The 7940G can be configured for up to two lines, each with a physical button to the side of the display screen. Other physical buttons include a messages button, which can be set to automatically enter one’s voicemail. There is a directory button to access missed dialed and received calls, as well as a corporate directory if it is configured in your system. There is a settings button that can be used to configure options on the phone, both technical such as networking settings, as well as items such as ring style and contrast. There is a services button that allows access to additional features that have been configured such as soft speed dial, news, and weather. Finally in the middle of those four is a help button that offers on screen assistance.

Along the bottom are three additional buttons. The first is shaped like a headset, will allow you to speak and hear through a seperatly attached headset connected to your phone. The button all the way to the right is the speaker phone button, allowing you to handle calls hands and attachment free, though be mindful of those around you, if you aren’t in an office or an enclosed cubical you might want to pass on the speaker phone, at least for calls to the doctor… Finally in the center is a mute button, useful for allowing you to hear the caller but not the other way around.

Other features include up to three person conference calls as well as your standard hold, and resume call options. With a configured phone system this can even be programed to play music or other recorded options. Also you can power the phone either though Power over Ethernet, or an external adapter. Plus there is an Ethernet jack on the back so that you can plug in your computer without having to worry about using up multiple connections.

With all Cisco products you can opt to get their warranty called Smart Net. Now, if you’re a small company who purchased three phones, you may want to protect your investment. If on the other hand you purchased five hundred phones, it will be cheaper to keep a few spares on hand. Generally speaking these phones will encounter few problems, they are durable, and well built. The only fragile part on them is the screen which can be damaged if hit too hard, so watch out for violent phone hang ups!

There’s not too much else to say about these phones. They offer the standard features of a digital phone plus a few extras. They are well made and hold up to wear and tear and for general office use this phone fits the role perfectly. If you need more lines, or hard coded speed dials, the 7960G is a similar phone with six buttons that can either be used for phone lines or speed dials. One last bit, despite the G in the name, the phone only connects at a 10/100 speed limiting both itself and any devices connected behind it. Something to consider if you want gigabit Ethernet to the desktop.

For those of you lucky enough to have worked in a company that is pushing out VoIP phones, you may already be familiar with being able to get any number of features such as weather info, text messages, or calendar updates, right from your phone. The Hub phone, takes all of those nifty features and rolls them into a nice neat home user experience. Think of it as something right out of Star Trek, with color touch screen displays and information at your fingertips.

While this is still technically a pre release phone and as such some of this information may change or be complemented with other information, the Hub phone is already starting to offer up a nice suite of features. Contact and calendar information can be synced up from your computer, combined further with available text messaging, creating a home unified communications setup. This is handy for keeping all your address, phone, and e-mail information both accurate and available from multiple devices. The Hub phone also offers weather, driving and traffic information right from your finger tips. How often have you wanted to check the weather real quickly, but found the computer or television tied up and unavailable? Yes, one can always stick their head out the window, but that will not tell you how it’s going to be 6 hours later, or 45 miles away.

Sounds too good to be true you say, must have a huge price tag. Well, actually the Hub Phone seems to be fairly decent, especially compared to what it can do and the presentation. The phone itself costs 200 dollars, after a 50 dollar mail in rebate, so be ready to have a decent amount of upfront cash. Though, compared to some cell phones, 250 dollars, does not really seem that unreasonable. The real measure of that amount is durability and costs for repair, yet for now that remains to be seen. The subscription fee though is much more reasonable when compared to similar plans. 35 dollars a month, with compared to other VoIP home solutions, such as Vonage, or Time Warner’s Digtial Phone package, which as of right now do not offer the same set of features is a very comparable amount. Finally, the real nice thing here, is that it can connect into any broadband connection, meaning that even if you do not use Verizon FIOS or DSL, you can still try out and make use of the Hub phone.

Will this be the end all answer to phones? No probably not, communication methods are growing all the time, but a success here will only help usher in a new age of digital communications, a new age of unified communications, where a phone number, e-mail, all of that is really one and the same. Like the railroads opened up the ability for populations to spread and merge, so too will more and more advanced communications lower barriers and allow a more global reach.