mobile phone

The ubiquitous ringtone – another one of those omnipresent features of modern life. And how far you’ve come, young ringtone. What started out as a collection of monophonic squeaks and squeals became a multi-billion dollar industry, almost overnight.  Believe it or not mobile phone ringtones have been around for over a decade now, with the first commercial ringtone services said to have emerged with the Nokia mobile phones of early 1997.  Gradually, they have become an established part of modern life with some of them becoming headline news over the years.

So as we look back over the history of ringtones, a few stand out as the “big hits” or “classics”. Though there are very few established lists of the top-selling ringtones of all time, we’ve tried to put together a list of the 10 most ‘influential’ (ie. Everywhere!) – of all time.

10. Crazy Frog

It was always going to be on here somewhere, so let’s get it out of the way first. The “Crazy Frog” ringtone was based on an animation called “The Annoying Thing” by Erik Wernquist, and made famous by the mobile content company Jamba who heavily promoted “The Crazy Frog” on TV and the internet. The ringtone spawned a chart hit based on a remix of “Alex F” which went to No.1 in the UK, Japan, Australia and a number of European countries.

9. Ridin’

Ridin’, Chamillioniare’s hit single of 2006 rocked the ringtone world. It sold the most ringtones ever to that point topping out at over 2.3 million sold, which actually eclipsed the amount of singles sold from the same single. “Ridin’” was awarded “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group” at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Best Rap Song. Number 91 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

8. Sir Mix-a-lot

In 1992, Sir Mix-a-Lot, a rapper had a huge hit with “Baby Got Back” which was re-recorded as a ringtone with the lyrics “Pick up the phone! Pick up the phone! ‘Cause you don’t wanna miss this call and I cannot lie!.” This was one of the first “ringtone remixes” of popular songs to achieve success after being marketed by Jamba, the same company that produced the Crazy Frog ringtone.

7. iPhone ringtone

When Steve Jobs announced the launch of the iPhone in early 2007, his demonstration included a ringtone, which was quickly made available as a recording by a number of websites. The ringtone has been described as like “holy angels tinkling” and was eventually included within the standard ringtone set on the iPhone.

6.  Eminem – Lose Yourself

Eminem’s Oscar winning song from the soundtrack of 8 Mile. As millions knew instinctually, the instrumental at the beginning made for the ideal ringtone buildup before the epic head-nodding audio explosion began. When this played you didn’t want to answer the phone. That was my excuse, anyway.

5. Classic telephone ring

With the rise of personalised tones a lot of people have decided to avoid them in favour of the classic “bell ringing” sound of a normal telephone. A number of surveys over the years have shown this to be one of the most popular tones.

4.  CTU Ringtone

The popular TV show “24” features a highly recognisable ringtone on the phones in the CTU office complex. The same sound is now being marketed as a ringtone for mobile phones and is rapidly becoming a big hit.

3.  Super Mario Brothers Theme

Created by Koji Kondo, the Japanese composer and musician best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. This is the number one selling ringtone ever in Japan, and set the benchmark that all annoying video game based ringtones aspire to.

2.  Mr T. (Pick Up Yo’ Phone, Fooo)

Many things in life defy explanation. This is one of them. Do yourself a favor and find it. Truly, hours of fun.

1.  Nokia Tune

The Nokia Tune, based on a 13 note rendering of “Gran Vals” by Francisco Tarrega, a 19th-century Spanish musician, is typically included within all Nokia handsets as the default ringtone and has therefore become famous or infamous due to its popularity. It is the typical ringtone of the middle-aged business man who hasn’t got the time or inclination to work out how to change it.

Over the past couple of decades, gadget makers have toiled endlessly to add functionality to a simple mobile phone concept. As a result, they can now play music, games, do math and sound off like a barking dog when your ex calls. It seems like a lifetime ago that the first camera phone appeared. Today, most phones not only take high resolution pictures but also shoot video in ever increasing quality and surf the web.  You can even share those pictures and videos to certain websites without the need for a computer.
All this is old hat. So old hat, that it is taken for granted nowadays. There is so much happening in the mobile phone application business you’ll be forgiven for not being able to keep up. Here is a list of 5 major new advances for the mobile phone in 2009 that will add functionality, simplicity and entertainment value to your mobile lifestyle.

1. Mobile TV
This is an area that is ready to explode in innovation. Recently, Nokia unveiled its own mobile television channel in an attempt to showcase its latest multimedia device and persuade users to finally embrace channel surfing on the move.
Since 2003, when the mobile network 3 first introduced 3G, there have been various attempts to convince consumers to watch television on their mobile phones, receiving limited effect. But a tipping point seems to have occurred recently. Vodafone, for example, aired “mobisodes” of a specially created version of 24, and there are now over 120 commercially launched mobile TV services worldwide. As the burgeoning ‘Video-on-Demand’ industry takes off, even more features for the mobile TV market will appear. This is only beginning… the future of mobile TV looks bright indeed.

2. GPS
Mobile phones with GPS, or Global Positioning Service installed, give the ability to quickly and easily view their current location on a map, search for destinations, find specific routes, or locate services such as restaurants, hotels or shops that are nearby. Handy, to say the least.
Depending on the service, the maps can also show thousands of points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels, shops or other services nearby, including phone numbers and web addresses for instant mobile calls. And, because the map’s information is located in the mobile phone, it can be shared with family or friends with the touch of a button.

3. Untangle your texts
Many mobile users struggle to navigate through the array of content on their mobile phones. Mobile software firm Resco has developed a service designed to offer consumers quick and easy access to their list of contacts and received text messages.

Resco Contact Manager also allows people to look back at previous texts and call history without having to trawl through their inbox, offering a history of all messages exchanged between the user and their friends in an easy-to-read format. The downloadable application is fully touch-optimised, meaning users can navigate their way around the device using a few simple finger scrolls.

4. Go Green
Probably the biggest news on the mobile phone front this month as it was finally announced that the industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record. The plan from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) is just one of a raft of “green” announcements at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Not only will it mean phone users no longer have to hunt for the right charger, but the specifications for the new device include a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption. Already 5 of the UK’s mobile phone companies have signed up to the universal charger which relies upon micro-USB connection. By 2012, the GSMA has pledged that the majority of phones shipped around the world will use the universal charger.

5. Mobile Satellite Radio
Yes, all mobile phones nowadays have the capability to play MP3 music and the like, but how many add full FM and satellite radio functionality on top of that? The ability to listen to your favourite radio shows wherever you are is a fairly recent development in the mobile phone industry and is beginning to become something users are looking for when deciding on a phone.
Examples of offerings from mobile phone masters Nokia include a music ID tool, XM satellite radio, MobiRadio and Billboard Mobile applications, along with a selection of community services for connecting to other music fans – features that every music lover is sure to embrace with open arms.

2 Boston Acoustic Speakers..

and a Nokia N73.