It can be confusing to understand some of the terms concerning ringtones and mobile phones. Terms such as monophonic or even TrueTone both describe a type of ringtone, and getting a mobile phone without knowing what ringtone terminologies mean can be fairly crippling for the mobile user in the long run.

In the 1990's, it was common for a ringtone to be very basic in design. In fact, the ringtones of this era couldn't even play more than one note at a given time. This made playing songs and recreations of songs impossible. As it could only play one tone at a time, these ringtones were called monophonic, whereas mono means "one." It's unlikely that mobile phone users will find phones with only monophonic capability today.

Next we have the polyphonic ringtone. Poly means "many," so mobile phone users can probably guess that polyphonic ringtones allow mobile phone users to have ringtones that play more than one note at a time. With the release of the polyphonic ringtone, it was possible to obtain types of MIDI music and other recreations of popularized songs.

Out of all the ringtone types, TrueTone ringtones became the most popular since they can actually recreate the melodies and instruments in songs. Since it is so lifelike in composition, TrueTone ringtones instantly became a hit among consumers who enjoyed taking their favorite music along with them. This even made some mobile companies come out with media player phones, all thanks to advances in ringtone technology.

Not all ringtones were created equal- in fact, some are used to be secretive when using a mobile phone. The Mosquito Ringtone has become a popular type of ringtone that only youth can hear. It is such a high frequency that adults who have suffered natural ear damage as they age will not be able to hear the tone- making it perfect for classroom or work usage where mobile phones are not permitted.

It has become recently applicable to put actual songs on mobile phones as ringtones. This is better than the TrueTone ringtone type, as actual songs can be kept in their original file type. This means there is no loss in quality due to file type changes or compression. However, this technology is usually only available on the more expensive phones- with the Smart Phone line of mobile phones in particular. However, it won't be long before this technology becomes mainstream.

Final Thoughts

Mobile phones and ringtones are a match made in heaven. The terminology and phrases that describe such technologies might be confusing at first, but it turns out that just a little knowledge of prefix origins and mobile phone know-how can mean all the difference when knowing the details between the three types of ringtones. As technology seeks to evolve the ringtone industry, it is likely we will see more "secretive" ringtones and true song files gracing our mobile phones. Until then, mobile users should invest in a mobile phone that is TrueTone capable, or a Smart Phone if the funds are available.