There is provided a portable information terminal having a built-in
radio communications device which minimizes a drop in the
voltage of a battery and diminishes the operation
threshold voltage of the portable information terminal, thereby lengthening the operatable time of the terminal. In the portable information terminal, when a
radio communications section is in a transmission state, a
microprocessor of an interface and a
microprocessor of an
information processing section are brought into a hold state, thereby deactivating the interface and the
information processing section. As a result, the operating current required during transmission can be minimized. When the
radio communications section is not in a transmission state, the
information processing section and the interface are activated. Even when the radio communications section is in a
voice communication state and when information is not input to the information
processing section for a given period of time, the information
processing section and the interface are deactivated. A
voltage drop due to
internal resistance of the battery is diminished by distributing or reducing the
electric current dissipated by operation, in accordance with operating conditions. Consequently, the portable
information device can be operated even when the
voltage of the battery drops, thus lengthening the operatable time.