noun

• 1A mobile phone.

  ‘many stolen handsets are believed to end up in Eastern Europe’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Finally, once you have upgraded to a slinky new model, put your old handset to good use via a recycling scheme.’
  • ‘Cell-phone penetration is staggering: More than 400 million handsets were sold last year.’
  • ‘The world's flashiest mobile phone makers met in the south of France last week to unveil their latest handsets.’
  • ‘The slowdown in the rate of sales growth of mobile handsets has created overcapacity within the industry.’
  • ‘Today, Nokia is the world leader in handsets, with 38% of the market.’
  • ‘And as the mobile phone market matures, there will be greater emphasis on existing customers buying replacement handsets.’
  • ‘My mobile phone has blue-tooth technology that enables me and my partner to compete against each other in games on our handsets.’
  • ‘Alternatively, move provider - you can often secure yourself a great new deal and brand new handset for the price of a phone number change.’
  • ‘Handsets that are white-hot today will be stone-cold in six months.’
  • ‘Vodafone is now more concerned about keeping customers than getting new ones, so it is prepared to spend money on subsidies for the new handsets.’
  • ‘Nokia's forecasts for the remainder of the year, for handset sales and its own market share, will be subject to close scrutiny.’
  • ‘Plans include a common way in which to top up pay-as-you-go handsets.’
  • ‘Replacement handsets fuelled sales in the United States and Europe, where the mobile phone market is maturing.’
  • ‘By the end of this year or early 2003, expect to see handsets with Java capabilities.’
  • ‘But the trend has begun to change, owing to the availability of cheaper and trendy handsets, affordable pricing and relevant services.’
  • ‘It's easier to sell a new handset on its features, especially where those features might aid bragging rights.’
  • ‘This is a non-profit making experience available on all mobile networks and handsets.’
  • ‘And my own tests with my own equipment have shown that the amount of radiation being received when using a handset is very low.’
  • ‘Get another mobile connection for home, after all, handsets come so cheap these days’
  • ‘Manufacturers of phones should inscribe a warning on the handsets to make the users aware of hazards mobile phones can cause.’

  1. 1.1The part of a phone that is held up to speak into and listen to.
     ‘He's devised a way to hook up vintage telephone handsets to a standard cell phone.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘It's almost as impressive as these mobile phone handsets modeled on old Bakelite telephones from the 1950s.’
     • ‘These are transmitters that use radio waves to communicate with mobile phone handsets.’
     • ‘It is very easy to predict that we will have a lot of new cellular phone handsets with stylish designs.’
     • ‘Its strong brand in mobile phone handsets has allowed it to weather the downturn in the telecom sector.’
     • ‘Earlier this year the company announced it would stop making mobile phone handsets due to huge losses in its consumer products division.’
     • ‘There are sad accounts of how foreign truckers have forked out items including mobile phone handsets in lieu of cash.’
     • ‘He argues that people will want to change or update their mobile phone handsets anyway.’
     • ‘Most of the mobile phone viruses target handsets that use the Symbian operating system.’
     • ‘Indeed, so many of us now possess a handset that mobile phone sales have collapsed.’
     • ‘Not everyone can whisper and many habitually shout into telephone handsets.’
     • ‘This was achieved despite a reduction in subsidies for telephone handsets.’
     • ‘By using a telephone handset, users will be guided through a simple procedure to access the information they require.’
     • ‘Alex picked up the handset and listened as the dispatcher gave him instructions.’
     • ‘Within the space of ten years, the mobile telephone handset industry has moved from a growth phase to a maturity phase.’
     • ‘For example, I previously had no idea that you can play games on a handset or send text messages and e-mails.’
     • ‘The trauma of losing a mobile phone is usually not the handset but the phone numbers and saved text messages it contains.’
     • ‘The key to paying bills and redeeming coupons via mobile handsets is the use of camera phones to read special bar codes.’
     Synonyms

     phone, handset, receiver
  2. 1.2A handheld controller for a piece of electronic equipment, such as a television or video recorder.
     ‘This locking device can be released by car park porters who will be carrying two handsets called cart controllers.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘If Microsoft controls the handset, it tightens its grip on all the other pieces.’
     • ‘In other words, the handset makers and network equipment vendors are in for years of tough negotiations.’
     • ‘They are completely lost, with no water, no maps and certainly no cellphones or GPS handsets.’
     • ‘The company has been developing chipsets for handsets and other terminal devices for a long time.’
     • ‘All are controlled by a single handset, and even the Velux roof lights and blinds open and close at the touch of a button.’
     • ‘Now I'm familiar with three handsets in the Walkman family, and there are no big surprises here.’
     • ‘The idea is to drive the integration of Wi-Fi into set-top boxes, ADSL and cable modems, wireless handsets and so on.’
     • ‘The main bonus is having pushbuttons and display separate from the handset.’
     • ‘The company wants to increase the amount of money it earns making handsets and parts for other equipment manufacturers.’
     • ‘It's even offering a gamepad controller accessory that fits over the back of the handset and looks like an old Nintendo pad.’
     • ‘It looks like a fluorescent pistol, but uses compressed air to fire two darts that trail an electric cable back to the handset.’
     • ‘They hit the target and a five second charge of electricity is delivered from the handset via two thin electric wires.’
     • ‘I have an awful fear that tomorrow I am going to go out and buy a GPS handset.’
     • ‘Interference is one of the key obstacles to such handsets becoming viable and the chipmakers are seeking to solve the problem in different ways.’
     • ‘Compeq makes printed circuit boards that connect semiconductors and other parts in handsets.’
     • ‘The chair's control handset was just a few inches from his hand.’
     • ‘I saw him get back into the cruiser and pick up the handset to call in the record check.’
     • ‘In the same timeframe, handsets will be able to scan for changes in a caller's facial expression.’
     Synonyms

     handset, earpiece, receiver