UC hardware giant, Poly, is constantly growing its product line-up – this year, they added a new speakerphone called Calisto 5300. How does this speakerphone series stand out in a competitive market? Read on as we review some of its core features.
But first, a little bit about Poly. While technically only a few years old, Poly is the result of Plantronics and Polycom’s merger in 2018. It brings together proprietary technologies for superior UC experiences with a signature industrial design. The company launched Calisto 5300 in February 2020 as a portable speakerphone for on-the-go desked workers. IT consultants, designers, journalists, independent developers, copywriters – essentially anyone NOT in an office and frequently changing their work environment was its target audience.
The world has changed significantly since then, and in many ways, this creates more new use cases for Calisto 5300. We could imagine carrying a laptop and a speakerphone to the backyard for a change of view from our regular home office while WFH!
If you’re thinking on the same lines, here’s a review of its features that might help to decide whether to invest in Calisto 5300.
Inside Calisto 5300
Calisto 5300 is a Bluetooth speakerphone available at a competitive price point of $77.45. Even if you aren’t buying from Amazon, the device is clearly meant for the budget segment, without compromising on its value proposition. Its features include:
- Mic quality – Calisto 5300 has a single mic, which is of a digital MEMS variant. MEMS microphones are now the industry standard, replacing older ECM ones, owing to better audio quality and lesser noise. We were happy to see that it is an omnidirectional mic (no corners cut here), meaning you can speak into it from anywhere within a 360-degree range. Poly recommends that you stay with 1m of the speaker, but it supports up to 3m voice pick-up distance.
- Battery life – The speakerphone has a solid 1000 mAH battery capacity and takes 3.5 hours to reach full charge. There is an impedance of 4 ohms, which is good news for the devices battery life. As a result, the Calisto 5300 is able to provide up to 16 hours of talk-time (more than some of its premium competitors) on a single charge. Importantly, it takes three and a half hours to reach full charge.
- Industrial design – You can tell that the Calisto 5300 is meant to be placed on small tabletops, given its 31.1 mm radius. At 215 grams, it is light enough to be carried around in a bag – and definitely from one room to another, multiple times a day. We predict that the Calisto 5300’s external aesthetics will be a top driver for many, standing apart from more clunky alternatives at this price point.
- Call controls – There are dedicated controls for answering/ending calls, volume, and power on/off. On the other end, there is a mute button which operates dynamically. The speakerphone uses voice alerts to inform you about battery level, power, status, and mute at regular intervals.
- Applications support – To get the most out of your Calisto 5300 speakerphone, we’d recommend that you download the Plantronics Hub or the Plantronics Manager Pro. This lets you bring the device under your larger asset management framework, monitoring adoption, ensuring call quality, and deriving usage analytics. What’s more, Plantronics Hub lets you configure the speakerphone in one of 16 languages.
Why Calisto 5300 Makes a Difference
Poly is a recognized veteran in communications tech, so you’re confident that their products would deliver. With Calisto 5300, they haven’t let us down – all the basics such as a MEMS omnidirectional mic, good battery life, lightweight/portability, voice alerts, and call controls are covered. And Plantronics’ apps add another layer of functionality.
It’s those little touches that help this mid-tier speakerphone stand out in its space. We particularly liked the full display audio, with echo cancellation, an MS Teams-certified version, and the option to have a USB adapter onboard.
What We Think
At the sub $100 level, Calisto 5300 is an excellent option for beginners and small businesses alike. In case of the latter, IT managers can use Plantronics Hub or Plantronics Manager Pro to manage Calisto units, without any deployment glitches.
And for Microsoft power users (particularly those working primarily from home), the MS Teams-certified edition of Calisto 5300 brings a seamless speakerphone experience. Whether you’re looking for USB A or USB C compatibility, Poly has it covered with this speakerphone.
