Call tones have been around for quite a long time and most people equate them with the push-to-talk functionality of the old ATT phones – but not any longer. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are the annoying beeps you hear when someone is finished speaking in two-way radio mode. They release the push to talk button and the system responds with a loud beep letting everyone know you finished talking. It is a kind of throwback to the old days of CB radio when people would squawk a few words to initialize a conversation or to let the other party know they were done speaking. This was mainly in the past, although some companies are still using them, but now they have evolved and are one innovative way to show your personality when people call you on your phone.

Now that cell phones have faster processing power and more memory is available than ever before, provider companies are giving their customers the ability to change the call tone for each person they have in their address book. You can create a call tone for people who call, that have never called before or even group people to receive the same tones. This is one of the best functions for the phone if you have a business. Having the ability to change the message someone receives while waiting for you to pick up the phone is ingenious for communicating your personality and philosophy.

Some people would disagree that using anything other than silence or the fake ringing of the phone on their end while waiting for the connection is a violation of their quiet time. Some companies will be known by their abuse of their customers by inundating them with sales messages before even being connected. Companies would do well to reserve this feature and use it sparingly. There is nothing worse than sending a sales message to an angry customer with service questions about a product they already own.

For individuals, using call tones gives you the ability to show-off to your friends; the latest music you like, a kind or thought-provoking message, or even something you find absolutely hilarious and need to share. The ability to tailor your communication to each individual is still limited by providers. Some providers will let you have 99 different tones and some will only allow you ten and then some do not even offer the capability on their network. Increase your knowledge of your phones capability and give someone who calls some of your personality before you answer them.