For the past decade and a half, Chinese manufacturer Yealink has been right at the forefront of developments in IP telephony, helping to steer the path from VoIP towards UC and collaboration with its SIP-ready desktop terminals.
The T48GN makes all of that experience and expertise available in a single unit. One of the premier models in Yealink’s premium T4 range, the T48GN is aimed at end users who expect their desktop telephones to be packed full of features and connectivity options, yet still versatile and straightforward enough for widespread deployment throughout a business.
Yealink makes no bones about its aspirations for the T48GN and its place in the global market, referring to it as “the cutting-edge of contemporary VoIP technology in action.” One of the key USPs is the unit’s support for gigabit ethernet connections, enabling rapid call handling for high-volume traffic.
In this review, we will strive to give a flavour of how well the T48GN lives up to those claims. However, please note that this review is solely the opinion of the author and intended only to provide information to our readers. UC Today does not endorse, market or have any role in the sale of any product and operates as an entirely independent resource for news, reviews and opinions in the UC industry.
How Does It Look?
The T48GN has the classic IP desktop telephone look, with a black chassis, a telephone earpiece mounted to the left and dial pad, six navigation and seven function keys mounted in the centre of the main panel. The main user interface, however, is a 7" 800 x 480 pixel colour touch screen. Having a tablet-sized touchscreen makes it extremely easy to navigate between different tasks and applications, and the layout and design of the softkey icons is convenient, straightforward and intuitive. Overall, it has the look and feel of a quality unit, with the full colour touchscreen the standout feature.
What Can It Do?
If you ever wanted a handy example to show people what you meant by a ‘feature rich’ IP telephone, the T48GN would be perfect. From the outstanding quality Optima HD audio to the wide range of connectivity options, the T48GN ticks pretty much all of the boxes for Enterprise-class functionality.
With up to 16 SIP accounts available per desktop, the T48GN is ideal for hotdesking in large offices. It comes with a local directory store of up to 1000 entries, with caller ID supporting photo logs, and a full range of IP-PBX features including call recording, visual voicemail and Busy Lamp Fields (BLF).
Where the T48GN really comes into its own, however, is the range of connectivity options it provides. A USB port makes WiFi and Bluetooth connections available via a dongle, as well as adding additional storage capacity for call recording and other data. It functions as a full duplex handsfree speakerphone with AEC, and comes with a port for an EHC adapter for wireless DECT headsets.
To make use full use of the SIP trunking support, the T48GN is also available with Skype for Business firmware bundled in. This additional software option turns the unit from a high functioning IP phone to a fully fledged UC interface, making full use of the Skype for Business voice, video, IM, text and presence features. There is full support for Skype for Business’ scalable conferencing tools, plus a direct link to Outlook Calendar for scheduling. It is also very easy to switch between the Skype for Business client and the T48GN phone interface via the wireless "Better Together over Ethernet" (BToE) feature.
What do we like?
The full colour touchscreen really makes this model stand out as a premium example in its field, offering excellent hassle-free navigation and intuitive control through what is a very eye catching visual interface.
