What’s not to like about this deal? Hey all VARs -- snom needs your help with a phones systems survey, and they’re offering great prizes to get you to help. But shoot -- you’re so great you’ll do it without bribery, right?

Between now and July 1, 2011, snom is conducting a survey of their VARs and end users, company officials say, “as a way to gain some added insight into our user base.  We have always prided ourselves on being responsive to our customer base, and in the past, such research efforts have yielded invaluable data, which has gone on to help guide our product plans and operational processes.”

The survey should take ten to fifteen minutes, and all survey respondents will be entered into a chance to win one of three snom 821 desktop phones.

But wait, there’s more -- “Within the survey,” company officials say, “there is an additional offer. We are also looking for verifiable success stories for users of thesnom ONE IP PBX (News - Alert) (Yellow or Blue editions) or the snom ONE plus IP PBX appliance, in conjunction with snom phones. If you are willing to tell us the details of your successful deployment of our IP PBX, you will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad 2 or one of three snom 870 touch screen desktop phones.”

Yes, the magic word -- “free iPad.” Now what’s not to like?

Earlier this month TMC’s (News - Alert) Paula Bernier wrote that snom is well known as a provider of IP phones. “But if you think this company is just a desktop phone outfit, think again. snom has evolved to deliver a broad set of IP communications tools and applications.”

The company formally set out in this direction with the introduction of IP PBX software back in October of 2010. The IP PBX solution, called snom ONE, provides customers with a software-based IP telephony system that supports all the functionality of snom IP phones.

"In the past we’ve experienced problems with customers missing out on some of the key features delivered by our phones, due to the installed IP PBX systems," says Jonathan Greenwood, snom ONE product manager and managing director of snom UK Ltd. "With snom ONE, our customers can continue to install and run our VoIP phones on every SIP-based PBX, whilst having additional access to a series of easy to install telephony systems, perfectly tailored to our phones. This is our response to the many compelling requests by resellers and users in recent years.”