There’s always a lot of news and interesting technology that comes out of ITEXPO. Earlier today, I watched an interview with Yealink’s Wei Tang (News - Alert) that was conducted during the show, and a good point was introduced about the relevancy of desk phones.

There is a strain of thought that predicts the swift death of the office phone. Cell phones were the first salvo against the office phone, and now that tablets and smartphones can stand in for the office phone through the magic of VoIP, it won’t be long before companies and their employees ditch the office phone entirely and their smart devices.

While this is a compelling argument on the surface, it neglects to consider the role that quality and reliability can play in calling.

“Today people want high resolution. They want HD TV,” noted Tang in the interview with TMCnet’s Peter Bernstein. “Now the same thing we’re doing for the voice.”

He added: “On the one hand you want a mobility option, but on the other hand you want high quality when you need it. So what Yealink (News - Alert) is trying to do is bring up the high quality UC system.”

Yealink is doing that with its newly released T48G IP Phone, which looks like a cross between a tablet and a traditional desk phone, something you’d expect to see in an episode of Star Trek with its 7-inch color touchscreen and smart stylings.

“Tablets are easy to get these days, but we really strive for quality,” Tang said in the interview. “You want to have a product on your desktop that’s reliable and also with a high-quality voice.”

And this is why reports of the demise of the desk phone are premature. Smartphones, while convenient, are not purpose-built enough to truly handle calling at its best. They definitely suffice for casual conversations and communications on the go, but just as the average smartphone pales in comparison to the better televisions on the market when it comes to size and quality, so too do desk phones deliver the purpose-built functionality and high definition calling that make them a better calling experience for business users.

Something like the new T48G delivers this quality while still interfacing with smartphones and tablets that Yealink and others know will be used alongside these desk phones. A quick glance at the tablet aspect to the T48G shows the phone is no stranger to VoIP, and indeed it can support six individual SIP accounts and integrate with UC systems.

There’s a place for the smartphone—and a place for modern desk phones.