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computer science

USB phone

USB phone is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand USB phone rather than just read about it. In short: A USB phone looks like a traditional telephone, but it has a USB connector instead of an RJ-11. It may be used with most softphones and services like Sipnet, Sippoint Mini, Net2Phone, NetMeeting, and Xlite.

USB phone — main illustration
USB phone — illustration

Key takeaways

  • USB phone belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect USB phone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of USB phone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A USB phone looks like a traditional telephone, but it has a USB connector instead of an RJ-11. It may be used with most softphones and services like Sipnet, Sippoint Mini, Net2Phone, NetMeeting, and Xlite. In 2005 XS4ALL Internet BV (the first public internet provider in the Netherlands) supplied all of its DSL users with a USB VOIP Phone, it being the idea of Donar Alofs and built by Philips. It came with a browser plugin and people could make and receive calls via this USB Phone via an internet website (webphone.xs4all.nl). Later on, people got DSL modems with RJ-11 VoIP ports and RJ-45 ISDN ports, later the DSL modem/routers also had a built-in DECT for making calls with traditional phones.

In 2009, Polycom introduced the CX300 USB phone, optimized for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. In its second release (CX300 R2), this USB phone operates as a plug-and-play device with Skype for Business, Microsoft Lync 2013, and Microsoft Lync 2010. A user can communicate using the handset, plug in a headset (RJ9 plug in rear), or use it as a speakerphone when the handset is left on-hook. It is also supported with Skype for Business online which makes it a possible endpoint to use with Office 365 Cloud PBX when connected to a PC running the Skype for Business client.

References

Illustrations

USB phone: USB phone
USB phone
USB phone: The first USB phone in the world
The first USB phone in the world

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with USB phone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what USB phone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to USB phone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about USB phone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of USB phone

In research
USB phone appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses USB phone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
USB phone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer peripherals, Telephony equipment, Telephony stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for USB phone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study USB phone in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what USB phone means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain USB phone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is USB phone in simple terms?

A USB phone looks like a traditional telephone, but it has a USB connector instead of an RJ-11. It may be used with most softphones and services like Sipnet, Sippoint Mini, Net2Phone, NetMeeting, and Xlite.

Why does USB phone matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study USB phone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on USB phone.

Tags

  • Computer peripherals
  • Telephony equipment
  • Telephony stubs
  • USB

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