Know the Difference Between A Walkie-Talkie And A Two-Way Radio

The terms “walkie-talkie” and “two-way radio” though overlap in definitions have slight differences. Both of them are capable of sending and receiving radio transmissions and the terms are often used interchangeably. The interchangeability of the terms is totally justified which will be cleared in this blog. The definitions of both of them are given below:-

Ø A walkie talkie is a portable two-way radio, particularly one that can be held in the hand. This type of radio, also known as a handy talkie allows you to talk on the radio while walking around, hence the name walkie talkie signifies. In more simple words walkie talkie can be defined as a handheld portable two-way radio also commonly called a radio walkie talkie. We can have either the long-range walkie talkie or short-range walkie talkie. 

Ø A two-way radio is a radio that can operate in two ways, i-e, it can both transmit and receive a radio signal, as opposed to a radio that can only receive. A two-way radio can either operate in a half-duplex or full-duplex mode. Half-duplex allows the radio to transmit or receive in turn but not both simultaneously. Full-duplex allows the radio to transmit and receive at the same time. A two-way radio is also commonly called a transceiver because it can both transmit and receive radio communications. In either case, the radio operates two ways; it can send and it can receive.

Looking at the definitions above, we can deduce that all walkie talkies are two-way radios but not all the two-way radios are walkie talkies. The way they are made available to the folks mark the difference between them. Walkie talkies can be considered as being an inferior product targeted at the lower end of the market sometimes remaining high-end too. Hearing about walkie talkies people usually picture a basic radio or toy gadget like kids walkie talkies in their mind. They are mainly used by non-commercial organizations and are sold in street shops with bright colors to focus their target audiences. They have a shorter range, fewer features, are license-free and cheaper than two-way radios.

A two-way radio on other hand is defined as by professional users as a high-end, feature-rich radio which is largely used by commercial businesses with large sites like schools, 5-star hotels, hospitals, security firms, event management firms, and others. This type of radio generally has a tougher build quality and is more likely to have an IP rating which makes it ideal for environments such as building sites. Therefore the main difference between both lies in the fact that how they are marketed and presented.

Thus the difference between the walkie talkies and two-way radio is very minor and it mostly depends on the terminology that buyer and seller use for the device. Not all the time the big firms address it as two-way radio and hence justifying the statement walkie-talkies and two-way radios terms are often used interchangeably