Note: The VVX 300 has since been discontinued.
The Polycom VVX 300 is an entry-level phone suitable for users who handle low to moderate call volume. Despite this, the VVX 300 has all the basic call functions needed for business communications. From call transfer to conferencing, call hold, BLF, mute, and more, the VVX 300 is equipped to handle day-to-day office calling. The phone is also priced below $100, making it a good candidate for mass deployment.
The Polycom VVX 300 sounds like a solid entry-level device. But did the VVX 300 live up to its potential? We took the phone for a test drive to find out.
The Polycom VVX 300 has a grayscale backlit display (208 x 104 resolution) and matte color design. You can adjust the height/viewing angle of the phone to three different levels. The phone has a 12-key dial pad and buttons for transfer, mute, hold, voicemail, headset, and loudspeaker. Volume control can be found at the bottom below the dial pad.
A four-way navigation key with a center select key allows you to navigate through the phone’s menus. We noticed that the cursor is not very visible when a menu is in list mode, such as when you're browsing the settings menu and the call list. Even when we set the contrast to max, the cursor was still hard to see.
The home button, which brings you to the main menu of the phone, is right above the navigator key. Home options include settings, messages, directories, DND function, forward, and intercom. These functions have quick access keys below the LCD screen.
There are also four dynamic keys below the LCD screen. This offers quick access for some menu options like directory, forward, DND, and others. When you're on a call, the keys give you options to hold, transfer, conference, make a new call, access other lines, and end the call.
The Polycom VVX 300 has all the features that you’d expect from a contemporary office phone. The phone supports registration for up to six SIP lines. These lines can be used for account registration, busy lamp field (BLF), speed dial, or call transfer. The VVX 300 also comes with notifications. They're found on the upper right portion of the display and are accompanied by an LED light on the upper right portion of the phone.
The VVX 300 supports several codecs for HD calling output. The phone has two 10/100 Ethernet ports. You can choose which IP version you want to use (IPv4 or IPv6) or enable both, but your network administrator will likely make that decision. Additional features include:
The features set is fairly bare bones compared to some of the other phones we've reviewed, but that's not a bad thing. The Polycom VVX 300 goes for the less is more vibe, and it can certainly manage your basic call-handling needs.
The VVX 300 has excellent voice quality. The speakerphone and handset are very clear, which is fairly remarkable for an entry-level phone. Polycom does have the best voice quality in the business, but it's a nice surprise that they were able to capture the same kind of output on a basic model. The speakerphone sounds great too, which isn't normally the case with phones in this price range.
At OnSIP, we put each of the phones we use through a multi-step interoperability test in which we apply ~30 test cases. An example of a test case would be the following:
Test phone calls phone B
B picks up
B puts test phone on hold
B calls phone C
C picks up
B transfers test phone to C
Call must be transferred correctly to C. B must be released correctly after the transfer. When C picks up, audio must work in both ways between test phone and C. When test phone is on hold, there is no audio between it and phone B.
Everything worked with our internal testing. Account registration and the various call scenarios on the Polycom VVX 300 passed all our tests.
You can flip your phone over to find your MAC address:
Or you can press "Menu" on the Polycom VVX 300 home screen. Then press "Status" (2), "Platform" (1), and "Phone" (1).
The "S/N:" field is your MAC address. It should start with "0004f2" and be a total of 12 digits.
Depending on the type of phone you have, you will need to follow slightly different procedures for each type: existing, new, or used.
On the Polycom VVX 300, press the "Menu" button. Then choose "Settings" (3), and "Advanced" (2). Enter your password; the default password is “456.” Hit the "Enter" soft key when done.
Next, select "Admin Settings" (1), followed by "Network Configuration" (1).
Scroll down until you see "Prov. Server..." and select that option.
In the "Server Menu," change "Server Type" to "HTTP" and the "Server Address" to boot.onsip.com, using the * key for the periods. Hit "okay" to save. Select "Back"/"Exit" (or use the left directional key) and press the "Save Config" option.
The Polycom VVX 300 is a fantastic entry-level phone. The audio quality is excellent, the features are on par, there are six SIP lines, and the speakerphone is crystal clear. Our only major gripe was with the menu cursor on the interface. It was hard to see, but it didn't completely disrupt our experience. Despite its entry-level status, the VVX 300 can handle a wide variety of use cases.
Overall, if you're looking for an entry-level office phone, you should put the Polycom VVX 300 at the top of your list. With the affordable price, it has great potential for mass deployment.