What are all of the Lync IP phones available to me?

This was a question from a school district in Colorado looking to retire Avaya and replace with Lync Server 2010. (screenshots from Lync product team)

I found this great new matrix available listing all of our Lync optimized or Communications ready IP phones:

For a list of all Lync optimized IP phones, headsets, USB phones, PCs, cameras,  speakerphones, etc visit here.

 

What are some of the new Lync IP phone capabilities?

Rich new UI with contact and caller photos. Phone UI can be pushed from Lync server as updates are released.

 

Incoming calls have photos from other Lync callers     Calls can be sent to parking lot, transferred, etc.

 

The number one feature I like is the ability for the IP phone to read your Exchange calendar and Join conferences right from the phone without any dialing/pins (note: only applies to CX600 and  6725ip).  This is a nice click to join feature if you don’t have the IP phone tethered to your PC with a USB cable.  Conferences visually show participants and who is actually talking in the meeting.

 

Common Area Phone – can be locked down with powershell                 Hotdesking scenario where users can log into a common area phone

    

 

How do I manage the IP phones?

IP phones are managed centrally from the Lync update server. IP Phone reports can also be pulled:

Device specific reports: