Digium, the company behind the popular open source Asterisk (News - Alert) VoIP platform and the Switchvox Unified Communications (UC) system, has announced a series of new easy-to-install IP business phones.

“Even someone who has never provisioned an IP phone can literally have their Digium (News - Alert) phones working within five minutes. We’ve never experienced this before with any other phone hardware,” said Corey McFadden, managing partner at Infradapt (News - Alert). “With the upcoming API and application engine, the Digium phones offer nearly unlimited possibilities for implementing features for demanding clients. We have immediate plans to roll out features like a phone-based time clock for recording employee attendance, ‘hot-desking’ for desk sharers, call accounting for professionals and many others.”

The phones range in features from the basic D40 to the executive-level D70. The D70 features 6-line keys, 10 rapid dial/busy lamp field (BLF) keys and an LCD screen that displays real-time status information.

The D50 has 4-line keys as well as the 10 BLF keys and includes a paper strip for important contacts. The D40 features 2-line keys.

The D70 sells for $279, the D50 for $179, and the D40 for $129.

All of the phones include interactive voicemail, visual call parking, one-touch call recording, a searchable contact directory and presence management. Developers can create custom applications for the phones using a JavaScript API.

Even though Digium has rolled out new hardware, they have also upgraded both Asterisk and Switchvox to support the new phones. The phone-ready version of Asterisk is based on the 1.8 long-term support version, and uses a free piece of software called the Digium Phone (News - Alert) Module for Asterisk (DPMA) to connect to Digium’s phones. Digium has also released version 5.5 of Switchvox as a free update to current subscribers, adding support for their new line of phones.

Industry experts have already given the phones high marks.

“These new products change the phone market by bringing a set of features unparalleled in the IP-PBX (News - Alert) world. The API and app engine will allow us to offer a truly tailored end-to-end solution for our customers,” Robert Shudlow, president of Ultracom-Intelesys, said.

“IP telephones specifically designed for Asterisk and Switchvox are exactly what we’ve been looking for,” Michael LeBlanc, CEO of LeBlanc Communications Group, said. “Our customers will benefit from the tight integration and will be able to do even more with their desktop phones, which means we can deliver greater value to our customers.”

“I am really excited about the new Digium phones,” said Ken Stauffer, CEO of Stauffer Technologies. “Our initial set-up time has decreased significantly thanks to the no-touch configuration.”