We have recently has a new batch of phones delivered and set up in the office. The mitel 5312 IP phones seems to be pretty common amongst offices (it's the batch that BT tend to recommend) but is not a practical phone for home use.

The first thing you notice about the phone is that there are a lot of buttons and the face of the unit its pretty big yet I feel it looks quite good. The phone takes a bit of getting used to as it has such a huge range of functions. We had a guy who set the phones up give us an explanation of the basic functions and I would recommend you do the same if you purchase these phones.

The unit has the standard number buttons as well at 10 special function buttons. There are also 12 other buttons which are used access other lines or extensions. There are the basic functions such as hold, redial, volume control, voicemail etc. There are pretty much standard on all office phones. However the MItel has additional features which makes it stand out from our previous phones. There is night service activation mode which allows the phone to automatically play prerecorded message to anyone that calls and diverts them straight to the voicemail box, which is very handy to set during breaks such as Christmas. There is also a call forward button which allows all calls to automatically be diverted to a mobile of different number, which has also proved very useful.
The phone has a large screen which constantly displays the time and date and has a blue back light. When someone calls their number is displayed on the screen which I find very useful. It is also very handy for if a call is missed or you forgot to take someone's number as you can scroll back through the call history and recover it (just like a mobile). You are able to create and address book so when someone calls their name will appear on the screen, but we have not tried to set this up yet so cannot comment on its reliability or usability. I have been informed that the phones can be used for VOIP (calls made via the internet) but have no idea how this works, we use it as a normal, everyday phone.

Once of the huge benefits of the phone is that you do not need a separate power connection. The power and the connection is made through the same LAN cable which makes it easy to move about and it cuts back on the amount of wires scattered under the desk.

The sound quality is very good in general (obviously the other end also has an impact on this) and the volume of the call can be altered which is handy as some people are painfully quiet on the phone. However this is common place on most phones so nothing to get particularly excited about.

The headpiece of the phone is a good size and fits well in the hand. The cable is a bit short but for me this is a good thing as means less clutter on my desk.

This is a great phone for the office. I have only covered basic functions but we only use it as a basic phone. We pay monthly for the phones so cannot give you an exact price but deals can be made, especially with BT who we went through.