What are ringtones?

A ringtone is basically a sound file that is played by a mobile phone. This concept was introduced to give a unique ring to a mobile phone so that it can be distinguished in an environment that has many mobile phone users.

It is helpful when you have a unique tone, so when you are in a crowd, you knowyou’re your phone which is ringing..Mind you, an embarrassing ringtone in a formal meeting is not nice!

Mobile phone ringtones, have become the easiest way to personalize a mobile phone. Many new models of mobile phones also have features that allow users to create their own ringtones. Most people tend to enjoy this process of personalization and a few find ringtones an irritant in public places.

What types of ringtones are there?

There are three distinct types of ringtones: monophonic ringtones, polyphonic ringtones and music ringtones.

What are Monophonic Ringtones?

Monophonic mobile  phone ringtones are very simple and are compatible with most of the mobile phones in use. It comprises of a series of sequential tones at varying frequencies.

What are Polyphonic Ringtones?

Polyphonic ringtones can be played on mobile phones which are capable of playing 16 tones simultaneously. The combination of these tones creates a harmonic melody or a theme music. Polyphonic ringtones are more musical and carry better presence than a monophonic ringtone. Most of the modern mobile phones support polyphonic ringtones.

Musical  Ringtones – your favourite songs on your phone

Music ringtones are often referred to as voice tones, realtones or true tones. They use original pieces of music along with lyrics, exactly as the original recording. The format is usually MP3, WAV, WMA, etc  This feature and support for music ringtones is being built into most new models of almost all manufacturers..

Getting new ringtones to your mobile from the internet

One can find a lot of websites that offer free ringtones which can be downloaded directly to your mobile phone. Some paid websites allow subscriptions or charge on a per ringtone basis. Before you for downloading a ringtone, please ensure that the ringtone would work your mobile phone model. You should also check whether the website has rights of distribution for the ringtone, since the maker is supposed to receive royalty for use of the ringtone. (I couldn’t  imagine how much royalty the maker of the crazy frog ringtone would have got!)