True Tones

The cell phone ring tone is a massive $5 to $6 billion industry today. This calls for constant research and development in this field. We can very well see and 'hear' the changing scenario of cell phone ring tones. During the monophonic era, there was only one type of sound output. This was followed by the polyphonic era, which offered several types of sound output. The latest craze is the true tones. As the name suggests, this kind of ring tone actually plays a song, with voice, when there is a call to the cell phone. This is a considerable development from the technology of monophonic or polyphonic, where no voice was included.

Currently, all the major cell phone manufacturers are manufacturing phones that are capable of playing true tones. There are two categories of true tone capable cell phones. The first category comprises of cell phones which come with pre-loaded true tones, but are not capable of downloading new ones. The second category comprises of those cell phones, which are pre-loaded and also capable of downloading new true tones from websites and other external sources.

The cell phones which have the capability of playing a true tone and also download one, is extremely popular. Any MP3, WMA or AAC file, from your computer or laptop, can be loaded into these cell phones, with the help of a data cable or Bluetooth. Recorded voices can also be converted into true tones, if the recoding is done in the compatible formats.

There are also many websites, which offer various types of true tones. From these websites, anyone can download a song and use it as a ring tone for his cell phone. But most of the websites charge an amount for providing such services.

True tones vary according to the different cell phones. For example, a true tone made for Nokia will not be compatible with a Samsung model. So, for every cell phone company, different true tones are developed. There are specialized companies, who create true tones for specific companies and their handsets. These companies also are making huge profits from this business.

The true tones technology is also being used by music companies to promote their music albums. Even before the music albums are officially launched, the true tone versions of one or two songs are released in the market. These true tones are then distributed for free, so that people can download them. These true tones play a huge role in making an album popular. This effectively creates a market even before the album is launched. Singers like Madonna are also using true tones to promote their albums.

Thus, true tone is proving to be a boon not only to the cell phone industry, but also to the music industry as a whole.