What’s in your ringtone?
A few days ago I was having breakfast at Perko’s and I thought I heard my cell phone ring. I picked up my phone, and it was not my phone ringing. It was someone else in the restaurant with the same ringtone. Have you ever had that happen?
It seems that it wasn’t that many years ago when we had nothing but landlines, and all the phones had the same sound when they rang. It was that blarey, clangy bell sound that alerted everyone in the house that someone was calling. And now, we can pick up a phone literally anywhere, and that phone “ringing” could be any sound at all. In addition to the basic packages of ringtones, people can make their own alert sounds by recording their own, or by purchasing more ringtones.
I looked through the settings of my phone to see just how many different ringtones there are in my iPhone. I have not downloaded any special additional ringtones, and I found that in the BASIC package of settings there are a total of 94 different ringtones, and 94 different text alerts.
When I call my husband’s cell phone, he has a ringtone for me that says, “David, pick up the phone,” and that recording is my voice. When he calls my cell phone, my ringtone for him sounds like a pinball machine. I think it is very clever that we can recognize who is calling without even looking at the phone or answering it.
Corrie in the office has a ringtone of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Tyler’s is the theme from “Star Wars.” Chuck’s makes a crazy sound like somebody’s trying to alert the world the aliens from outer space have arrived.
Each time I write a column in The Madera Tribune, I provide a scripture at the end. I just found out that I can download a package of ringtones that are scripture readings. How would that be if every time someone called me on my cell phone, everyone within earshot heard a scripture?
A couple of years ago whenever anyone in the office received a text, the phone would “ding” and everyone looked at his/her phone. All the phones were set to the same default setting for texts. Then, they all changed their alerts to something different. I changed mine to a sound called “bloom” and everyone knows it is my phone receiving a text when they hear that awful noise.
It’s fun to match ringtones to personalities. I used to have a certain ringtone for my sister-in-law that was called “panic” because she was always so intense, and that sound seemed to fit her. I had to change the ringtone, though, because now that she’s older, she seems to have calmed down a bit.
Back to the incident of the ringtone in Perko’s. I am thinking that my phone’s general ringtone needs to be changed again. After all, it seems there are infinite possibilities. Why have the same ringtone as someone else? I wonder if I can find a ringtone of people laughing. I bet I can.
Have a great day!
— My love to all,
Nancy
• • •
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
— Isaiah 30:21
