Patent ID: 8594744

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; 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: turning off a speakerphone speaker and a speakerphone microphone of the mobile device, and turning on a handset speaker and a handset microphone of the mobile device if the at least one voice sample characteristic level is above a threshold value; and turning off a handset speaker and a handset microphone of the mobile device, and turning on a speakerphone speaker and a speakerphone microphone of the mobile device if the at least one voice sample characteristic level is below the threshold value.