ringtone

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ringtone

The audible sound made by a telephone to announce that a call is coming in. The traditional ringtone was in the 440-480 Hz range, but as cellphone usage grew, it became obvious that ringtone differentiation would become important. Modern cellphones support a wide frequency range that allows for several bars of music to be played. Phones come with a selection of built-in ringtones and accept new ones from one or more ringtone services that are downloaded for a fee. Ringtones have become a fad, providing another mode of self-expression.

MP3 has become popular as a ringtone format because it supports voice. MIDI and Nokia's RTTTL (Ringing Tones Text Transfer Language) formats are used, but for music only. Depending on the phone and format, ringtones can be sent via text messages (SMS), but there is no standard for ringtone transfer for all phones and services. See moantone and Mosquitotone.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Two criticised were Fanta's mobile phone game, which was sent to all entrants of its "Want it, Win it" competition, and Kellogg's free ringtone as part of its Zoo Keeper contest on high sugar cereals.
And Kellogg's came under fire for offering a free ringtone as part of another contest.
They said: "We offer free ringtones for a set period and tell users how to unsubscribe when that period ends."
FREE ringtones available only on selected phones - check terms and conditions on Page 65.
For more information about ISH, visit www.musISHan.com, download free ringtones from “Pineapple Tuesday” EP at www.myxer.com/ISHMUSIC.
Most sites promote high fat, high sugar and high salt foods - with some offering free ringtones if children make a purchase, says Food Magazine.
TELECOMWORLDWIRE-29 December 2003-MonsterMob offers free ringtones, logos and games to HMV online customers(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com
AV RingtoneMAX is connected to the Make4fun website so that users can find existing free ringtones or search audio materials from this website's database for their new ringtone.
Catherine Bell, an ICSTIS spokeswoman, says: "There are cases of children who download what they think are free ringtones, unaware there are terms and conditions which cost them."
"The bands get massive exposure through the phones and the consumers get free ringtones."
Free ringtones are only available on selected phones - please check the terms and conditions on page 34 for further details.