As per the market analysts Mintel, the mobile phone users might spend a hefty amount worth GBP 740mn (USD 1.3bn) on downloading of ringtones, music, games and such other entertainment services in their handsets in 2008. This represents 18 times increase on the total expenditure on downloads to what the figure was three years ago. While in 2002, the figure was 30 million, it is expected to rise up to 760 million in sales of mobile downloads this year.



Third generation (3G) mobile phones have gained incredible popularity in the UK charts for its user-friendliness to facilitate its users to download good quality ringtones and games. The recent success of Crazy Frog downloads is a perfect example to indicate the mushroom growth in this sector. Its garbled vocal sounds have made people crazy about its ringtones, music, video and screensavers downloads.

Just like the way people realised the potential of the Internet technology after a few years of its launch, Crazy Frog also gained popularity gradually, starting with a fortune of GBP 10 mn. Today, there are plenty of websites offering a variety of Crazy Frog-themed ringtones online, ranging from Crazy Accents, Crazy Animals, Crazy Beat Box, Crazy Cinema, Crazy, Music, Crazy Celebrity Parodies through to Crazy Soccer, Crazy Sound, Hottest New Crazy, Crazy Cow, Crazy Named Ringtones and Fun Crazy Ringtones.

Many websites also feature a ?Top Ten? ringtone chartbuster list and a list of international song artists? own composed songs that people can use as ringtones after downloading. The Crazy Frog ringtone was supposedly the first ringtone to have topped the pop charts in the UK.

As per the forecasts by Mintel, ringtones grab the largest share in the UK's download market, with sales in music downloads (33%) and games download (26%), screensavers (13%), gambling (9%), music (8%) and miscellaneous downloads (11%). In fact the download of gambling is further expected to increase by 367% in 2008. With the masses now playing ringtones, these are now tweaked upon to adjust with different marketing and advertising strategies to build more revenue for the industry. Even in North America, various companies in the market compose their own product jingles and convert them into ringtones to sell them out as sound files to the consumers or their target market. This kind of personalization of ringtones in the country has further enticed big music industry giants who have now embarked upon a series of launches of MP3 players allowing mobile phone users to merge different sections of songs, as per their preference, and use them as their ringtones.

Owing to the increasing level of interest in the market, major mobile operators such as Vodafone, Orange and Hutchison Whampoa's 3 networks have also increased the total download content provided by them. However, people aged above 35 years and older ones consider this a waste of money, and look forward to more substantial products to be in sync with other sophisticated leisure activities too.