What is a touch tone phone? How do i know i use a touch tone phone?

Older phones that had phone dials used pulses to dial. They were also referred to as rotary phones. Newer electronic switching equipment was developed that could recognize electronic tones and so phones that used tones to dial were referred to as touch tone. If, when you press any key on your phone you hear a tone then you have a touch tone phone. Some phones have a switch on them for (P)pulse or (T)tone dialing. You could also look to see if your phone has this switch.

push buttons (touch tone) or a turning wheel (rotary)

Can you push the buttons on it or do you have to use a rotary? (A turning circle thing for the numbers) If you have to push down buttons, then its a touch tone phone. What planet you from, buddy??

Back in the days of the dinosaurs, we had rotary dial phones. When you stuck your finger in the ring to dial a number, a series of clicks would go out over the line to the local phone switching station, and that would signal the equipment, or the human operator, to make the connection to the right trunk line. Nowadays, all phones are touch tone, even if they have a rotary dial face. Because the phone now emits a tonal frequency with each number that causes the computer equipment to make the appropriate connections. Some very rual areas in the US may still have a rotary system, but it's not likely. Any phone that has a computer chip in it woud automatically be a touch tone phone.

When you dial any phone number does it beep or does it make a tick-tick-tick-tick sound as many times as the number you pressed? If it beeps once after depressing a number then you have touch-tone phone. My great-aunt has a phone in her house that is still on a rotary-system even though it looks like a normal everyday phone. Given the fact that you have Optimum triple play line (phone, internet, tv cable) you should have a touch-tone phone, not a rotary.

when you press a key on your phone it comes out with a single tone, then it's a touch tone phone. if you press a key,a series of pulse-like came out, then it's a pulse tone(it simulate the very old "dial" type telephone that you need to turn the round dial in the middle) anyway, some phone on the market allow you to switch between touch tone or pulse.