I was just catching up with my feed reading and I came across an interesting story in The Times earlier this week. A UK inventor has created a ‘silent’ ringtone that only kids can hear. The ringtone emits a high frequency signal that only kids can hear. Adults can’t hear the ringtone as people gradually lose their ability to hear high frequency sounds as they get older. Some enterprising kids are using the ringtones to call and text each other whilst at school, safe in the knowledge that their teachers are totally unaware that they are using their phones.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or because of I’ve heard enough stupid tones like the Crazy Frog, but I’ve gone right off ringtones. I used to love them, especially when the polyphonic handsets first hit the streets in 2002. I was so into my tones that I snatched up one of the first three polyphonic prototypes that Vodafone received from Samsung. I even went all the way to Berlin to see Jamba (responsible for the Crazy Frog, but they were nice people back then!) to get ‘Bad Boyz For Life’ made into a polyphonic tone just for me whilst I was in meetings, so that I could use it once I got back to the UK.
Nowadays, I tend to have my phone on vibrate alert. I think I only have the volume turned up if I’m in my car or if I’m out and about, but definitely not in the office. I used to think that people who used the default Nokia tone didn’t have a life, but now I feel like joining them in ‘protest’. Hopefully one day some clever chappie will come up with a way to create a unique tone for each individual that only they can hear.
