Cell phones, like computers have microprocessors and these are important to your acquisition of ring tones. Your cell phone's microprocessor brains works with its memory to do everything you want your phone to do. Ring tones are unique computer programs for your cell phone that are stored in your phone's memory and retrieved from there by your microprocessor your cell phone memory to be brought out by the microprocessor when your phone receiver gets the message that a call is coming in.

If a cell phone has the capability of loading ring tones it can hold a wide range of notes in its memory and then all that loaded ring tone has to do is indicate to the microprocessor to retrieve the appropriate notes in the right order at the right speed. With variation of all these the number of ring tones a phone can have is seemingly endless.

To get your new ring tone you just have to load the program to your cell phone. After, that is, you choose the ring tone you want. You have a great number of ring tone choices from many ring tone Web sites, some of which charge for the ring tones, some of which do not. The difference isn't so much the site you choose, as it is the music you choose. If it is copyrighted the site has to pay the artist royalties.

If the copyright has run out, like it would, for example, on classical music, there are no royalties to pay, and the public domain music is probably free to you. You also have to make sure that your phone is compatibility with the ring tone you are choosing.

Once you choose your favorite ring tone you have three different ways to load it to your phone. Phone models might dictate as well. But the three most common ways of accomplishing the programming are by using a data cable to load the ring tone program into your phone from a PC, to use the airwaves to send the program to your phone, or to type the program right into your phone by way of its keypad.

Some cell phones only offer you one option while others have many. Only your instruction manual or the site of your phone manufacturer or provider will tell you. If you have a compatible phone a data link is the easiest, although you have to do a little work and spend a little money to set it up for the first time. The most popular way of doing it is to use the airwaves. What you're doing is sending a special kind of text message to the phone, usually as an SMS (short message service). Some phones such as Nokia have an advanced smart messaging protocol that lets you send non-text SMS. The phone's code lets it recognize ringtones and graphics, for example.

What just about everyone use to program ringtones to their cell is the airwaves and their computer. They simply go to the Web site that is selling or giving away the ringtones, provide their cell phone number and let the vendor do the rest. A gateway site and SMS code would work as well. Each ringtone has a specific SMS code to be given to the gateway site and thus to the phone's memory. Cell phones are getting more and more advanced as are their services. Ringtones will get more advanced as well. Already you might have a phone that will let you choose several ringtones and set up the phone to play different music depending on who is calling.

Mckinley Garringer is the owner and operator of Drwho Ringtone which is an excellent place to find ringtone links, resources and articles. For more information on this article, please visit:http://www.drwhoringtone.com/