snom M3 with Base Station

Snom M3 with Base Station

Setup -

Setup is extremely simple if you have configured SIP devices before.  To configure the M3 all you need to enter are the IP address of the SIP server and extension settings.  You can get the IP address of the built in web server by pressing on the Volume Up key.  We were able to start making calls in a few minutes through our Asterisk server.   One of the first things we noticed after connecting to the web page of the M3 was how little configuration and information is displayed.  One item we immediately missed is a way to add contacts to the phone easily.  You have to manage all your contacts through the keypad on the phone. Hopefully snom will fix this issue quickly.

Usage -

During our first test calls we were amazed at the clarity and sound of the calls.   The sound quality is at least as good as any other phone we have used, VoIP or otherwise.

Making calls is just like most other phones, dial the number and press the green dial button.  People familiar with portable or cell phones will feel at home.  In fact, the dial pad reminds me of a lot of Nokia cell phones.  Accessing missed or dialed calls is also simple.  Press the button under Call Log on the display and you can view missed, dialed, or all calls.  Navigating to the number you want and pressing the dial button dials the call.  One quick note on the buttons - to me they have a slightly "cheap" feel.  They are also like all other small phones, to small to navigate comfortably.

The display is not exceptionally sharp, but is more than adequate for a phone.  Snom has laid out the display nicely, showing the time and date by default.  The incoming caller ID is large enough to read without any difficulty and if you miss a call a yellow box pops up displaying that also.

We have not used the built-in speaker phone much yet, but call quality is definantly not as good as using the normal speaker.  It's quality seemed to vary a little depending on who we called.  On some calls the quality was good, others the sound was very "tinny".  Turning the speaker phone off during these calls returned the sound to the excellent quality we have started to expect from this phone, so it was not something on the call hampering quality.

I am not sure if most people are like me or not, but it seems that most of the time I spend on the phone I have my hands busy.  The M3 is around 5" tall, making it stick out of the top of your shirt pocket, but making it comfortable and stable enough to rest on your shoulder while working without trying to constantly slip off.  The M3 is also lighter than it first appears, making carrying it around in a pocket manageable and not feeling like you are carrying a brick around.  A belt clip is also provided with the phone although I have not tried it.

The range on this phone is hard to believe.  The advertised range of 50 meters indoors and 100 meters outside has to be pretty close.  I was able to carry on a conversation from over a block from the base station while going through 1 wall. 

Battery life seems to be pretty close the the advertised 100 hrs of standby and 8 hrs talk time.  Our phone runs close to 3 1/2 days without a recharge with light use.   By light use I am meaning 1 - 1 1/2 hrs a day.  Definately better than a lot of wireless phones we have used in the past.

One of the features we also like is the abilty to assign up to 8 different SIP accounts, or Identities, as snom calls them, to the phone.  It is very easy to configure each phone to access any SIP account you have configured as shown in the image below.

snom M3 Telephony Settings

Overall first impression -

We have enjoyed using the phone so far.  It has excellent call quality, a decent feel, and is portable enough.  We are looking forward to adding more units to the system for more use and testing.  The only thing I could say at this point that I do not like about the phone is a lack of entering contact information through the web page.  We have found the easiest way to add a contact is to view it in the call log.  Simply scroll down to the call you want to add and click the option button and it gives you the option to add it to your contacts.  If the caller ID contains both a name and number it will put them in the correct contact field.  At the current price and with the options available this phone is definantly a recommended buy.

UPDATES -

We have are having an issue with the system when connected to as Elastix PBX.  We were hoping for a resolution before posting this, but have not found one yet.  If/when we find a fix we will post it here.

Come back and continue to check out our likes and dislikes of the snom M3.  We will continue to update this review in the coming weeks. 

The rest of the configuration screens - 

M3 Welcome Screen

M3 Advanced Settings