Polycom Communicator C100S Blue

by Polycom

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 6 x 3 inches ; 5.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GG0EFO
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 2200-44000-001
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 22, 2003

Product Description

Polycom C100S Wireless IP Phone [phone]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wildly great and awful all at the same time, February 1, 2008

By 

Phillip Blanton "RadWarrior.com" (Colorado Springs, Co United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polycom Communicator C100S Blue (Electronics)

Everyone who gives the Polycom Communicator C100S a great rating is absolutely correct. Under Windows XP this device is awesome. The sound quality is great on both ends. It doesn't take you long to realize that you are carrying on a conversation in a much more natural manner without a headset on.

When you want to use this device on any operating system other than Windows XP, you'll find that the device is nothing more than a cheap speaker and desktop microphone. Of course it works with Skype on Linux, MacOS and Windows Vista, just like any other speaker and desktop microphone do. Crappily.

The magic of this device is in the software. The echo cancellation and sound quality are all products of the drivers that lie between Skype and the device. Wihout those drivers, the device is just an expensive USB speaker/microphone. Those who say that the device works with MacOS and Vista are only partially right. The Skype integration buttons do not work on anything but XP and I could live with that. But the audio processing in the driver is what makes this device usable with Skype. Without it, there is terrible echo from your side that makes the device unusable. You may as well use a cheap pair of speakers and a cheap desktop microphone. You'll get the same performance and it'll cost you a lot less.

Windows Vista has been available to the software developers at Polycom for over a year now and there is apparently no Vista driver in the works. This means that the Polycom Communicator C100S is useless for almost all new computer purchasers. (I did recently read that Dell is now offering Windows XP on some new PC purchases. I belive for enterprise level buyers only though.)

There is apparently now no plan to release a Mac driver, as if there was ever one in development. Which I highly doubt. So, according to my spidey senses, unless you use Windows XP exclusively, and don't have any plans for a new computer, purchasing this device now is a waste of money.

This is a terrible shame as the Polycom Communicator C100S is an awesome device and I was really looking forward to using it when I purchased it. So far I haven't been able to use it more than once, as they haven't released any Vista drivers. I did use it once with a VMWare virtual machine running Windows XP, just to make sure that my device wasn't broken, and it does work as advertised on Windows XP.

Vista drivers were supposed to be released mid 2007, but it's almost mid 2008 now and there are no hints that they have ever assigned a software guy the task of writing them. My advice is to wait until Polycom shows some interest in supporting this device with current operating systems before shelling out any money for it. :o(

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skype speaker fits the bill, March 12, 2007

By 

John McNeil (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Polycom Communicator C100S Blue (Electronics)

These units are expensive (compared with a headset), but so much more convenient. My parents overseas love some gadgets and hate the rest, but this fits the bill for them. I called them 45 minutes after the unit I sent them arrived in the mail and they answered. Instead of relaying messages they were both online and clear.

Noises in the background can be a distraction (a teakettle boiling on the same counter for example), but in general the sound is just great. And the speaker works much better than my internal laptop speakers for watching videos and listening to podcasts.

I am worried that the little wrap up cord will fail as it has to be stretched and prodded to go back in its nice holder each day, but no problems so far.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product & Fair Price, June 6, 2007

By 

Electronic Gadgetphile (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Polycom Communicator C100S Blue (Electronics)

I am an independent consultant who needs to make a lot of calls, frequently long conference calls and quite often to Europe. After researching numerous options I settled on Skype as providing the cost and flexibility I needed to facilitate my needs which includes making calls on the road. I then needed to optimize the way I communicate with Skype and progressed from the built in microphone and speaker on my laptop (too much feedback), to a headset, both bluetooth and wired (OK but tethered to the computer with wired and comfort in hour two with Bluetooth), to a speaker phone. Having used the Polycom speaker phones for many years in Corporate America I was familiar with their superior build quality and excellent audio clarity and performance. I also considered wireless Skype phones but the chargers and auxiliary hardware I would need to carry on the road ruled them out.
The Polycom C100S has been great with no issues on microphone or speaker setup and performance. I do note that the clarity of the calls is better on "wired" high speed connections as opposed to "wireless" connections but even the "wireless" is adequate. The "wired" connections are clear with excellent tonal range and performance. The reviewers who have had performance problems may want to try a "wired" connection to their high speed internet before they bail out of this product.
The only knock I would have is that the built in USB cable does not look as robust as the rest of the unit and is a bit difficult to wind up properly so that the case closes cleanly. The unit is self contained in the convenient carry case and requires no additional cables, power supplies or other accessories - very portable. All in all I am quite pleased with the product and would repeat the purchase again.