Portal:Telephones

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A telephone, commonly shortened to 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 wireless 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. Smartphones are distinguished from older-design feature phones by their more advanced hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, access to the internet, business applications, mobile payments, and multimedia functionality, including music, video, gaming, radio, and television. (Full article...)

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A harmonised service of social value is a type of freephone service available in the European Union and in some non-EU countries (including the countries in the European Economic Area and United Kingdom), which answers a specific social need, in particular which contributes to the well-being or safety of citizens, or particular groups of citizens, or helps citizens in difficulty. The phone numbers and the corresponding service descriptions are managed by the European Commission and harmonised across all EU and EEA member states. Harmonised services of social value use the prefix 116, which is then followed by three digits indicating the type of service.

After the commission has assigned a number, it is then up to the telephone regulator in each country to allocate the number to a telephone service provider and providing organisation of their choice. The first telephone numbers to be allocated are 116 000 (missing children helplines), 116 111 (child help lines) and 116 123 (emotional support helplines). (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...)

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UK, Ireland, and NZ audible ringing tone

A ringing tone from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand

Australian ringing tone

Australia audible ringing tone

European ringing tone

A European ringing tone per ETSI standard

Japanese ringing tone

French ringing tone

A French ringing tone

North American ringing tone

Audible ringing tone from North America

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Ringing tone (audible ringing, also ringback tone) is a signaling tone in telecommunication that is heard by the originator of a telephone call while the destination terminal is alerting the receiving party. The tone is typically a repeated cadence similar to a traditional power ringing signal (ringtone), but is usually not played synchronously. Various telecommunication groups, such as the Bell System and the General Post Office (GPO) developed standards, in part taken over by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and other standards bodies. With modern cell phone and smartphone technology ringing tone can be customized and even used for advertising. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Tooltip 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 2Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone)
Image 3A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone)
Image 4The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 7, 1876 (from History of the telephone)
Image 5Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone)
Image 6The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has an artificial intelligence-powered feature (from Smartphone)
Image 71896 telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone)
Image 8Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone)
Image 9Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone)
Image 10Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone)
Image 11Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 12Actor 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 13A 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 14People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone)
Image 15
Bell prototype telephone stamp
Centennial Issue of 1976
(from History of the telephone)
Image 16Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone)
Image 17Innocenzo Manzetti considered the idea of a telephone in 1844 (from History of the telephone)
Image 18A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone)
Image 19Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone)
Image 20Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone)
Image 21The HTC Desire, a 2010 smartphone with optical trackpad and search button (from Smartphone)
Image 22Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone)
Image 23A Nexus 6, an Android smartphone, displaying the Main Page of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone)
Image 24Martin 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 25A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone)
Image 26A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone)
Image 27E-waste in Agbogbloshie (from Smartphone)
Image 28Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 29Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1–f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone)
Image 30Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone)
Image 31Blackview A60 Andoid Go mobile phone smartphone cell phone showing the front-facing camera is put in notch display (from Smartphone)
Image 32Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone)
Image 33Antonio Meucci, 1849, developing a voice-communication apparatus that several sources credit as the first telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 34Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone)
Image 35Reis's telephone around 1861, first device called telephone (from History of the telephone)
Image 36Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone)
Image 37Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 38Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone)
Image 39A German rotary dial telephone, the W48 (from History of the telephone)
Image 40A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone)
Image 41Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone)
Image 42"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 43The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone)
Image 44Replica of the telettrofono at Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci of Milan, Italy, invented by Antonio Meucci and credited by several sources as the first telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 45A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone)
Image 46Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone)
Image 47A 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 48Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone)
Image 49Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone)
Image 50Android smartphones (from Mobile phone)
Image 511917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone)
Image 52Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone)
Image 53A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone)
Image 54A high-capacity portable battery charger (power bank) (from Smartphone)

Selected biography

Thomas C. Cowherd (March 20, 1817 – April 4, 1907) was a British-born tinsmith and poet, and father to 16 children in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, including James H. Cowherd, the second earliest manufacturer of telephones to Alexander Graham Bell. (Full article...)

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Selected images

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

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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