Phones: Everything You Need to Know
The phone is the most common appliance in the world. There are many different types of phones. There are landlines, cordless phones, and cell phones just to start with the basics. Every year, technology presents new developments in phone technologies, so there is always more to learn.
Common Phone Features
All phones feature certain basic elements such as a ringer, a dial mechanism, a microphone, and a speaker. Even the earliest phones used these mechanisms even though the original phones relied on an operator to run a switchboard to connect calls. Today this is done automatically without the need for an operator to handle the connections between phone lines. As phone technology developed, new features became available like call-waiting, 3-way calling to make it possible to talk to more than one person at a time and through more than one phone line at a time, and automatic call redirecting to a different number. If a person is on vacation, their calls to their landline can be redirected to their current location. This is known as call forwarding.
Landline Telephones
A landline travels through a metal or optical cable. In 2003, there were over a billion landlines in the world, with China having 350 million and the United States having 268 million. Landlines can be hard-wired or cordless, and they’re the types of phones that are typically used in homes and offices. The hardwired typed of landline is usually running through the main electrical unit in the home or office. The cordless phone usually runs on batteries. A fixed wireless connection often uses battery power as a back up. A landline phone works through a wired connection that is typically installed by the telephone service provider for a home or office. Landline phones are typically wired so that even a power interruption is not likely to affect the phones ability to make or receive phone calls.
Wireless Phones
Wireless phones have been around for several decades. Wireless phones work like the landline phones do, with a service provider installing the cable into a home or office, but the phone itself is not wired into the phone line- only the receiver is. These phones are left on the receiver for charging, and the phone itself requires a battery. The phone’s signal is picked up through airwaves, but still relies on being within a certain distance from the receiver. These phones must be charged frequently. Leaving them on the receiver ensures that the phone stays adequately charged. Unlike landline phones, these will not work for very long in the event of a power outage, since it relies on electricity to power the receiver that sends the signal to the phone’s handset. These offer convenience over the original landline phone, but do not offer as many functions as cell phones do.
Cell phones
Cell phones are the most common type of phone purchased today, simply for the convenience of not having to be in a certain location to make and receive calls. Cell phones range from extremely basic to being state-of-the-art. The most basic phones do little more than the original landline phones did, but they do make it possible to send and receive calls from anywhere in range of a service tower providing a signal. All cell phones rely on batteries so are not subject to problems during power outages, unless the phone simply is out of charge. In that case, electricity is required to charge the battery. With a car charger, the phone can be charged using the car’s battery instead of electricity.
Modern cell phones have features that allow internet access and many models offer hands free services. Most cell phones require that you use a subscription to a cell phone provider, though there are models available that allow you to pay by the month. These usually do not require credit checks.