What is MP3 RINGTONE?

Music in .mp3 format (especially free .mp3 ringtones) has become very popular recently due to its algorithm of encoding and decoding of audio information. The very process of decoding or encoding of .mp3 file is very simple and requires very few CPU (Central Processing Unit) time, and because of the taking off from the original audio file such sounds, which can not be heard by people, the encoded .mp3 file can take less space on your hard disk drive (this is one of the reasons to use mp3 ringtones on cell phones which have only a few megabytes of memory).

Music in .mp3 format is really popular, because there are a lot of special software, not necessarily professional programs, but also such ones (.mp3 converters), which are very easy to use even by people, who have never worked with audio. To those .mp3 editing programs belong audio ripping software (to rip audio from you audio CDs), audio-editing programs (which usually presupposes cutting, editing and pasting of some sounds into a certain file), .mp3 ringtone converters (which can convert any song from your collection into a free .mp3 ringtone for your cell phone) and others.

Free .mp3 ringtone converters and free .mp3 ringtone makers are programs, with the help of which you can cut off a part from your favorite song and save it as a ringtone (usually free .mp3 ringtone). Such programs can be bidirectional: you can convert into .mp3 ringtone format or from .mp3 ringtone into another format depending on the model of cell phones. In most cases, free .mp3 ringtone converters can be downloaded from the sites, which offer free .mp3 ringtone downloads. Sometimes these programs are free, but usually they should be bought. To .mp3 ringtone converters which can create free .mp3 ringtones belong such programs as MP3 to Ringtone Gold, Convert MP3 to Ringtone, MP3 to Ringtone Master and many others. The quality of the output free .mp3 ringtones is very high, because you can choose a bit rate (that is the number of kilobits per second to encode the .mp3 ringtone). For the majority of people (if, e.g. the bit rate is 192 kbps), it would be difficult to notice the difference in quality between this free .mp3 ringtone and the quality of the original file.

With the help of these .mp3 ringtone editors you can make you own .mp3 ringtones, having paid only for music you have bought before (I mean, that you can create free .mp3 ringtones by converting songs from your CD). But usually the second kind of programs is not used, because, as I have already mentioned, .mp3 ringtones, as well as simply any kind of .mp3 music, has become so popular, that almost all modern cell phones support such free .mp3 ringtones. You can create free Nokia .mp3 ringtones, free Motorola .mp3 ringtones, free Sony Ericsson .mp3 ringtones, etc. Besides, such cell phones (actually, most of them, not even mentioned here) can play .mp3 music, I mean, that they can function as a simple .mp3 players.

The majority of modern cell phones models support free downloadable .mp3 ringtones (most cell phone manufacturers understood the necessity to include free .mp3 ringtone support into the main list of cell phone characteristics). Besides, you can download free Cingular .mp3 ringtones, free Nextel .mp3 ringtones and others (new models of Cingular, Nextel and other cell phones support free downloadable .mp3 ringtones).

There is a great number of free .mp3 sites, which offer hundreds and thousands of free .mp3 ringtones for downloading directly into the memory of your cell phone or, in most cases, to your computer (and then, with the help of USB cable, Infrared port or Bluetooth, you have to transmit this free .mp3 ringtone file to your mobile phone into a special folder for ringtones). Those lists of free .mp3 ringtones can be classified according to the first letter of an artist, model of the cell phone, popularity of this free .mp3 ringtones (or the number of downloads) etc.

Finally, I have to say, that free .mp3 ringtones are so widely used in cell phones, that I really doubt, that they are not supported by your cell phone model.