Phone models are getting fancier and fancier as mobile technology progress. More and more high tech features are being incorporated into phones like megapixel cameras, mp3 players, Bluetooth, video playback, among others. These additions are turning mobile phones into true convergence equipment.

Not surprisingly, the accessories that are being put inside phones are also getting more sophisticated and try to keep abreast with these fast changes in mobile phone technology. Ringtones are a good example of this development.

In terms of ringtone development, we have indeed come a long way from the “ancient” ringtones that were nothing more than glorified bleeps and rings. As mobile phones undergo their own technological evolution, so do the ringtones that we have been putting in our phones. From those literal RING tones, phones eventually carried melodic ringtones that you also have the option to compose on your own. Then came polyphonic ringtones that approximate midi files.Polyphonic ringtones were the first step toward the development of tones that actually simulate what it is to hear a song or actual melody in your phone.

From there, MP3 ring tones or real tones became all the rage. You now have the chance to use your favorite song as a ringtone for your phone.

Now ringtones have undergone another stage of evolution with the introduction and rising popularity of “names ringtones“.

What are names ringtones anyway? They are personalised ringtones that you can download to your mobile phone. The difference here is that this type of ringtone contains the name of the caller, which you can then assign to the appropriate contact in your mobile phone’s phonebook.

For example, you can buy a names ringtone that contains the name “Amy” and then use it by assigning it to “Amy Brenner”, a contact in your phonebook.

Names ringtones are very convenient and useful to mobile phone owners because it automatically notifies you who is calling on your mobile phone without even looking at the screen. This kind of advantage did exist before because you can assign a dedicated ringtone to a particular contact. But the added advantage here is that, with a names ringtone, it brings customisation and personalisation a step further. There is something unique and refreshing to actually hear the name of the person you are calling as it gives your mobile phone the semblance of having an artificial intelligence reminiscent of those science fiction movies where futuristic gadgets “announce” who the caller is in their communications devices.

A names ringtone brings the convenience of no-look recognition to callers that contact you on your mobile phone. The personalisation aspect is a big attraction to mobile phone owners. Phone owners love to do little things to their phones to put a personal stamp on an otherwise mass market device. They would change the phone’s casing, wallpaper, themes and even lights to reflect the individual taste and personality of the owner. With a names ringtone the personalisation enters the phonebook itself.

Philip Nicosia is the webmaster of Ringtones.lt, a site specialising in the different genres of ringtones, including names ringtones and Yoda ringtones.

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