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A handset is a component of a
is used for starting a call, and a red lying-down (on-hook) handset 
is used for ending a call.
A handset is a component of a telephone
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 e ...
that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party using the built-in transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
. In earlier telephones, the transmitter was mounted directly on the telephone itself, which was attached to a wall at a convenient height or placed on a desk or table. Until the advent of the cordless telephone
A cordless telephone or portable telephone has a portable telephone handset that connects by radio to a base station connected to the public telephone network. The operational range is limited, usually to the same building or within some short ...
, the handset was usually wired to the base unit, typically by a flexible tinsel wire.
The handset of a cordless telephone contains a radio transceiver which relays communication via a base station
Base station (or base radio station) is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a "land station in the land mobile service."
The term is used in the context of mobile telephony, wireless c ...
that is wired to the telephone line
A telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit industrywide) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system. It is designed to reproduce speech of a quality that is understandable. It is the physical wire or ot ...
. A mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
does not require a base station and communicates directly with a cell site
A cell site, cell tower, or cellular base station is a cellular-enabled mobile device site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed (typically on a radio mast, tower, or other raised structure) to create a cell, or adj ...
in designated frequency bands.
Handset symbol
A graphic symbol that designates a handset is used on cordless and mobile phones to specify placing or ending a telephone call. Usually a button with green upright (off-hook) handset icon is used for starting a call, and a red lying-down (on-hook) handset is used for ending a call. Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
provides the symbol.
See also
* Headset (audio)References
Telephony equipment * {{cite book, author=Sajal K. Das, publisher=John Wiley & Sons, date=April 2010, title=Mobile Handset Design, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AylGzU3yOE4C, isbn=978-0-470-82467-2