September 7, 2004
Some ringtone history
Chicago's Daily Herald has a general article on ringtones with a useful timeline.
Early tunes
-- "About 10 years ago, Finnish phone maker Nokia began featuring the classical work "Gran Vals" by Francisco Tarrega on its wireless phones, which became known as its standard ringtone, according to the company.
-- In 1997, Nokia began introducing other ringtones, Nokia spokeswoman Kimberly Schram said.
-- In 2002, Nokia introduced its first 4-polyphonic mobile phone, which played four notes at once. That same year, a 24-polyphonic product was introduced in a larger device. Later models feature a slightly reduced number of 16, the company said.
-- Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. started in 1983 with personalization and unique alerts on phones, including a vibrating mode. But it wasn't until 2000 when it offered monophonic, one-note ringtones and the ability to download more.
-- By 2002, Motorola matched Nokia. Last year, Motorola offered its "triplets," phones that provided MP3 music clips. Today, full songs are available".
Related articles:
-- Trivia: The origin of the "Nokia Ringtone" - For those of us without a musical ear and who have not recognized the score, the famous and generally considered annoying Nokia ringtone is actually a 13 note rendering of Francisco Tarrega's masterpiece, Gran Vals. Tarrega was a 19th-century Spanish musician considered by aficionados to be the father of the modern classical guitar.
-- Click here for more trivia on ringtone Firsts.
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