Polycom is known to most as the producer of the "boomerang" conference room speakerphone. With their instantly recognizable tricorner shape, these phones can be found in nearly every conference room in the United States.

The IDG InfoWorld 2008 Technology of the Year awards have been announced, with 45 products in all receiving the accolade - including, within the networking category, honours for Polycom, which picks up two awards for its IP communications solutions.

Both individual and group communications are rewarded for Polycom, with the company named as the provider of the year's best IP phone and also the best IP conference phone.

Executive editor for the publication's test centre Doug Dineley comments: "Our Technology of the Year award winners represent not only the cream of the crop, but the best products in the most important product categories."

The Polycom SoundPoint IP 650 is named as the year's best product for use by individual executives, both in terms of its operation and its aesthetics, which are said to suit a range of office environments.

"It looks at home on any desk and as far as call quality goes, the IP 650 is simply stellar. This is one of the best-sounding VoIP handsets we've ever used, with any codec," the publication states.

For conference calls, the SoundStation IP 4000 takes the accolade, beating competing brands from both analogue and digital VoIP product lines to be termed as possibly "the best conference room speakerphone on the market".

The unit is also praised for making use of the same firmware as other VoIP phones from Polycom - meaning the individual handsets and conference "boomerang" speakerphones can interoperate across the same network.

Networking products provider Riverbed, meanwhile, is listed for its wide-area network (Wan) accelerators - a feat it also achieved in 2007 when its Steelhead 3.0 appliance was named Best Wan Accelerator, with the ability to detect and correct asymmetric routes described as a "big plus".

Products on the list are drawn from the complete range of models reviewed by InfoWorld over the preceding months, which the publication states totals hundreds of different brands.