Though cell phones perform a practical function, they have taken up the mantle of fashion item also, and the ringtone you choose can be as important as the handset itself. When a cell phone rings, it is as much about distinguishing its owner from the crowd as it is about alerting him or her to an incoming call.



There was a time when owning a cell phone at all made a person stand out from the crowd. It was only the up and coming business associate who carried one of those unwieldy black boxes, with each and every handset identical to the last. These days, advances in technology have made cell phones far cheaper to produce, democratizing the whole experience. And, as with pretty much everything we humans do, we now want to make owning a cell phone as personal and unique a process as possible.

Even though times have changed and those ugly black handset have been succeeded by an enormous and ever growing choice of cell phone handsets, we still look for other ways to personalize this practical accessory. And we have chosen the very practicality of our cell phones as a way of doing this.

A cell phone is of little use if we can't hear it ring, and for practical purposes, a loud and distinctive sound is the ideal one for alerting us to an incoming call while we conduct the business of our lives, often in noisy surroundings. The current ubiquity of cell phones also makes it necessary to select a distinctive sound, so that twenty people aren't all reaching for their phones when one goes off! Choosing a special ringtone is therefore the pragmatic way to individualize your phone, as well as the fashionable one.

We each make a statement in our daily lives, by the clothes we wear, the hairstyles we choose. And our cell phone ringtone is another way to express ourselves. Whether we choose a favorite song or a more business-like sound, our ringtone speaks volumes about us before we even answer a call. The popularity of cell phones now means that there are a multitude of sources from which to find ringtones, so finding a sound you love shouldn't be too difficult. But even if you can't track down a ringtone that's right for you, it's easy to create your own! Many handsets include recording equipment, allowing you to make a ringtone that's truly unique.

So there's no excuse to know when your phone is ringing. Choose a ringtone that stands out from the crowd, and you'll never be out of touch!