The inventor of the telephone was Antonio Meucci, who called it "teletrofono" but economic hardship, only gave a brief description of your invention and not enter the patent.
In 1857 Antonio Meucci constructed a device to connect his office to his bedroom, located on the second floor, due to his wife's rheumatism. He did not have enough money to patent his invention, so he presented it to the Western Union company (who promoted the "invention" of Graham Bell). They paid no attention, but didn't returned the materials.
In 1876, after discovering that human voice could only be transmitted using a current, Alexander Graham Bell patented and built the first telephone capable of transmitting and receiving human voice in all its quality and pitch.
The phone is a communication device designed to transmit audio signals from a distance by means of electric signals.
Today, thanks to technological advances, people have designed phones with larger keys, sharper tone ringer sounds indicating each marking and keys in "Braille" for the Blind, with simple to understand menu numbers; with the idea of "design for all", so they can be used by elderly or disabled people, and so do not limit the use of this great invention.