Mobile Phone Ringtones

The mobile phone ringtones are a major component of the mobile phone technology. They are sound files played by the mobile phone to alert the owner of incoming calls or messages.

Different Types of Mobile Phone Ringtones

There are three types of mobile phone ringtones: the monophonic mobile phone ringtones, the polyphonic mobile phone ringtones and the music, real tones or true tones mobile phone ringtones.

The monophonic mobile phone ringtones are made of a series of sequential tones at different frequencies. These mobile phone ringtones are quite simple and can be used by most mobile phones.

The polyphonic mobile phone ringtones can be played in mobile phones that are capable of playing 16 tones simultaneously. The combination of the tones create a musical harmony.

Music, real tones, true tones, or voice mobile phone ringtones use the original music coupled with lyrics. Music mobile phone ringtones are in the form of MP3, WAV, WMA and others. New models of mobile phones support true tones.

How Mobile Phone Ringtones Work

The mobile phone ringtones depend on the microprocessor in the mobile phone. Mobile phones already have a range of notes stored in their memory chips. The microprocessor plays these notes through the speaker system according to the instructions from the ringtone program.

When the phone's receiver picks up an incoming call, the ringtone program directs the microprocessor to prompt the phone's speaker system to respond based on the ringtone programmed in the phone.

The common mobile phone ringtones are programmed through Ringing Tone Text Transfer Language (RTTTL) format. Mobile phones use different systems in encoding ringtones.