Ring tones and MP3 songs have been
available on cell phones for years now. But the latest and
greatest love child that has come out of the marriage of
music and phone are call tones. Those
with call tones capabilities can set up their phone so that
whenever someone calls their number, the caller will hear a
song, rather than the normal ringing sound, while they wait
for the owner of the phone to answer or for the voicemail
to pick up. Like ring tones, call tones, too, can be
generic elevator music or the actual songs sung or
played by actual recording artists or answer-phone style
messages.
Much like the thrill you get when you
hear your favorite song come on while you are kept on
hold, call tones can provide unexpected treats
for your callers. When your friend calls you to complain
that he spilled coffee in his lap and missed his train that
morning, he might be pleasantly surprised to hear The
Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" while he waits for you to
answer.
But the best part (or worst part,
depending on your point of view) of call tones is that,
much like those songs you hear when you're on hold, the
caller has absolutely no say in what tune is played on the
other end. If they want to call you, they have to deal with
whatever song you've chosen. You can even pick certain
songs for certain callers, just like ring tones John
Lennon's "Imagine" for your best friend and Billy Ray
Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" for any unidentified callers,
like bill collectors or telemarketers.
But call tones can also throw people
off guard if they're not expecting it, inciting the
disoriented caller to leave a less than friendly message.
More often than not, the first time someone calls your
phone and hears any of your chosen your call tones, they'll
hang up, thinking they've called the wrong number, and try
again. This will also likely be followed by an agitated
voicemail message.
While the novelty might seem fun or
even funny at first, it's probably best not to get too
cute. It might seem like an amusing idea to set one of your
call tones to Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker," but just one
call from your boss, college recruiter, client,
mother-in-law or other respected authority figure will
likely make you re-evaluate your musical priorities. Or it
might make them re-evaluate their opinion of you.
Call tones are not necessarily a bad
idea, providing they're used properly, and providing you
have good taste. And as long as you give your friends and
family ample warning that they will hear music instead of
ringing when they call you, it can even bring a smile to
someone's face.
And, call tones are certainly
less disruptive than ringtones. It's much harder to
interrupt someone's movie-watching experience by merely
placing a call (as opposed to receiving a call when you've
forgotten to turn your ringer off). The only person forced
to listen to your call tones are your callers.
The rest of the public sitting nearby will not be forced to
listen to "I'm Too Sexy," or whatever song you've
chosen.
As with anything new, be sure you
evaluate all the angles before setting up your call tones.
And since you'll very rarely be calling yourself, you might
want to consult your friends before making a final song
choice most people don't know when they have bad musical
taste. As with any other noise that you force others to
listen to, try to be as considerate with your call
tones as possible.
Remember:
When you are searching
the Internet for call tones, not all suppliers actually
refer to them as call tones. Some of the other terms you'll
have to search for are...
Using the above search terms, you
should find the call tones you're looking for, especially
if the call tones suppliers are using one of these
alternative descriptions.
Good Luck in your search.
Call tones are actually more
versatile than ringtones.
