What Are Ringtones

What are Ringtones?

by NotePage, Inc.

What is Ringtones?
Ringtones are melodic sounds a cellular or cell phone makes
when an incoming call or message arrives. Since cellular
phones are significantly more sophisticated than landline
phones, ringtones can be personalized to suit the owner's
personal taste. A variety of ringtones have appealed to
consumers, increasing handsets saleability.

Why use Ringtones
There are a number of reasons consumers use distinct
ringtones.

1) Distinguish Callers - Advanced feature sets allow for
different sounds to signify different callers.
2) Identification - When you are in a meeting and a phone
rings you will know if its yours without having to look
3) Fun - Lets face, having a cell phone with personality and
character is appealing to general consumers

Types of Ringtones
There are typically two different types of ringtones:
monophonic ringtones and polyphonic ringtones.

Monophonic Ringtones
Monophonic tones are simple tunes, most commonly compatible
with today's cell phones. The majority of cell phones can
only make a single tone at a time. The monophonic ringtone
tune is comprised of a series of sequential tones at
different frequencies.

Polyphonic Ringtones
Polyphonic tones are played on cellular phones that have the
capability of playing up to 16 separate tones at once. The
combination of tones creates a harmonic melody. Polyphonic
ringtones are more musical than a monophonic ringtone. Newer
phones support polyphonic ringtones.

It is likely that future cell phones will be capable of
producing musical ringtones of CD quality.

Finding Ringtones & Ringtone Compatibility
There are a number of websites that offer ringtones,
graphics or even games to download onto your cell phone. The
websites vary in that some allow you to purchase specific
ringtones while others offer subscriptions that allow you to
download an unlimited number of ringtones. When you locate a
ringtone be sure to first ensure that it will work with your
cellular model phone and that the site is respectful of the
artists copyright. Like any original works, artists receive
royalties for ringtones, be sure that the website has the
permission to distribute the ringtone. Sites that we've
found helpful in finding ringtones and determining
compatibility are:

Ringtones Central - http://www.ringtones-central.com
Free Ringtones Online -
http://www.free-ringtones-online.com

Ringtone Composition
Frequently consumers will wish to compose personalized
ringtones. Occasionally, cell phones can be programmed with
ringtones by entering a series of buttons. Software is also
available that allow consumers to create their own melodic
ringtones. The software runs on a computer, and once the
tune is perfected it can be transferred to the phone via a
data cable. Suggested ringtone composition software can be
found at:

Ringtone Software - http://www.ring-tone-software.com

About the Author -
NotePage, Inc. develops SMS, alphanumeric paging and
wireless messaging software solutions.
http://www.notepage.net