Ringtones for cell phones are a huge business. The majority of cell phone owners have a number of ringtones that they can choose from that come supplied with their cell phone. This enables everyone to personalize the sounds that their phone emits when they receive a phone call or a text message on their phone. However, many people do not like, or get bored quickly with these ringtones and look for something a little more interesting.

Computers and the internet in particular have led to an explosion in the complexity and availability of the latest ringtones. There are many companies that advertise ringtones that a person can download for use on their phone. Some of these ringtones have a one-off charge for downloading them, but many are part of a subscription service where the person is able to receive a number of different ring tones each week or month.

The latest chart hits are the most commonly downloaded cell phone ringtones, and the trendiest kids are constantly changing them to ensure that they have the top songs signaling a phone call. It doesn't stop there ? there has been an explosion in the number of specifically designed songs created solely for ringtones. This was the situation with the Crazy Frog ringtone. Ironically, this became so popular that it was actually released as a normal music single and hit the top of the song charts in a number of countries. It also received the ward from many people as the most annoying ringtone ever!

There are software programs that allow you to create your own cell phone ringtone from any audio file. These don't have to be particularly melodic anymore, and a lot of catchphrases from popular TV shows have become cell phone ringtones.

Cell phone ringtones have been debated by many consumer groups who feel that their annoyance levels far outweigh their usefulness, particularly as the majority of cell phones have a vibrating function to silently alert the owner of an incoming call or message. This has proved such an issue that there are a large number of restaurants, and bars that actually fine people if their cell phone ringtone is heard by other people. These fines are often donated to charity so something good can come out of the annoying noise!