Ringtone
A ring tone , formerly known as ring tone called, is generally a signal for the end user of a telephone call. Today it is generated in the terminal, in contrast to the ringing tone in older systems, which are generated in the terminal exchange. In mobile communications today, this means an audio file that is played by mobile phones when an incoming call is received. Popular melodies, but also sayings and noises are often used as models.
Data formats for mobile devices
MIDI
A MIDI file (file extension .mid or .midi ) is usually used as the source for a ringtone on cell phones . It contains a coded sequence of codes for length and height and characteristics of individual tones (notes) of an instrument or several instruments.
Manufacturer's own formats
Many cell phones, especially older ones that cannot play polyphonic ringtones, use their own formats. These include:
- Nokring ( Nokia Ring Tones Text Transfer Language (RTTTL)) : This format has become a quasi-standard for the exchange of ring tones.
- iMelody and its predecessor eMelody ( Siemens , Ericsson ) : Open standard of the IrDA
- SMAF (Synthetic Music Mobile Application) ( Samsung ) : A standard developed by Yamaha with the file extension MMF.
These formats are tailored for the display of ring tones and therefore support exactly the necessary features (for example, in some cases no polyphony ). The advantage is that these formats consist of a compact ASCII representation, so that ringtones can be sent in these formats via SMS .
MP3
A current option that is supported by all new cell phones is the use of the MP3 format. This process is often somewhat misleading as Real Music designated (has nothing to do with the RealPlayer - file format to do). In contrast to MIDI files, no single tones are reproduced here, but almost the entire spectrum of sounds that can be heard by humans (data-reduced CD quality). Depending on the bit rate used, MP3 files can be considerably larger than MIDI files. The decoding of these files is much more complex than with other bell-compatible formats, so that more powerful end devices are required.
Video
With new cell phones it is also possible to play short videos as ringtone.
Play ring tones on mobile devices
The playing of ringtones can be done in different ways.
- Typing in the melody
- WAP link via SMS
- MMS
- WAP
- GPRS
- Bluetooth or infrared connection from one mobile phone to another
- Bluetooth or infrared connection from PC to mobile phone
- WLAN connection from PC to mobile phone
- Cable connection from PC to mobile phone
- Transfer via memory card
- USB or serial cable connection to the PC
marketing
In March 2005, the directors' conference of the German state media authorities found that the advertising on the four German music television stations (e.g. MTV , VIVA ) consisted largely of spots for ring tones. Sometimes it accounted for over 90 percent of the permitted advertising time. The main provider Fox Mobile Distribution , marketed in Germany under the former name Jamba, invested 90 million euros in German commercials in 2004 alone, surpassing corporations like McDonald's. With massive advertising campaigns and constant shopping opportunities, it has become a habit for many teenagers to frequently buy and use new ringtone melodies. Many offers are also misleading, so that the customer unintentionally takes out a subscription when they supposedly buy a ringtone . Some providers only allow ringtones to be selected using a paid dialer , which can result in high connection costs. According to a ruling by the Berlin-Mitte District Court in 2008, contracts concluded with minors are not legally effective, so parents can no longer be held liable for additional costs.
Many people feel massively disturbed by the ringtones played in public. For this reason, the use of mobile phones has been generally prohibited in some areas.
Economical meaning
From the original idea of making the melodies adjustable in order to distinguish between different telephones and callers, a separate branch of industry for marketing ring tones has developed, whose sales make up a considerable part of the music industry .
In 2004, ring tones were bought in Germany for around 183 million euros; In addition, there are also free programs that can be used to convert existing music data into ring tones.
Since 2007, sales of ring tones have declined significantly, especially in Europe. In the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy in particular, the proportion of cell phone owners who bought ringtones has declined. In October 2007, only 3.4 percent of users in Great Britain bought ringtones. Overall, the industry in Europe lost around four percent. According to Bitkom , sales in Germany fell by 26 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year; compared to 2006, the number of downloaded ringtones fell by around 6.6 million to 23.2 million. One reason is that more and more complete songs are being downloaded.
See also
Web links
- The frog is dead. So the annoying ringtone hype is over. Welt Online on June 26, 2013, accessed August 15, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ Netzeitung: No ringtone subscriptions for minors ( memento of March 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) of August 7, 2008.
- ↑ "Ten percent of the turnover of a music company is now attributed to ring tones. The trend is increasing. ” Ulf Lippitz: Ringtone boom: Pop and beeping. In: Spiegel Online. August 12, 2004, accessed August 15, 2013 .
- ^ Christian Kortmann : Ringtone Boom. I just want to play. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung online. May 19, 2010, accessed August 15, 2013 .
- ↑ "Anyone who wants a certain signal tone can now bring any music file to their smartphone for free." The frog is dead. That is why the annoying ring tone hype is over. In: Welt Online. June 26, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013 .
- ↑ Netzeitung: The market for ringtones has shrunk in 2007 ( Memento from May 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ heise-online: Goodbye ringtone, complete songs ahoy