Ringtone
For mobile phones, the network sends a message to the recipient's device, which may activate a sound, or a visual or vibrating indication.
On a POTS interface, this signal is created by superimposing ringing voltage atop the −48 VDC already on the line.
Originally this voltage was used to trigger an electromagnet to ring a bell installed inside the telephone, or in a nearby mounted ringer box.
Fixed phones of the late 20th century and later detect this ringing current voltage and trigger a warbling tone electronically.
Mobile phones have been fully digital since the early 1990s second-generation ("2G") devices, hence are signaled to ring as part of the protocol they use to communicate with the cell base stations.
[5] Following a 1975 FCC ruling which permitted third-party devices to be connected to phone lines, manufacturers produced accessory telephone ringers which rang with electronic tones or melodies rather than mechanical bells.
People also made their own ringers which used the chip from a musical greeting card to play a melody on the arrival of a call.
Polyphonic ringtone technology dates back to 1999, when the Yamaha MA-1 sound chip was introduced, including four 2-op FM synthesis channels.
[9] Ringtones played on the MA series chips are in the MIDI-based synthetic music mobile application format (SMAF).
One of the first software-based polyphonic synths included on phones was miniBAE, developed by Thomas Dolby's audio technology company Beatnik.
The ringtone file is installed in the mobile phone either by direct cable connection, Bluetooth, text messaging, or e-mail.
The earliest ringtone maker was Harmonium, developed by Vesa-Matti Paananen, a Finnish computer programmer, and released in 1997 for use with Nokia smart messaging.
In 2005, "SmashTheTones", now "Mobile17", became the first third-party solution for ringtone creation online without requiring downloadable software or a digital audio editor.
[19] Harmonium contained both tools for individuals to create monophonic ring tones and a mechanism to deliver them over-the-air (OTA) via SMS to a mobile handset.
[21] The Manhattan-based marketing and consulting firm Consect estimated ringtones generated $4 billion in worldwide sales in 2004.
[21] In 2009, the research firm SNL Kagan estimated that sales of ringtones in the United States peaked at $714 million in 2007.
A Twitter account named Tech Product Bangers (formerly known as Ringtone Bangers) launched in 2020, which originally only posted preloaded ringtones from mobile phones, but over time has begun to post other music related to technology such as demoes from keyboards and software installation background music, and accordingly changed its name.
[20] Another reason for the decline of ringtones is due to the increase of mobile devices in the late 2000s having internet connectivity, allowing consumers to download full songs from marketplaces such as iTunes and Amazon, rather than buying excerpts for $5 through text.
[28] The technological advancements of smartphones is also considered to be a factor in the decline of ringtones, with consumers shifting their focus to software such as games and social media.
