Patent ID: 8290543

Claim:
A method for adaptively switching a mode of operation between a speakerphone mode and a handset mode on a mobile device, the method comprising: detecting at the mobile device that a voice conversation is being carried out or is about to be initiated; establishing an ambient noise level upon detecting that the voice conversation is about to be initiated; sampling the voice of a user of the mobile device during the voice conversation to determine a level of at least one characteristic of the user's voice; and selectively switching the mode of operation between the speakerphone mode and the handset mode of the mobile device based on the sampling of the user's voice, the switching comprising: setting the mode of operation to the handset mode if the at least one voice sample characteristic level is above a threshold value; and setting the mode of operation to the speakerphone mode if the at least one voice sample characteristic level is below the threshold value, wherein the sampling further includes filtering out undesirable voice samples, and wherein the switching involves selectively turning on or turning off a speakerphone speaker and a handset speaker, and selectively turning on or off a speakerphone microphone and a handset microphone on the mobile device.