Mobile Phones: Introduction to Ringtones 2
How Ringtones Work
As seen in the first mobile phone article a digital mobile phone is controlled by its CPU which loads up all the software and fatures of the phone at start-up. Thus anything undersood by and used by a mobile phone must be digital in nature. The same is true of any ringtone. This needs to be loaded as digital data, stored in the phone's flash memory and then uploaded to the CPU for use.
The image on the left shows a schematic representation of what a digital ringtone looks like. The thing to remember is that ringtone-cabable phones already have a range of notes stored in memory. The ringtone program only has to tell the microprocessor which of these notes to play, in which order and at what speed. By adjusting these variables, the microprocessor can play an infinite number of ringtones. A good example of this is the RTTL (Tone Text Transfer Language) developed and employed by Nokia in its mobile phones. This is all that's needed to store and play a ringtone into the phone itself.
Obtaining Ringtones
The selling of ringtones has become a major source of income for many companies on the internet and there are many companies on the internet who offer the downloading of ringtones — for a fee. Simply perform a Google search for 'ringtone provider' to obtain a very large list of such providers. Of course, after finding several providers of ringtones you need to find a ringtone that you actually like.
Once you've decided on a ringtone the next stage is to purchase the ringtone and to actually load it into your phone. Currently there are three main ways of doing this:
- Download the ringtone to your computer and then upload it to your phone using a data cable.
- Get the ringtone sent to your phone over the airwaves.
- Use your mobile phone's keypad to directly type the ringtone into your phone
Dependent on your phone's specifications, you may have to use one method exclusively; though most modern phones tend to provide you with a number of ways of entering the new ringtone into your phone. Simply consult your mobile phone's manual to find the best method for you.
If you already have the software and an appropriate data cable then loading a ringtone into your mobile phone via a computer interface (which could be an USB or serial cable or a bluetooth or infra-red link) will probably be the simplest option. This also allows you to store the ringtone on your PC in case something goes wrong and you have to recover the ringtone. One drawback is that this solution may take a little time to set up, but once set up you can use the data transfer to trnasfer contacts and other information to and from your phone for backup purposes.
Having the ringtone sent to your phone over the airwaves is by far the simplest option and the one that provides least hassle for the user. This is why this means of delivery is by far the most popular today. Interestingly this method of delivery originated with Nokia who developed SMS (Short Message Service) as a means of sending short text messages. However, SMS has evolved and is now used by all phone manufacturers. In a later development Nokia and Intel created smart messaging, a special protocol for sending functional, non-text information through SMS. Basically, a "smart" SMS message is coded to allow the equipped phone to recognize it as a graphic, ringtone, etc and this is the version of SMS used in most phones today.
The sending of ringtones over the airwaves makes the purchase of ringtones very easy. Simply go to a ringtone website, pick-out a ringtone, enter your mobile phone's number into the site and let the site's administrators send the ringtone directly to your phone.
Most of the latest mobile phones also come with a melody composer which allows you to directly type ringtones into your mobile phone. The easiest way to use this feature is to find the appropriate "keypress sequence" for a tune on the Web. This sequence will tell you which buttons to press on your phone, in composer mode, to program the ringtone you want (check your instruction manual for details on your phone's composer mode). Of course, for the ringtone to work, the sequence has to be in the right format. Fortunately, you can find tons of sequences online for most phone models.
Problems of Ringtone Services
It should be noted that a number of ringtone sites actually are fronts for malware and a report by the BBC (August 8th 2006) reported that "free ringtones" was the eighth most likely search term to return links to malware. The lesson here, as with any website, is to be careful when you visit a ringtone site. If free ringtones are being offered check the site's bona fides before downloading anything and always make certain that your PC, if you're donwloading anything to it, is protected by antivirus software.