Portal:Telephones

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The Telephones Portal

A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into electronic signals that are transmitted via cables and other communication channels to another telephone which reproduces the sound to the receiving user. The term is derived from Ancient Greek: τῆλε, romanized: tēle, lit. 'far' and φωνή (phōnē, voice), together meaning distant voice.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was the first to be granted a United States patent for a device that produced clearly intelligible replication of the human voice at a second device. This instrument was further developed by many others, and became rapidly indispensable in business, government, and in households. (Full article...)

A mobile phone, or cell phone, is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones (landline phones). This radio frequency link connects to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, providing access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as 'cell phones' in North America. (Full article...)

A smartphone is a mobile device that combines the functionality of a traditional mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multimedia playback and streaming. Smartphones have built-in cameras, GPS navigation, and support for various communication methods, including voice calls, text messaging, and internet-based messaging apps. (Full article...)

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The Mojave phone booth (/moʊˈhɑːvi, mə-/ mo-HAH-vee) was a lone telephone booth in what is now the Mojave National Preserve in California. It attracted online attention in 1997 for its unusual location – it was located at the intersection of two dirt roads in a remote part of the Mojave Desert, 12 miles (19 km) from the nearest paved road (Interstate 15 to the northeast, Kelbaker Road to the southwest) and miles from any buildings. (Full article...)

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A modular smartphone is a smartphone designed for users to upgrade or replace components and modules without the need for resoldering or repair services. The most important component is the main board, to which others such as cameras and batteries are attached. Components can be obtained from open-source hardware stores.

This design aims to reduce electronic waste, increase the phone's lifespan, and lower repair costs. However, modular smartphones are generally bulkier and slower than their non-modular counterparts which may make them less attractive for most consumers. (Full article...)

List of phone types
Payphone Courtesy telephone Emergency telephone Secure telephone Smartphone Mobile phone Satellite phone Phablet Car phone Windows Phone Camera phone Feature phone VoIP phone iPhone Tin can telephone Sound-powered telephone Grillo telephone Golden telephone Reis telephone Cordless telephone Shoe phone Field telephone IBM Simon Mobile radio telephone Foldable smartphone Prepaid mobile phone

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Example of a North American Off-hook tone

Listen to an off-hook tone from North America.

High Tone

Some central office switches in the United States, notably older GTD-5 EAX systems, utilize a single frequency tone, 480 Hz, known as High Tone for this purpose. Listen to an older 480Hz off-hook tone.

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The off-hook tone (also off-hook warning, howling tone, or howler tone) is a telephony signal for alerting a user that the telephone has been left off-hook without use for an extended period, effectively disabling the telephone line. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various telephone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone)
Image 2Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone)
Image 3A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone)
Image 4Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone)
Image 5A Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone)
Image 6Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone)
Image 7The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone)
Image 8Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 9People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone)
Image 10A high-capacity portable battery charger (power bank) (from Smartphone)
Image 11Android smartphones (from Mobile phone)
Image 12Tooltip in Kiwi Browser, a Google Chromium derivative, reveals the full URL by hovering over the tab list using the stylus on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. (from Smartphone)
Image 13E-waste in Agbogbloshie (from Smartphone)
Image 14Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone)
Image 15Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1–f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone)
Image 16Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone)
Image 17Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone)
Image 18A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone)
Image 19The HTC Desire, a 2010 smartphone with optical trackpad and search button (from Smartphone)
Image 20Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone)
Image 21The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone)
Image 22A sign in the US restricting cell phone use to certain times of day (no cell phone use between 7:30–9:00 am and 2:00–4:15 pm) (from Mobile phone)
Image 23Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone)
Image 24A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone)
Image 251917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone)
Image 26A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone)
Image 271896 telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone)
Image 28Martin Cooper of Motorola, shown here in a 2007 reenactment, made the first publicized handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC model on 3 April 1973. (from Mobile phone)
Image 29Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 30Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone)
Image 31A Meizu MX4 with Flyme OS (from Smartphone)
Image 32The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 7, 1876 (from History of the telephone)
Image 33Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone)
Image 34The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction in 2007, the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone)
Image 35Oppo Find X6 features software-based tuning co-developed with Hasselblad (from Smartphone)
Image 36"Device options" menu of Samsung Mobile's TouchWiz user interface as of 2013, accessed by holding the power button for a second (from Smartphone)
Image 37Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone)
Image 38Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 39A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone)
Image 40A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone)
Image 41Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (from History of the telephone)
Image 42This layout of the camera viewfinder was first introduced by Apple with iOS 7 in 2013. Towards the late 2010s, several other smartphone vendors have ditched their layouts and implemented variations of this layout. (from Smartphone)
Image 43A Nexus 6, an Android smartphone, displaying the Main Page of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone)
Image 44Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone)
Image 45Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone)
Image 46Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone)
Image 47Actor portraying Alexander Graham Bell in a 1932 silent film. Shows Bell's second telephone transmitter (microphone), invented 1876 and first displayed at the Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia. (from History of the telephone)
Image 48Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone)
Image 49Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 50Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone)
Image 51Reis's telephone around 1861, first device called telephone (from History of the telephone)
Image 52IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone)
Image 53A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone)
Image 54A sign along Bellaire Boulevard in Southside Place, Texas (Greater Houston) states that using mobile phones while driving is prohibited from 7:30 am to 9:00 am and from 2:00 pm to 4:15 pm. (from Smartphone)
Image 55The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone)
Image 56Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone)
Image 57The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has an artificial intelligence-powered feature (from Smartphone)
Image 58A German rotary dial telephone, the W48 (from History of the telephone)
Image 59
Bell prototype telephone stamp
Centennial Issue of 1976
(from History of the telephone)
Image 60A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone)
Image 61Xiaomi 13 Ultra featured a Leica Summicron camera system (from Smartphone)
Image 62Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone)
Image 63Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone)
Image 64Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone)

Selected biography

Hubbard in 1875

Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822 – December 11, 1897) was an American lawyer, financier, and community leader. He was a founder and first president of the National Geographic Society; a founder and the first president of the Bell Telephone Company which later evolved into AT&T, at times the world's largest telephone company; a founder of the journal Science; and an advocate of oral speech education for the deaf.

One of his daughters, Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, married Alexander Graham Bell. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Alexander Graham Bell Thomas Edison Innocenzo Manzetti Charles Bourseul Johann Philipp Reis Antonio Meucci Tivadar Puskás Douglas H. Ring W. Rae Young Martin Cooper (inventor) Thomas Cowherd Anthony Pollok Thomas A. Watson Elisha Gray George Sweigert Pat Fleet John Draper

Selected images

Image 1Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French
Image 2A Northern Electric telephone, model number N415H, circa 1950 (probably)
Image 3Telephone booth box art outside the Tower of London, 2012
Image 4A Bell Canada payphone with digital display
Image 5Automatic electric Rotary dial telephone
Image 6Emergency telephones, on the Paris-Bordeaux railway line, Saint-Saviol station, Vienne, France
Image 7The AUTOVON was a worldwide American military telephone system that was built starting in 1963.
Image 8Historical telephone with the German imperial eagle and the heraldic shield of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty; Vollmer's Mill, Seebach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Image 9Mailbox and public telephone in Haßfurt, Germany
Image 10Push-button telephone
Image 11Photograph of the interior of the Prairie Grove Airlight Outdoor Telephone Booth in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Image 12A cordless phone
Image 13A Western Electric candlestick phone from the 1920s
Image 14Foldable smartphones
Image 15Acoustic telephone ad, The Consolidated Telephone Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, 1886
Image 16A traditional North American rotary phone dial. The associative lettering was originally used for dialing named exchanges but was kept because it facilitated memorization of telephone numbers.
Image 17An example of a K6, the most common red telephone box model, photographed in London in 2012
Image 18A historic telephone booth in Skansen, Stockholm
Image 19Apple iPhones
Image 20Wooden wall telephone with a hand-cranked magneto generator
Image 21Public telephone, Bucharest, Romania
Image 22Landline call blocking in use
Image 23A Funke + Huster telephone inside the Idrija Mine, Slovenia
Image 24Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French
Image 25Android smartphones
Image 26A police box outside Earl's Court tube station in London, built in 1996 and based on the 1929 Gilbert Mackenzie Trench design
Image 27An Italian gettone telefonico (telephone token) from 1945, which was used in Italian phone booths
Image 28Track-side emergency brake and emergency telephones at the platform of the metro station Aspern Nord, Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria

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v t e Telephony
Types	Landline Cable telephony Mobile phone Satellite phone Photophone
Accessories	Answering machine Caller ID
Connectivity	Cable protection system Communications satellites Fibre-optical Free-space optical ISDN Mobile phone signal POTS PSTN Submarine cables VoIP
Calls	Missed call Misdialed call Nuisance call Phone tag
Applications	Fax transmission Telephone calls Telephone newspapers Théâtrophone Video calls
Telecommunication portal Telephones portal

v t e Emergency telephone numbers
Emergency telephone Harmonised service of social value
000 (Australia) 102 (India) 106 (Australia) 108 (India) 110 (Iran, Japan, China) 111 (New Zealand) 112 (Europe and others, worldwide GSM mobile networks) 119 (parts of Asia and Jamaica) 120 (China) 122 (Austria, Egypt, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) 123 (Colombia, Egypt) 128 (Mercosur member states) 190 (Brazil) 911 (Iraq, North America E-911 system, Philippines) 988 (North America Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) 999 (Bangladesh, UK and others) 1122 (Pakistan)
Telephones portal Telecommunication portal List article Category Wikimedia Commons