Mobile Ringtones Have Evolved. Learn More!

The ringtone has come a long way from its humble beginnings when it was only available in monophonic rings. Today’s ringtones have improved so much to the extent that mp3s of one’s favorite songs can now be used as alerts for incoming calls and SMS messages.  Audio files now have high quality even when played on a mobile phone, all thanks to research and development in the ringtone industry.

The history of the first mobile phones that had built-in ringtones began in the year 1996 when they made their initial market debut in Japan. This innovation captured the interest and received the support of the public so much that it instantly gained recognition. The overwhelming popularity of this cell phone model was the reason why a more improved version appeared that was released that very same year. The newer version enabled the users to compose their own personalized tones directly on their handsets to be used as ringtones. This was how it all began in the ringtone industry way back in the 90’s, setting the foundation for today’s sophisticated ringtones.

The earliest cell phones could only play monophonic ringtones, which meant that a ringtone could only play one note at a time even if it was made up of a number of notes. The simple monophonic ringtone was followed by the invention of the polyphonic tone which soon dominated the ringtone scene because of its superior audio qualities. The years that followed found manufacturers developing a mobile phone that could play both monophonic and polyphonic ringtones which turned out to be quite successful.

Upon the release of the latest versions of cell phones and smart phones, the third type of ringtone was discovered. Truetone ringtones were created as a result of highly improved software and hardware being integrated into cell phones. The truetone is different from the earlier ringtones because you can actually hear the artist singer’s voice as well as the accompanying sounds once you play the tone. You can play the truetone just like any other ordinary audio file. Because of this, truetone compatible phones are the most favored by the millions of mobile users around the globe.

It appears that the ringtone industry is showing no signs of slowing down and is instead progressing as time passes by. In Canada, the top ranking downloaded cell phone ringtones were recognized through awards that were given away. All in all, 43 awards were given away in acknowledgment of ringers’ popularity based on the number of downloads. It was the first incident that ringtones were given credit in the form of platinum and gold awards.

According to a study done by Juniper Research, by 2011 the mobile ringtone industry will have accumulated approximately $14 billion in profits. The prediction is not too far away from the truth. In fact, next year’s estimates see the ringtone industry as collecting $9 billion for ringtone downloads alone.