Your Cell Phone

Not all cell phones, and not all cellular service providers, let you download ringtones for free. Some will only let you use their own ringtones, or require that you use only their service to download ringtones (usually for a fee).

If your cell phone lets you download ringtones from multiple sources, there are many things to consider. First, you need to know which ones are and are not compatible with your phone. Once you are sure that the ringtones are compatible, look at how and why free ringtones are free. Music that is in the public domain-classical music and other music whose copyright has expired-is usually free. Some bands release ringtones from upcoming CDs for free to promote their CDs. Some websites are ad-supported and offer free ringtones to build traffic for the website, since what they can charge their advertisers depends on how many people visit their websites. Some free ringtones of popular music may be bootleg and violate intellectual property rights. And some spyware may offer free ringtones to entice you to download from sites that will capture your personal information and sell it to the highest bidder.

Before you get so excited by the “wide world of ringtones” that you spend a lot of money on a phone that will let you download an infinite number of ringtones for free, look at what other services and cheaper phones will cost you. Think about how many ringtones you might actually want to download, and compare the total costs before you buy.

The availability of ringtones brings a whole new opportunity for creativity into your life. Some phones allow you to compose your own melodies for ringtones. Sometimes this means that you push buttons to create ringtones. Other times the programs are more sophisticated and allow you to create actual music for your ringtones. In some cases, if you know how to compose music with a computer, you can create computer-generated music and transfer it into your cell phone to use for ringtones.

Some musicians have even found a new career in composing ringtones. Downloading ringtones from a ringtones composer is one way to have unique ringtones for your cell phone.

Most people won’t go that far in looking for unique ringtones. Such a wide range of ringtones are available for download that for most of us, selecting ringtones and assigning them to different people is as creative as we want to be. Choosing your own ringtones gives you a chance to express your personality – and it also improves the chance that when you’re in a group of people, you won’t have the same ringtones as anyone else in the room.

Musical ringtones have become so popular that some people are choosing to express their individuality by being “retro.” They choose ringtones that sound like….a phone ringing. Instead of music, you can opt for “techno” sounds that mimic telephones of different countries (for example, the “beepbeep…..beepbeep” of English telephones) or represent a continually rising sequence of sounds. Some phones even allow you to choose a voice announcement instead of a musical phone: the cell phone equivalent of “You’ve Got Mail.”

Most cell phones today come with built-in cameras. They are increasingly becoming of better qualities, but cell phones won’t replace cameras any time soon. However, cell phones have vastly broadened the use of photography in everyday life.

In addition to taking snapshots, think of ways you can use the camera capabilities of cell phones to make life simpler. Photography with cell phones can take the place of note-taking. If you’re shopping, take a picture of the product and price to compare with the products and prices in another store. Take a picture of something you like to show your spouse or friends and get their opinion. (Using cell phones to send them pictures, you can even get an answer right away.) If you’re trying to match a color or pattern, take pictures of it at home with cell phones to refer to when you’re in a store. If you see a haircut you like, snap the person’s picture to show to your stylist. Cell phones with cameras have more uses than many people realize.

Even though cell phones are beginning to compete with digital cameras in terms of higher pixel quality, the overall quality of images from cell phones is usually mediocre. That’s because the optics-i.e., the lens-is usually poor quality. Also, few cell phones have zoom lenses-they take up too much room and most people prefer cell phones that are tiny.

The cameras in cell phones usually need good light to take even halfway decent pictures. It is very rare for cell phones to have flash for their cameras. Some have “low light” or “night” settings. These slow down the shutter speed to let in more light. Be careful when using those settings, because when the shutter is open it will capture more motion.