When we pick up our phones and dial the number we hear the sound of the ring while we wait for the recipient to pick up and answer on the other end. It is what we call a Ringback tone and today Real Networks have debuted a brand new smartphone application for T-Mobile that lets users change the standard sound to either music or messages. If it is music you choose to have, you will be pleased to know that there are many different varieties from R&B to Country and Alternative. The new app lets people change what each contact from the list hears if they want to set a different ringtone for each person.
The Listen app will also let people set a specific tone for the holiday season or special occasions so there is an auto-set function that lets you choose for whatever you want. If you add lots of spare time on your hands it is possible to set a new tone each week if you wanted to be adventurous.
Most people assume that the standard Ringback they are hearing is the phone ringing through the speak when, in fact, that is not true. It is played by the phone company. The north American Ring sounds slightly different to the British ring and the Australian ring is different again. They all do the same thing, but it is set at a different tone. Many people find the American one more annoying than the United Kingdom version.
Part of the reason people did not take to the idea of having adjustable tones was that many people did not realize that they could be altered. Hopefully with a bit more awareness these applications can kick off and become popular. It would be so abundantly more pleasurable to hear a different sound depending on the person you are calling instead of the same old boring ring sound.
Download it from the Google Play store here. Right now it is only for T-Mobile customers, however, we predict that audience to be growing soon enough.