the office.  This is certainly a very practical and comfortable phone to use in a business setting.  I think it is one of the best phones to investigate if you are considering buying a new phone for the office.  Business phones are not cheap and can cost a lot of money so you definitely want to explore your options.  

While this phone might not be for everyone it is certainly one to look into when considering a purchase

That pretty much ends my product review of the Cisco IP 7940 series phone.

I looked up some specs for this phone.  I suggest double checking the ad or specs on the actual Cisco IP 7940 series phone you are considering buying to ensure you have the best and most up to date information.

LCD display that shows date, time, calling party name, number, and digits dialed

Two  programmable line and feature keys

4 dynamic soft keys to help users through call features and functions

Jack for headset port

G.711 and G.729a audio compression

Speakerphone with mute

Internal Cisco two-port Ethernet switch

Firmware can be upgraded

Message key gets you right into voice mail

Multi-protocol capable SCCP, SIP, and MGCP

You can set up configuration as automatic or manual by the way of  DHCP, TFTP, Cisco Call Managers, and backup Cisco Unified Call Managers

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