ClearOne (CLRO) has announced a new speakerphone specifically designed for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. As a Certified Partner in the Microsoft Partner Program, ClearOne will begin providing audio solutions that support users of Microsoft’s unified communications platform. The first product to be qualified as optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 is the CHAT 170, ClearOne’s group conferencing speakerphone.

The ClearOne CHAT 170 conference phone connects via USB to laptops or PCs for hands-free audio communication using Office Communicator 2007. The CHAT 170 includes three built-in microphones for 360-degree pickup and a large speaker for high-quality sound.

The CHAT 170 contains ClearOne’s HDConference technology, which is comprised of features like full duplex, Distributed Echo Cancellation, noise reduction, first mic priority, and adaptive modeling.