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, often called simply 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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Phone surveillance is the act of performing surveillance on phone conversations, location tracking, and data monitoring of a phone. Before the era of mobile phones, these used to refer to the tapping of phone lines via a method called wiretapping. Wiretapping has now been replaced by software that monitors the cell phones of users.
While mobile phone surveillance has been carried out by large organizations for a long time (e.g., to find clues of illegal activities), more and more of such surveillance is now carried out by individuals for personal reasons. For example, a parent may become a "text spy" to monitor a child's texting activity. This brings in the moral, ethical and legal question of who owns people's privacy. (Full article...)
Types of phones -
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.
Beyond traditional voice communication, digital mobile phones have evolved to support a wide range of additional services. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB).
Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming. In addition, they enable multimedia playback and streaming, including video content, as well as radio and television streaming. Furthermore, mobile phones offer satellite-based services, such as navigation and messaging, as well as business applications and payment solutions (via near-field communication (NFC)). (Full article...)
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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...)
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 -
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Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone) -
Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone) -
IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone) -
Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone) -
Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (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) -
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A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone) -
Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone) -
A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone) -
1896 telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone) -
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) -
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"Device options" menu of Samsung Mobile's TouchWiz user interface as of 2013, accessed by holding the power button for a second (from Smartphone) -
Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone) -
A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone) -
Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone) -
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A Nexus 6, an Android smartphone, displaying the Main Page of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone) -
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone) -
Android smartphones (from Mobile phone) -
People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone) -
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)
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A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone) -
A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone) -
Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone) -
Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone) -
Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone) -
Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone) -
The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 7, 1876 (from History of the telephone) -
1917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone) -
Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone) -
The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone) -
Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone) -
Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone) -
A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone) -
Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone) -
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Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone) -
Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone) -
The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction in 2007, the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone) -
Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone) -
A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone) -
Bell prototype telephone stamp(from History of the telephone)
Centennial Issue of 1976 -
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Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (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) -
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 Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone) -
Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone) -
Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone) -
Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone) -
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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) -
The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone) -
The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone) -
Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone) -
Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1–f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone) -
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Reis's telephone around 1861, first device called telephone (from History of the telephone) -
Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone) -
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)
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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
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Wooden wall telephone with a hand-cranked magneto generator -
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Acoustic telephone ad, The Consolidated Telephone Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, 1886 -
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Emergency telephones, on the Paris-Bordeaux railway line, Saint-Saviol station, Vienne, France -
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Telephone booth box art outside the Tower of London, 2012 -
A Funke + Huster telephone inside the Idrija Mine, Slovenia -
Landline call blocking in use -
An example of a K6, the most common red telephone box model, photographed in London in 2012 -
A historic telephone booth in Skansen, Stockholm -
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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 -
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. -
Automatic electric Rotary dial telephone -
The AUTOVON was a worldwide American military telephone system that was built starting in 1963. -
Android smartphones -
Apple iPhones -
A Northern Electric telephone, model number N415H, circa 1950 (probably) -
Mailbox and public telephone in Haßfurt, Germany -
Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French -
A Bell Canada payphone with digital display -
Public telephone, Bucharest, Romania -
A police box outside Earl's Court tube station in London, built in 1996 and based on the 1929 Gilbert Mackenzie Trench design -
Track-side emergency brake and emergency telephones at the platform of the metro station Aspern Nord, Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria -
A Western Electric candlestick phone from the 1920s -
Historical telephone with the German imperial eagle and the heraldic shield of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty; Vollmer's Mill, Seebach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany -
Rotary dial telephone, probably from Belgium; the circuit diagram inside is in Dutch and French
Topics
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| Accessories | |
| Connectivity | |
| Calls | |
| Applications | |
| Mobile networks, protocols |
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| General operation | |||||||
| Mobile devices |
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| Mobile specific software |
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Cellular network standards | |||||||||
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| 0G radio telephones (1946) | |||||||||
| 1G (1979) |
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| 2G (1991) |
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| 2G transitional (2.5G, 2.75G, 2.9G) |
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| 3G (1998) IMT-2000 (2001) |
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| 3G transitional (3.5G, 3.75G, 3.9G) |
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| 4G (2009) IMT Advanced (2013) |
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| 5G (2018) IMT-2020 (2021) |
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| Related articles | |||||||||
Subcategories
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Telephones in the news
- 4 January 2025 – Anglophone Crisis
- Gunmen from Nigeria kill at least five Cameroonian soldiers and injure several others in Bakinjaw, Southwest Region, Cameroon. (Reuters)
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