Portal:Telephones

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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 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, 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...)

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This is a list of devices that run on the Android operating system. (Full article...)

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AT&T payphone in San Antonio, Texas in 2006

A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone or public phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or telephone tokens, swiping a credit or debit card, or using a telephone card.

The company that operates the payphone generally pays either rent or a revenue share to the owner of the property where the phone is installed.

Invented in the late 19th century, payphones became ubiquitous worldwide in the 20th, enough to contribute to the notion of universal access to basic communication services. The charge for a call may be a flat rate, or dependent on call duration. Following the explosive growth of mobile telephony, the use of payphones, and the number installed, has decreased greatly. (Full article...)

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2600 Hz

A 2600 Hz tone (LOUD)

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2600 hertz (2600 Hz) is a frequency in hertz (cycles per second) that was used in telecommunication signaling in mid-20th century long-distance telephone networks using carrier systems. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone)
Image 2Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 3Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone)
Image 4The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone)
Image 5Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone)
Image 6Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone)
Image 7Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone)
Image 8Tooltip 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 9Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone)
Image 10A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone)
Image 11Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone)
Image 12Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 13A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone)
Image 14A German rotary dial telephone, the W48 (from History of the telephone)
Image 15The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone)
Image 16
Bell prototype telephone stamp
Centennial Issue of 1976
(from History of the telephone)
Image 17Actor 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 18The HTC Desire, a 2010 smartphone with optical trackpad and search button (from Smartphone)
Image 19Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 20Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone)
Image 21Reis's telephone around 1861, first device called telephone (from History of the telephone)
Image 221917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone)
Image 23Oppo Find X6 features software-based tuning co-developed with Hasselblad (from Smartphone)
Image 24A 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 25A Meizu MX4 with Flyme OS (from Smartphone)
Image 26"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 27Xiaomi 13 Ultra featured a Leica Summicron camera system (from Smartphone)
Image 28Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 29Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone)
Image 30IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone)
Image 31Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone)
Image 32Martin 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 33Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (from History of the telephone)
Image 34This 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 35Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1–f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone)
Image 36Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone)
Image 37The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone)
Image 38A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone)
Image 39Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone)
Image 40The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone)
Image 41Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone)
Image 42Old Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone)
Image 43Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone)
Image 44A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone)
Image 45Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone)
Image 46Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone)
Image 47The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 10, 1876 (from History of the telephone)
Image 48A high-capacity portable battery charger (power bank) (from Smartphone)
Image 49A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone)
Image 50People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone)
Image 511896 Telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone)
Image 52E-waste in Agbogbloshie (from Smartphone)
Image 53Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone)
Image 54A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone)
Image 55A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone)
Image 56A Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone)
Image 57A Nexus 6, an Android smartphone, displaying the Main Page of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone)
Image 58Android smartphones (from Mobile phone)
Image 59A 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 60A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone)
Image 61Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone)
Image 62Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone)
Image 63Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone)

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Watson, c. 1883

Thomas Augustus Watson (January 18, 1854 – December 13, 1934) was an assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, notably in the invention of the telephone in 1876. (Full article...)

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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 Gardiner Greene Hubbard Anthony Pollok Elisha Gray George Sweigert Pat Fleet John Draper

Selected images

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

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Telephones in the news

15 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany–Russia relations: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine, their first contact since 2022. Putin tells Scholz that any negotiated settlement to end the war must recognize the territories that Russia has occupied as part of Russia and that Ukraine must abandon its aspiration to join NATO. (AP) (The New York Times)

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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