An inside source told me that Polycom plans on launching the successor to the popular SoundPoint IP 600 called the SoundPoint IP 601 in a couple of weeks..(photo to the left is the SoundPoint IP 600). The original SoundPoint IP 600 was very reasonable - retailing for just under $300 - and it featured six-line appearances, auto-sensing Power over Ethernet circuitry, 320 x 160 pixel graphical LCD, and both SIP & MGCP protocol support.

No word yet on the specs for the new SoundPoint IP 601 though my source suspects it will have more call appearances. Another source told me it wll have eight call appearances (2 more than the IP 600) - we shall see. Overall, the specs should be very similar to the IP 600 I also wonder if they will embed a high quality color display in the IP-601 as well as a camera so that the phone can interoperate with Polycom's renowned videoconferencing products. You can pick up a Polycom SoundPoint IP 601 on Amazon for a pretty good price.