Unified communications IP phone using an information handling system host

摘要

A VoIP telephone provides basic VoIP capabilities, such as those defined by SIP, with an onboard communications engine that presents a user interface at a display. More complex communications capabilities are provided by interfacing the telephone with an information handling system and driving the user interface of the telephone with a UC application executing on the information handling system. For example, the telephone has an LCD that presents a number pad or basic telephone number list for interaction with the communications engine; however, UC application drives a user interface with greater processing power and storage available from the information handling system, such as an address book or communication actions not supported by the communications engine.

主权项

1. An information handling system comprising:
a housing having a peripheral interface port; processing components disposed in the housing and operable to process information; a display interfaced with the processing components and operable to present information as images; a communications application running on the processing components and operable to support plural communications protocols; a telephone separate from the housing, the telephone having a peripheral interface port, a VoIP communications medium, a display and a communications engine operable to support VoIP communications through the VoIP medium, the peripheral interface port, VoIP communications medium, display and communications engine integrated in one common telephone housing; a peripheral cable connected at a first end to the housing peripheral interface port and at a second end to the telephone peripheral interface port; and a display manager executing on the telephone and operable to selectively present information at the telephone display from only one of the communications application or the communications engine, the display manager presenting information from the communications application as a peripheral of the information handling system when the peripheral cable interfaces the housing peripheral interface port and the telephone peripheral interface port or from the communications engine if no interface exists with the communications application.