Ringtone refers to the sound produced by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Now this term is repeatedly used to refer to the customizable sounds available on cell phones. The conventional ringtone was in the 440 to 480 Hz range.

However, with the increase in the usage of cell phones, varied types of ringtones were made available within the cell phone itself, like monophonic ringtones, polyphonic ringtones, and truetones. A polyphonic ringtone means that two or more independent melodic parts are played in tandem.

Current cell phones can play four to forty individual notes and/or tones simultaneously. Formerly, cell phones were available only with monophonic ringtones. However, with the advancements in technology, polyphonic ringtones literally ousted monophonic ringtones