Portal:Telephones

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The Telephones Portal

A telephone 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 Greek: τῆλε (tēle, far) and φωνή (phōnē, voice), together meaning distant voice. A common short form of the term is phone, which came into use early in the telephone's history.

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 cellphone) 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...)

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This history of the telephone chronicles the development of the electrical telephone, and includes a brief overview of its predecessors. The first telephone patent was granted to Alexander Graham Bell in 1869. (Full article...)

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AT&T payphone in San Antonio, Texas in 2006

A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone) 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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Intercept tone played by The TeleZapper (plays 2 times)

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The TeleZapper is a device designed to reduce the number of telemarketing-related phone calls a household receives by imitating the tone signal normally played by a phone company to indicate a line has been disconnected. The Telezapper was created by Privacy Technologies, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 2A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone)
Image 3Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone)
Image 4A high-capacity portable battery charger (power bank) (from Smartphone)
Image 5A 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 6A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone)
Image 7The back of a Huawei P30. It features three rear-facing camera lenses with Leica optics. (from Smartphone)
Image 8This 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 9Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone)
Image 10The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone)
Image 11Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone)
Image 12Apple iPhone smartphone (from History of the telephone)
Image 13Martin 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 14The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone)
Image 15A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone)
Image 16A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone)
Image 17Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone)
Image 181896 Telephone (Sweden) (from History of the telephone)
Image 19"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 20Tooltip 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 211917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone)
Image 22Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1-f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone)
Image 23Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (from History of the telephone)
Image 24Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola 8900X-2 to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone)
Image 25A 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 26A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone)
Image 27Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone)
Image 28Old Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone)
Image 29Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone)
Image 30Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone)
Image 31Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 32The HTC Desire, a 2010 smartphone with optical trackpad and search button (from Smartphone)
Image 33Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card (from Mobile phone)
Image 34Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone)
Image 35Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone)
Image 36Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone)
Image 37Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone)
Image 38A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone)
Image 39Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone)
Image 40
Bell prototype telephone stamp
Centennial Issue of 1976
(from History of the telephone)
Image 41IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone)
Image 42Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 43A Meizu MX4 with Flyme OS (from Smartphone)
Image 44E-waste in Agbogbloshie (from Smartphone)
Image 45Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone)
Image 46Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone)
Image 47Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone)
Image 48Android smartphones (from Mobile phone)
Image 49The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 10, 1876 (from History of the telephone)
Image 50The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone)
Image 51A smartphone displaying the homepage of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone)
Image 52A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone)
Image 53Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone)
Image 54A Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone)
Image 55The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone)
Image 56The back of a Nokia 9 PureView. It features a five-lens camera array with Zeiss optics, using a mixture of color and monochrome sensors. (from Smartphone)
Image 57Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone)
Image 58People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone)
Image 59A German rotary dial telephone, the W48 (from History of the telephone)
Image 60Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 61Actor 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 62A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone)

Selected biography

"A shirt pocket phone to call anyone in the world, at any time" - George Harry Sweigert, The Plain Dealer (June 1966)

George H. Sweigert (1920–1999) is credited as the first inventor to patent the cordless telephone.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Sweigert served five years in the US Army as a radio operator in World War II in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Fiji and New Georgia assigned to the 145th Headquarters Company under the 37th Infantry Division (United States). Following the war, Sweigert attended Bowling Green State University near Toledo, Ohio.

Sweigert credited his military experience for invention of the cordless telephone, citing experimentation with various antennas, signal frequencies, and types of radios. (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 Gardiner Greene Hubbard Anthony Pollok Thomas A. Watson Elisha Gray Pat Fleet John Draper

Selected images

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