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Caller Ringtones
Caller tunes go by several other names as well, such as ringback tones or CallerTunes in the U.S. This is a fairly recent innovation in the ringtone industry, with several Asian and European cell phone companies launching caller ringing tones in mid 2003. In the U.S., ringback tones have been rapidly gaining popularity since the first ringback service launch in October, 2004. Caller Ringtones - FeaturesCaller ring tones are actually much better sounding ringers than what you've come to expect from a cell phone ringtone. Some of the main reasons behind this include the fact that personalized ringback tones are a network-based service (you don't download them to anywhere), the tones are recorded in a higher quality than downloadable ringtones, and can be heard on any type of phone set, includingtraditional phones. As this is a network-based service, the caller ring tones that are played by the network can be varied depending on the caller’s Caller Line Identification, so you can match any tune to any caller. Using Caller RingtonesThe initial experiments with caller tunes have been very positive for phone companies. Convedia, one of the providers of ringback services to cell phone companies, has published early stats showing one service provider achieving a 30% service penetration from their existing subscriber base in less then one year. The first caller tunes were launched in the U.S. in October 2004, by First Cellular of First Cellular of Southern Illinois. Soon after, Verizon launched their ringback service, with a test marketing in selected California locations, which will later be expanded to the whole of U.S. A forerunner in mobile entertainment services globally, T-Mobile was the first to lauch a nationwide caller tunes service (T-Mobile (UK) was also the first to lauch ringback tunes in Europe, back in March 2004). Pricing of Caller RingtonesThe Verizon Ringback tones service costs $0.99 a month and $1.99 per ringback tone. You can try out the Verizon Ringback Tones at the specific Verizon website (the link opens up a new window). Verizon has caller tunes available in 12 separate genres. The T-Mobile service features 40-second song tunes that your caller hears until you answer. These 40-second T-Mobile ringback ringing tones are priced at $1.99 each, and available artists range from Beyonce to Snoop Dogg, and other popular artists. Currently, you can try out T-Mobile CallerTunes for free (the link opens a new window). Caller Ringtones - ResourcesVerizon Ringback Tones Sprint Ringback Tones Maxis Caller Ringtones HotLink Caller Ringtones |