The Yealink T48S is a high-end business IP desk phone primarily aimed at executives. It is very stylish with its large touch screen display and supports High Definition (HD) audio using the Opus codec.
The Good
Let’s start with the looks. The T48S looks very modern and stylish on a desk and has a very professional and polished look. It would look good on any executive’s desk.
The display is a 7 inch touch screen color display with a 800×480 pixel resolution and is back-lit ensuring it looks sharp under all lighting conditions. The touch screen capabilities should not be ignored as it allows one to add multiple line buttons to your phone through touch, in fact 29 one-touch DSS keys are available on the display. This helps give the phone its sleek appearance as it removes the need for line buttons on the sides of the display.
Yealink’s User Interface (UI) is very intuitive and simple to navigate. You can access most settings direct from the phone, for example setting up the DSS keys, configuring network and WiFi parameters and changing screen savers and desktop images.
The T48S includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports which helps future proof this IP phone. It also has a USB 2.0 connector which extends the functionality of the T48S. For example you can plug in a USB flash drive and use it for call recording, or connect a Bluetooth adapter (BT40) or even a WiFi adapter (WF40). The Bluetooth is useful to pair with cell phones or for wireless headsets. We tested the WiFi adapter and it was simple to setup and connect to our wireless network, which is useful if you have no wired Ethernet access nearby.
Voice quality is outstanding, something we have become accustomed to with Yealink phones. It supports all of the standard audio codecs including Opus, which is the main addition to the T48S when compared to the T48G. Opus is a completely open source standard so there is no license fee to use it. Also it is true High Definition (HD) audio and the scalable rates (8KHz narrowband and 16KHz wideband sample rates) ensure great quality audio even when network bandwidth is reduced (i.e. slower Internet connections). It is also Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC).
An expansion port is provided giving the ability to extend the phone with up to 6 expansion modules. This would provide up to 240 additional buttons.
By connecting the optional EHS36 adapter to the EXT port on the back of the phone, wireless headset base stations can be connected to the phone in a plug and play manner.
The Bad
The speaker phone on the T48S is reasonable but certainly not as clear as the audio when using the handset. This is true for most speaker phones but for a higher end device I was expecting a little more quality. Reducing the speaker volume certainly helped.
In administrator mode, the UI provides access to many of the system parameters that are needed in order to register an extension. However, it does not provide access to the transport protocol (e.g. TCP, UDP etc). If this was added, one could easily manually configure an extension for most scenarios. If you need to change the transport you will have to use the web portal for the phone. In fairness, it does offer access to auto provision server fields which is very useful.
Only 10 wallpapers are available in the display settings. An easy way to upload new wallpapers from a USB2.0 memory stick would be a nice feature to add, thus save time logging into the phone portal on a browser and uploading custom wallpapers.
The Bottom Line
- Modern and stylish IP phone at a reasonable price (approx $40/month).
- 7 inch touch screen color display (800×480 resolution). Up to 29 one-touch DSS keys.
- Supports up to 16 SIP accounts.
- WiFi and Bluetooth optional through WF40 and BT40 USB adapters.
- Support for Opus HD quality audio Codec (narrowband and wideband).
Overall Thoughts
The Yealink T48S is an excellent IP phone with a sleek appearance and a highly intuitive interface. The touch screen capability provides an abundance of options in terms of programmable DSS keys, such as line buttons and BLF keys which would likely benefit any executive or receptionist.
Expansion options exist for extending the number of line buttons, adding Bluetooth headsets, WiFi access or even Flash drives for call recording. Yealink has listened to its customer’s needs and responded with a feature-rich phone at a very reasonable price.
If you want one of those phones on your desk, please contact us.