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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. Nowadays, phones are almost always in the form of smartphones or mobile phones, due to technological convergence.

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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Caller identification ( Caller ID) is a telephone service, available in analog and digital telephone systems, including voice over IP (VoIP), that transmits a caller's telephone number to the called party's telephone equipment when the call is being set up. The caller ID service may include the transmission of a name associated with the calling telephone number, in a service called Calling Name Presentation (CNAM). The service was first defined in 1993 in International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Recommendation Q.731.3.

The information received from the service is displayed on a telephone display screen, on a separately attached device, or on other displays, such as cable television sets when telephone and television service is provided by the same vendor. Value to society includes use by suicide-prevention hotlines and enabling businesses "like pizza restaurants and florists" to quickly have confidence in telephoned orders. The customer has control as to whether one's full name or merely first initial appears, a choice that to avoid a fee must be selected when the initial listing is generated.

Caller ID service, which is also known by similar terms such as CID, calling line identification (CLI, CLID), calling number delivery (CND), calling number identification (CNID), calling line identification presentation (CLIP), and call display, does not work with Centrex, a phone system widely used by corporations that allows outside callers to dial an extension without going through an operator. ( Full article...)

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A car phone is a mobile radio telephone specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile.

This service originated with the Bell System and was first used in St. Louis, Missouri, United States on June 17, 1946. ( Full article...)

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USA Red Boxing Tone

The .25 USD tone sequence.

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A red box is a phreaking device that generates tones to simulate inserting coins in pay phones, thus fooling the system into completing free calls. In the United States, a nickel is represented by one tone, a dime by two, and a quarter by a set of five. Any device capable of playing back recorded sounds can potentially be used as a red box. Commonly used devices include modified Radio Shack tone dialers, personal MP3 players, and audio-recording greeting cards. ( Full article...)

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

Image 1Optical track pad sensor of an HTC Legend, 2010. (from Smartphone)
Image 2Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 smartphone can be used as a basic desktop computer (from Smartphone)
Image 3Several BlackBerry smartphones, which were highly popular in the mid-late 2000s (from Smartphone)
Image 4The HTC Desire, a 2010 smartphone with optical trackpad and search button (from Smartphone)
Image 5People using phones while walking (from Mobile phone)
Image 6Smartphone with infrared transmitter on top for use as remote control (from Smartphone)
Image 7Cellular networks work by only reusing radio frequencies (in this example frequencies f1-f4) in non adjacent cells to avoid interference (from Mobile phone)
Image 8"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 9Modern Apple iPhone. This phone is considered a smartphone (from History of the telephone)
Image 10Mobile payment system. (from Smartphone)
Image 11 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)
Image 12A driver using two handheld mobile phones at once (from Mobile phone)
Image 131896 Telephone ( Sweden) (from History of the telephone)
Image 14A New York City driver holding two phones (from Smartphone)
Image 15A 19th century acoustic tin can or "lovers' telephone" (from History of the telephone)
Image 16This 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 17
Bell prototype telephone stamp
Centennial Issue of 1976
(from History of the telephone)
Image 18Old Receiver schematic, c.1906 (from History of the telephone)
Image 19The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. In 1983, it became the first commercially available handheld cellular mobile phone. (from Mobile phone)
Image 20A smartphone displaying the homepage of the English Wikipedia (from Smartphone)
Image 21Mobile payment system (from Mobile phone)
Image 22Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices. (from History of the telephone)
Image 23The 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 24A high-capacity portable battery charger ( power bank) (from Smartphone)
Image 25A user consulting a mapping app on a phone (from Smartphone)
Image 26Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 27Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878) (from History of the telephone)
Image 28 IBM Simon and charging base (1994) (from Smartphone)
Image 29The original Apple iPhone; following its introduction the common smartphone form factor shifted to large touchscreen software interfaces without physical keypads (from Smartphone)
Image 301917 wall telephone, open to show magneto and local battery (from History of the telephone)
Image 31Active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (from Mobile phone)
Image 32The LG Prada with a large capacitive touchscreen introduced in 2006 (from Smartphone)
Image 33The back of a Huawei P30. It features three rear-facing camera lenses with Leica optics. (from Smartphone)
Image 34A smartphone touchscreen (from Smartphone)
Image 35A Meizu MX4 with Flyme OS (from Smartphone)
Image 36A German rotary dial telephone, the W48 (from History of the telephone)
Image 37A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (from History of the telephone)
Image 38A Moto G7 Power; its display uses a tall aspect ratio and includes a "notch". (from Smartphone)
Image 39Android smartphones (from Mobile phone)
Image 40 Philipp Reis, 1861, constructed the first telephone, today called the Reis telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 41A text message (SMS) (from Mobile phone)
Image 42Scrapped mobile phones (from Mobile phone)
Image 43Antonio Meucci's telephone. (from History of the telephone)
Image 44Dupuis and Haug during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992 (from Mobile phone)
Image 45A 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 46Actor 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 47 E-waste in Agbogbloshie (from Smartphone)
Image 48 Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. (from History of the telephone)
Image 49The master telephone patent granted to Bell, 174465, March 10, 1876 (from History of the telephone)
Image 50Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated. (from Mobile phone)
Image 51A 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 52The Nokia 9110 Communicator, opened for access to keyboard (from Smartphone)
Image 53 Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876. (from History of the telephone)
Image 54Tooltip 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 55A Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, featuring a "hole-punch" camera (from Smartphone)
Image 56Private conversation, 1910 (from History of the telephone)
Image 57 Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone which produced a strong telephone signal. (from History of the telephone)
Image 58 Personal Handy-phone System mobiles and modems, 1997–2003 (from Mobile phone)
Image 59Top of cellular telephone tower (from History of the telephone)
Image 60Two decades of evolution of mobile phones, from a 1992 Motorola 8900X-2 to the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus (from Mobile phone)
Image 61Inserted memory and SIM cards (from Smartphone)
Image 62Typical mobile phone mini- SIM card (from Mobile phone)

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Edison c. 1922

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...)

List of selected biographies
Alexander Graham Bell 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 George Sweigert Pat Fleet John Draper

Selected images

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

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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