asterisk users - Oct 2003 - where to buy a SIP phone or adapter in SFBay area?

I'd like to buy a SIP phone from a retail store, or from 
  a local computer store in the south bay San Francisco area.

  Can anyone suggest a place from which I can make such
  a purchase?

  So far, I've only found online.

  Thanks.

  -alan

>   I'd like to buy a SIP phone from a retail store, or from
>   a local computer store in the south bay San Francisco area.
>
>   Can anyone suggest a place from which I can make such
>   a purchase?
>
>   So far, I've only found online.
>
>   Thanks.
>
>   -alan
Alan -
   While not being a direct or exact answer to your question, I can 
perhaps save you some scouting time and point you in the correct 
direction.  Fry's does not carry any kind of SIP-based VoIP equipment 
at all, and they present an impenetrable customer interface on "how 
to request new items."  There is a general lack of understanding in 
RFC-compliant vs. proprietary VoIP equipment at any retail store, and 
you will be directed to a dishearteningly small selection of 
vendor-specific (non-SIP) solutions when you ask for VoIP hardware.

   I would suggest making the local managers aware of your desire to 
spend money on SIP-based products, and perhaps eventually this will 
percolate through their collective consciousness.  Grandstream, 
Cisco, SIPura, Pingtel, and SNOM would be names to mention.

   I have searched half-heartedly in the San Jose area for a retail 
firm that sells SIP phones, and have found none.  The same goes for 
Washington DC, Boston, and Portland, OR.  In fact, I have never heard 
of SIP phones being sold on the floor of a retail outlet to date, 
though perhaps it is that I'm simply behind the times.

   The closest opportunity for purchase you may find would be in the 
form of Cisco resellers who may carry used or new Cisco 
79[05/12/40/60] or ATA-186 devices in their inventory, as there are a 
number of such resellers in the Bay area.  You also may look on eBay 
for those particular devices to determine if there are any 
micro-resellers who may not show up using the usual search criteria 
but who have some quantities available, and who may be willing to 
talk to you outside of the context of any particular auction that 
they are running.

   I suspect that SIP service providers and/or PBX systems are still 
not "mainstream" enough to provide adequate purchasing suction for a 
retail firm to stock SIP devices.  This should change in the next 
three to six months, in part due to the popularity of Asterisk (among 
many other projects and services), but until then you may be out of 
luck.  If you are successful in finding a retail vendor, please let 
the list know of the specifics.


JT