If historians are still arguing over 2020’s official word of the year, I think an early contender for 2021 might be flexibility. As the world grapples with ongoing economic uncertainty while struggling to carve out a new normality, the way we connect and communicate is going to have to roll with changing needs, expectations, external circumstances, and individual preferences.
Crestron are ready for this, and to support video collaboration wherever and however users are working, their new range of Flex phones — designed to cover the breadth of different room sizes and configurations to support every way we work today.
I spoke to Graham Walsh, Technical Solutions Director, Worldwide UC Device Partners at Crestron, about the Flex range and what to expect in 2021, to find out more about the new devices — which start with the UC-P8-T, a premium VoIP desk phone (pictured above) designed for use with Microsoft Teams.
The Crestron Flex range
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Graham Walsh[/caption]
“It’s an 8” touchscreen device with a simple click-to-join experience, to use with or without a handset/headset. It’s ideal for the knowledge worker at home, because it can be deployed anywhere on local WiFi, which also makes it suitable for small meeting rooms or booths.” But it’s more than just a phone: “Another benefit is that you can actually receive your content, so if someone sends you a presentation you can view it on the screen and even pinch to zoom in/out”.
To fill the gaps in flexible meeting rooms which might now be accommodating smaller numbers of people in larger spaces, there’s a 10” version too, and Crestron are also launching a new range of Android room devices.
“These are more of an appliance, so you don’t have the overhead of managing a Windows environment,” Walsh continued, describing a very straightforward single-use deployment ideal for the home-based CEO, or anyone else who might be tempted to tinker. “The user can’t install anything else on it, and the vendor does all the updates directly. Their kids can’t sideload Minecraft on it, it’s just not possible!”
