The What: Crestron has announced Crestron Flex Phones, a new portfolio of Microsoft Teams-certified desk phones for organizations seeking a dedicated collaboration experience for their employees.
[The Integration Guide to Conferencing & Collaboration]
The What Else: The Crestron Flex Phones lineup features one-touch Teams accessibility to offer quick meeting experiences so users can access any meeting, share notes, and collaborate directly from the dedicated Crestron Flex device. By handling all audio, video, and content sharing, the Crestron Flex Phones frees other devices, like a laptop or PC, to be used as productivity tools during a meeting, fostering a collaboration experience that is more fruitful and less frustrating. This minimizes inefficient task switching, streamlines ad hoc communication, and allows users to segment their schedule and workload more effectively.
Crestron Flex Phones feature oversized touchscreen displays (8- and 10-inch HD options) and omnidirectional microphone array with 360-degree audio pickup, and come in video-enabled versions with 1080p camera or audio-only options. Built-in support for Teams allows users to simply plug the device into a PoE cable, sign in, and get started. Technology managers can scale deployment and management with integrated cloud management and monitoring with Crestron XiO Cloud Service, and embedded occupancy sensors supporting a range of 6.5 feet allow for the capture of meeting-space data and usage analytics.
“With videoconferencing cementing itself as a critical piece of the modern workplace, it’s less practical to task a laptop or a smartphone with hosting video, audio, and call-related content at the same time, especially if a user wants to use that device for note-taking or accessing files,” said Ranjan Singh, EVP, products and technology, Crestron. “In creating Crestron Flex Phones, we’re giving users their other devices back because they will now have a dedicated option to join a Teams call from or transfer a meeting to a second device. Crestron Flex Phones let users seamlessly conference from one device and share content from another—an approach adopted by many workers in today’s hybrid environments.”
The Bottom Line: Crestron Flex Phones combine high-quality audio and videoconferencing capabilities with one-touch connectivity and enterprise-grade security, as well as additional features to help users maximize productivity. They are designed to be deployed in a home or office, at a rotating “hot desk” stations popular in hybrid workplaces, or in conference rooms.
