To achieve a compact design of a portable terminal such as a mobile phone by incorporating an antenna into a hinge to make effective use of a given space.

In a portable terminal, an antenna element for communication is incorporated in a hinge, which connects an upper case and a lower case in an openable/closable manner. The antenna element may be a linear conductor, a linear conductor connected to a helical coil, a linear conductor connected to a helical coil and then a sleeve, or a linear conductor connected to a sleeve via a chip element. For a high frequency band, a linear conductor is used alone as the antenna element. For a low frequency band, a linear conductor is used together with a coil and/or a sleeve for the antenna element. The antenna element can be configured for single band or multiband communication, and can be also used as a TV antenna by being connected to a circuit board in the upper case via a choke coil.