Integrated radiotelephone holster and audio appliance

A method of carrying and controlling operation of a handheld radiotelephone, the method comprising:

• providing an audio appliance, which is electrically connectable to a handheld radiotelephone having an electrical power source, and which comprises:
• a speaker for providing audio signals received by the radiotelephone;
• a microphone for receiving audio signals that are to be transmitted elsewhere by the radiotelephone;
• and
• a collapsible extension, having an extended state and a collapsed state, which provides a mechanical connection, having at least one of controllable length and controllable shape, between the speaker and the microphone and that provides an electrical connection between the audio appliance and the handheld radiotelephone;
• providing a holster to receive, hold and release the radiotelephone, and to receive, hold and release the audio appliance in the collapsed state;
• and
• providing each of the holster and the radiotelephone with an electrical terminal that is configured so that, when the radiotelephone is received by the holster, the holster terminal and the radiotelephone terminal contact each other and cause electrical power to be reduced or withdrawn for at least one of a display screen, a display screen backlight, a touch sensitive screen, a keypad, a keypad backlight, a sensor associated with operation of the radiotelephone and an LED indicator for a visual alert associated with the radiotelephone.

Apparatus for carrying and controlling operation of a handheld radiotelephone, the apparatus comprising:

• an audio appliance, which is electrically connectable to a handheld radiotelephone having an electrical power source, and which comprises:
• a speaker for providing audio signals received by the radiotelephone;
• a microphone for receiving audio signals that are to be transmitted elsewhere by the radiotelephone;
• and
• a collapsible extension, having an extended state and a collapsed state, which provides a mechanical connection, having at least one of controllable length and controllable shape, between the speaker and the microphone and that provides an electrical connection between the audio appliance and the handheld radiotelephone;
• and
• a holster for receiving, holding and releasing the radiotelephone, and for receiving, holding and releasing the audio appliance in the collapsed state,
• wherein the collapsible extension includes an electrical signal-carrying cable that is connected to the holster at a cable end, and the holster comprises a cable retraction mechanism that receives the cable end and controllably retracts an arbitrary length of the received cable into the holster without use of a radiotelephone user's hands.

A method of carrying and controlling operation of a handheld radiotelephone, the method comprising:

• providing an audio appliance, which is electrically connectable to a handheld radiotelephone having an electrical power source, and which comprises:
• a speaker for providing audio signals received by the radiotelephone;
• a microphone for receiving audio signals that are to be transmitted elsewhere by the radiotelephone;
• and
• a collapsible extension, having an extended state and a collapsed state, which provides a mechanical connection, having at least one of controllable length and controllable shape, between the speaker and the microphone and that provides an electrical connection between the audio appliance and the handheld radiotelephone;
• providing a holster to receive, hold and release the radiotelephone, and to receive, hold and release the audio appliance in the collapsed state;
• and
• providing the collapsible extension with an electrical signal-carrying cable that is connected to the holster at a cable end, and providing the holster with a cable retraction mechanism that receives the cable end and controllably retracts the received cable into the holster without use of a radiotelephone user's hands.