Portal:Telephones
The Telephones Portal 
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that permits 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 can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area, as opposed to a fixed-location phone (landline phone). The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture, and therefore mobile telephones are called cellphones (or "cell phones") in North America. In addition to telephony, digital mobile phones support a variety of other services, such as text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, Internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), satellite access (navigation, messaging connectivity), business applications, payments (via NFC), multimedia playback and streaming (radio, television), digital photography, and video games. Mobile phones offering only basic capabilities are known as feature phones (slang: "dumbphones"); mobile phones that offer greatly advanced computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones. (Full article...)
A smartphone, often simply called a phone, 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...)
Selected article -
The invention of the telephone was the culmination of work done by more than one individual, and led to an array of lawsuits relating to the patent claims of several individuals and numerous companies. Notable people included in this were Antonio Meucci, Philipp Reis, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell. (Full article...)
Types of phones -
Mobile radio telephone systems were mobile telephony systems that preceded modern cellular network technology. Since they were the predecessors of the first generation of cellular telephones, these systems are sometimes retroactively referred to as pre-cellular (or sometimes zero generation, that is, 0G) systems. Technologies used in pre-cellular systems included the Push-to-talk (PTT or manual), Mobile Telephone Service (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), and Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS) systems. These early mobile telephone systems can be distinguished from earlier closed radiotelephone systems in that they were available as a commercial service that was part of the public switched telephone network, with their own telephone numbers, rather than part of a closed network such as a police radio or taxi dispatching system.
These mobile telephones were usually mounted in cars or trucks (thus called car phones), although portable briefcase models were also made. Typically, the transceiver (transmitter-receiver) was mounted in the vehicle trunk and attached to the "head" (dial, display, and handset) mounted near the driver seat. They were sold through WCCs (Wireline Common Carriers, a.k.a. telephone companies), RCCs (Radio Common Carriers), and two-way radio dealers. (Full article...)
Selected audio -
A disconnect tone in telephony is a tone provided to the remaining party to a call after the remote party hangs up. Typically, the disconnect tone is a few cycles of the reorder, busy, or the off-hook tone (e.g. in US), or between five and fifteen seconds of the Number Unobtainable tone (e.g. in UK). (Full article...)
List articles
- Comparison of smartphones
- List of best-selling mobile phones
- List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions
- List of countries by number of telephone lines in use
- List of countries by smartphone penetration
- List of country calling codes
- List of iPhone models
- List of mobile network operators
- List of mobile phone brands by country
- List of mobile phone generations
- List of telecommunications companies
Related portals
General images -
-
The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone) -
-
-
Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone) -
Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone) -
A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone) -
Actor 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) -
Martin 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) -
A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone) -
-
Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone) -
Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (from History of the telephone) -
-
Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone) -
A Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone) -
The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone) -
A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone) -
A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone) -
1896 Telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone) -
Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone) -
A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone) -
-
Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone) -
Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone) -
-
Bell prototype telephone stamp(from History of the telephone)
Centennial Issue of 1976 -
Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone) -
A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone) -
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone) -
Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone) -
IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone) -
A 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) -
Android smartphones (from Mobile phone) -
Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone) -
The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 10, 1876 (from History of the telephone) -
A 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)
-
A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone) -
-
Old Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone) -
Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone) -
-
-
Tooltip 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) -
Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone) -
Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone) -
Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1–f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone) -
Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone) -
Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone) -
Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone) -
Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone) -
A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone) -
Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone) -
This 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) -
Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone) -
1917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone) -
Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone) -
Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone) -
The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone) -
People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone) -
The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone) -
Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone) -
"Device options" menu of Samsung Mobile's TouchWiz user interface as of 2013, accessed by holding the power button for a second (from Smartphone)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
.jpg)
Selected biography
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.
Edison was raised in the American Midwest. Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions. In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, that featured the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. With 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as patents in other countries, Edison is regarded as the most prolific inventor in American history. Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 due to complications from diabetes. (Full article...)
Selected images
-
Landline call blocking in use -
Android smartphones -
A 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. -
Emergency telephones, on the Paris-Bordeaux railway line, Saint-Saviol station, Vienne, France -
Public telephone, Bucharest, Romania -
-
-
An example of a K6, the most common red telephone box model, photographed in London in 2012 -
Historical telephone with the German imperial eagle and the heraldic shield of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty; Vollmer's Mill, Seebach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany -
The AUTOVON was a worldwide American military telephone system that was built starting in 1963. -
-
Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French -
-
Wooden wall telephone with a hand-cranked magneto generator -
A Western Electric candlestick phone from the 1920s -
A police box outside Earl's Court tube station in London, built in 1996 and based on the 1929 Gilbert Mackenzie Trench design -
A Northern Electric telephone, model number N415H, circa 1950 (probably) -
A historic telephone booth in Skansen, Stockholm -
Acoustic telephone ad, The Consolidated Telephone Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, 1886 -
Track-side emergency brake and emergency telephones at the platform of the metro station Aspern Nord, Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria -
Telephone booth box art outside the Tower of London, 2012 -
A Bell Canada payphone with digital display -
Photograph 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 -
Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French -
A Funke + Huster telephone inside the Idrija Mine, Slovenia -
Apple iPhones -
Mailbox and public telephone in Haßfurt, Germany -
Automatic electric Rotary dial telephone
Topics
| Types | |
|---|---|
| Accessories | |
| Connectivity | |
| Calls | |
| Applications | |
| Mobile networks, protocols |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General operation | |||||||
| Mobile devices |
| ||||||
| Mobile specific software |
| ||||||
| Culture | |||||||
| Environment and health | |||||||
| Law | |||||||
| |
Cellular network standards | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0G radio telephones (1946) | |||||||||
| 1G (1979) |
| ||||||||
| 2G (1991) |
| ||||||||
| 2G transitional (2.5G, 2.75G, 2.9G) |
| ||||||||
| 3G (1998) IMT-2000 (2001) |
| ||||||||
| 3G transitional (3.5G, 3.75G, 3.9G) |
| ||||||||
| 4G (2009) IMT Advanced (2013) |
| ||||||||
| 5G (2018) IMT-2020 (2021) |
| ||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||
Subcategories
More
 |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Telephones in the news
- 29 October 2024 –
- Four people are injured after a derailed tram crashes into a phone and computer shop in central Oslo, Norway. (Euronews)
- 15 October 2024 – Philippines–United Arab Emirates relations
- Following a phone call with Emirati president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Philippine president Bongbong Marcos confirms that 143 Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates have been pardoned by the Emirati government. (Philippine News Agency)
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
