A quick Google search will produce countless articles trying to understand the popularity of 'ringtones'; hundreds of bloggers waxing lyrical on the benefits of personalising their cell phones. Interviews with “experts” profering sexy theories about ringtones and identity construction lend an academic seriousness to the Crazy Frog phenomena. The figures are pretty serious too, in the U.S.A. alone, the Yankee Group predicts, ringtones will be worth $500 million. That’s roughly the GDP of Fiji.

Obviously our cell phones needs a voice, but does that voice need to be a polyphonic adaptation of 'Living on a Prayer'?

The latest figures indicate that young people are the greatest consumers of mobile music. According to one UK survey, 15-24 year olds account for 80% of ringtone spending. Studies by Nick Anderson of Sussex University show that young people are far more aware of the "brand personalty" (the particular identity affiliated with certain brands) than older generations. Anderson suggests that teenagers can deduce a person's character, likes and dislikes, by their branded possessions. Considering the amount of branding in the music industry, it's not unreasonable to say that popular musicians have their own “brand personality”. So, your 50 Cent ringtone, for example, communicates not only a your taste in music, but also your compliance to the whole ‘Fiddy’ meme. Ultimately, for brand savvy youth, this says something about your personality, which, you hope, everybody within earshot understands.

If a cell phone rings in the woods but nobody is around to hear it, are you still down with 50 Cent? Ringtones are about personalization, and about public performance. The publicness of the ringtone is an integral part of its appeal. It's unlikely that anyone would have a ringtone on their landline. In a noisy urban soundscape like the city, silence is an anomaly. Personalised ringtones are simply another irritating sound in the hullabaloo. Most of us manage tune out the sounds imposed on us: muzak, hawkers, traffic, the O'Reily factor, so why try and impose yet another squawk? Perhaps the ringtone is the audio equivalent of territorial pissing; thirty seconds in which YOU pick the soundtrack. For a few moments when your cell phone rings the 50 Cent meme is the most powerful in the sonic environment. Where “Fiddy” is relatively redundant as a social force, certain ringtones allow citizens to demonstrate their dissatisfaction or support of a cause. Independent radio station WFMU have created a variety of anti- George W. Bush ringtones available for download, while engadget.com allows users to choose their preferred presidential candidate ringtone. Condemning other commuters to several cycles of 50 Cent, the theme from 'Star Wars' or a Dubya quote demonstrates your individual tastes and allows others distinguish you as either nemesis or brethren.

In our efforts to relieve poverty, impede environmental disaster or cure the global AIDs epidemic, ringtones are totally and utterly useless. When it comes to enforcing the myth that every individual is special, the artificial uniqueness of a personalized ringtone is just the ticket. Paradoxically, this demonstration of individualism is only really effective in a crowd. As far as this writer's concerned the real purpose of ringtones lies in their ridiculousness. A recent gathering of sensible adults turned to hilarity thanks to an improvised game of "Name that tune". Using Foovely's ringtone preview function, those gathered took turns choosing snippets of songs for the party to guess. Recognising a song in 30 seconds is SO much harder in monophone!

About The Author
Emily Sims is the word person at the cool ringtones (www.foovely.com) site foovely.com.

Satellites have been orbiting the earth for several decades now, and are constantly contributing to the evolution of global communication.

Satellite cell phones have made it possible for people to make phone calls from anywhere in the world, no matter how remote their location, and have been extremely useful in coordination of many activities ranging from scientific exploration to military operations.

Portable satellite radio is another important technology that has emerged in recent years, allowing users to subscribe to and access radio channels from around the world for either entertainment or informational purposes.

One small problem with satellite communication technology, however, is the sheer distance involved in communicating with orbiting satellites, which can cause a slight delay in transmission time. This, of course, is of no consequence to satellite radio, but it can be a slight problem for two-way communication services such as broadband and phone.

The only way to reduce the time delay involved in satellite transmission is to use lower orbits for satellites, thus reducing the distance involved in transmission. Lower orbits are already being used for some purposes, but there are many challenges that must be overcome in order to make such a transition.

Advancements in satellite technology have been plentiful in the past few years, and more are expected in the future. It will be very interesting to watch the development of this evolving technology over the coming years and beyond.

About The Author
Jeremy Maddock is the owner http://www.SatelliteSpectrum.com - a high quality source of useful seo tips.

There are several factors that differentiate satellite phones from cell phones. How they work, their utility and cost just to name a few.

Functionality Differences

Cellular phones or cell phones use small stations or towers known as ‘cells’ from which they receive their signals and to which they send signals. As the user moves from one destination to the next, his call or his cellular service is passed on from cell to the next. The mobile handset is thus in continuous connectivity with the different cells of the network provider and the individual can talk on the move. This is thus known as mobile connectivity.

Satellite phones on the other hand, do not use ‘cells’ or towers. They work with satellites orbiting the Earth. These Low Earth Orbiting or LEO satellites receive signals from the satellite phone handsets and send signals to these handsets as required. The satellite phones send signals to the satellite, which passes it on to a gateway. The gateway routes the calls to the receiver. Also, all calls made to the satellite phones are routed via the satellites.

Differences In Area Coverage

Cellular phone companies generally provide network coverage in densely populated areas. Since the companies have to set up ‘cells’ to be able to provide coverage, they need a high number of subscribers to justify setting up the cell. In thinly populated areas or remote areas with difficult terrains, the cost of providing coverage is often more than the expected returns. Hence, while cell phones work great in densely populated areas, they may or may not work in inaccessible locations.

Satellite phones communicate with the LEO satellites and not with any ‘cells’ on Earth. Hence, the coverage provided by satellite phone companies is far greater than that provided by cellular phone companies. Since satellite companies don’t have to set up cells from destination to destination, they offer service in a wider area and some even offer it across the globe.

Usability Differences

Cell phones have become an absolute necessity for practically all urban residents. In fact, a large number of people are opting to have cell phones instead of the traditional landlines. Cell phones are perfect to use while on the move in metropolitan cities. For marketing and sales executives, employees, CEOs, managers, mothers, students and almost all people in different walks of life - cell phones provide a high value service. They are also a great option to surf the net, listen to music and exchange photos. In short, cell phones have become the single all-purpose media electronic instrument of the 21st century.

Satellite phones on the other hand, are perfect for use in remote and thinly populated areas where cellular companies do not provide network coverage. Satellite phones are also extremely handy in situations when cellular networks go down. Such situations generally arise in times of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and floods when the ‘cells’ that route calls are damaged.

Satellite phones have the advantage in such conditions since natural disasters do not affect the LEO satellites. Hence while cellular phone networks are down, satellite phones continue to function as normal. This has indeed saved many lives in the recent past.

Satellite phones are also the perfect option for companies that have research laboratories or departments in isolated areas like Alaska, Siberia and Antartica. Adventurers who frequently travel to densely populated tropical forests, high mountain areas and across oceans also prefer the better coverage provided by satellite phones.

Differences In Cost

As is to be expected, cellular phones are far cheaper to operate and maintain than satellite phones. The cellular phone handsets as well as the subscription plans offered by cellular service providers are extremely affordable and cost barely a few cents per minute.

Satellite phones on the other hand are expensive. The satellite phone hand sets or the fixed satellite phone sets cost a pretty penny as does the satellite phone service provided by leaders in the industry like Iridium and Globalstar. At an average satellite phones can cost anything from $600 to $1000 with costs going up to $1.50 per minute for talktime.

Thus, cell phones and satellite phones are both a boon to the world of communication and both service users in different ways and under differing conditions

About The Author
Rex Strong is the owner and operator of www.satellitephonesite.com. A site dedicated to providing information about the satellite phone arena to the general consumer.

In ancient times, warriors would decorate their weapons with carvings or jewelry because these weapons became an extension of their lives and an expression of who they were. Today, cellphones are integrating themselves more and more into our lives, becoming an invaluable tool to our work and play. So it is only natural that we decorate our cellphone "weapons" as a form of personal expression and individualization.

There are all kinds of fantastic accessories available to take your cellphone to the next level. After all, why would you want to have exactly the same cell phone that everyone else has, when you can make it uniquely yours?

Boost the Performance factor

You can increase its performance with batteries that last longer than the battery it came with from the factory. These are readily available on the Internet.

If you're on the go and find that your cell phone is dying, you can continue to talk if you have a cellphone charger, which can plug into your car's cigarette lighter. They are very handy, and many cellphones come with one anyway.

If you spent a lot of time in the car, or a lot of time working with your hands, you may need to consider a hands-free attachment. This lets you clip your cell phone to your belt, or lay it beside you on the car seat, and just speak into a microphone and hear through a small earpiece so that you can keep both hands safely on the wheel.

Boost the prettiness factor

Your phone probably came with a gray or silver faceplate, which you can switch to something much more colorful and fun, and appropriate for who you are. Faceplates are available in colors and patterns and textures and can even contain the logo or motif of your favorite band or sports team.

Antennas are available that light up when you get a call, which may not be appropriate in an office setting, but can be a lot of fun when you're hanging out with your friends.

Ring tones are another popular way to customize your cell phone. Ring tones are available for free and for purchase from a variety of companies. Many cellphones can now play different ring tones depending on who is calling. You can select music or find noises or hilarious sounds to make your cellphone stand out from the crowd.

Instead of having the same boring cellphone that everyone else has, why not jazz it up a bit? After all, it's such an important part of your life!

About The Author
Jeff Lakie is the founder of http://www.my-cellphones.info and http://www.my-free-cell-phones.info websites providing information on Cell Phones.

Aside online games and static game devices like Playstation, mobile games are the next most popular games around now.

The popularity has grown so big that mobile operators are competing against each other by offering their subscribers loads of both free and paid games for their pleasure. Not only mobile operators, cell phone manufacturers are also pre-programming their phones with a variety of games.

The growing interest in mobile gaming is producing a lot of benefits for the mobile industry. The operators are deriving sizable revenue from selling these games, software developers are regularly deriving royalties from phone manufacturers and the manufacturers themselves are cashing in heavily on revenue from subscribers. You will appreciate the level of income in this are if you consider the fact that by the year 2009, there would be 220 million mobile phone game fans in the world.

Now lets delve into the kinds of games we have around:

We have the embedded games that are factory coded into the phones, SMS games that operate by interacting with a SMS server upon which the game resides and browser games that are played online using the cell phones mini browser. Of all these games the cheapest and most popular is the inbuilt ones though the excitement offered by SMS and online games are not a deterrent to people who would spend every dime to get hooked on. The reason is browser games are of multi-media origin and can be compared to the type experienced on Playstation or xbox.

There are several ways to develop mobile games though the most popular language used are C++, Java and Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) platform .

Out of these three, Java is the most popular method. The reason is obvious – java is widely supported by the web and supported by all the principal phone manufacturers. Again a medium like J2ME is open source and thus cheap to use as a development medium.

Java as we know it is highly portable across platforms and leaves developers with little worry that their program will not work on certain phones. Programmers choose this language platform because it does not interfere with programs running natively on the phone.

But in reality the future of mobile game development is in MIDP 2.0 API which is a compilation of high end applications that allow developers to come up with sophiscated and highly interactive games for fans. It is fast to use and ensures a stable program after compilation.

It is projected that this program, though futuristic, shall be the standard for mobile game developers for a long time as it exhibits versatility and the quick deployment – qualities programmer love.

About The Author
Peter Lenkefi
For more more information about mobile phone games please visit http://www.cellular-mobile-phone-games.com.

Tips And Tricks On How To Get The Best Cell Phone Deals. And While You’re At It, Shop For A Great Mobile Plan Too.

These days, cell phones are offered at standard retail prices across a majority of the stores. So how do you snag a great deal? Here are a few tricks you can use to get some of the best cell phone deals available:

1. Get a great mobile phone plan to go with your cell phone. These days, getting a cell phone plan will automatically net you some great deals.

2. If you already have an account with a particular cell phone carrier, shop at their stores and keep an eye out for certain cell phones that they might be promoting. These cell phones will be on offer and you can get some great deals on them.

3. Look out for smaller retail shops that are having a sale or discount for that week. You’d never know what great cell phone deals you could get, even if it’s from a smaller store or branch.

4. Shopping online is a great way to get some of the best cell phone deals. Mobile phones are cheaper online (even after delivery charge) because you don’t have to pay the seller an expensive dealer fee.

5. Look out for cell phone deals that include a lot of free gifts with the mobile phone. A nifty hands free kit or pouch is always nice to have.

And to get really a good deal on your mobile phone plan, you might want to consider the following:

1. Make sure that voicemail is included in your cell phone plan at no extra cost. Most cell phone carriers provide this feature but there are a few which still charge for voicemail. That’s no deal at all, especially when a majority of cell phone carriers or plans will get you unlimited voicemail options.

2. If you travel a fair bit, then get a regional mobile phone plan. It’s a great cell phone deal because regional plans have the best mixture of minutes and features, with the best prices. An example of a great regional feature would be the ability to make long distance calls for free!

3. For any cell phone plan, make sure the deals include at least 150 anytime minutes. If you feel that you’re going to make more calls than that, then aim for a higher number.

About The Author
John Lim
Free cell phone reviews at http://www.cool-cell-phones.com ! Find out more before you buy new or used cell phones online.

There is growing consensus that cell phone antennas may be harmful to humans due to the huge volume of electromagnetic waves that get concentrated around it during the receipt and placing of calls. This danger is even further aggravated by cellular manufacturers who place the internal antennas close to the earpiece.

Mobile phones are basically radio sets and therefore emit energy radio signals that can penetrate the body and cause harm.

There have been several commissions on the study of the effect of mobile phone on the human body and the most pronounced has been The Stewart Report which suggested that radio waves indeed penetrate human bodies from mobile phone antennas and specially recommended that children who obviously have softer skulls be extra careful and use the device sparingly. The report further went on to state that the brain cells of children are not as fully developed as those of adults and can therefore be at greater risk as they absorb the radiation more than fully hardened adult skulls.

These hazards may exist but cell phones have become part of everyday living like cars and cannot be dispensed with. In the light of this fact, doing away with our phones may not be a practical approach to solving the health hazards issue. Rather we can adopt some habits to mitigate the effects of the radiation.

Children should not use cell phones for long calls. They should sue land lines instead so as to minimize the length of contact with the radiation emitted by the device.

Consumers should buy phones with low specific absorption rate (SAR). Mobile phones should be kept away from the body as much as possible. They can be put in the purse or bag and only brought into contact with the body when there is the need to make or receive a call.

Users should try to keep their conversations short.

If possible, SMS messages can be sent instead of calls so that there is less contact with the body especially around the skull area.

Keep switching between both ears so that one particular ear does not absorb the full brunt of the radiation all the time.

Radiation emission is at the highest when the phone is trying to connect so keep the phone away from the skull till you see the call fully connected.

Weak signal results in higher radiation so avoid making calls in areas where reception is poor as the device will try to boost its power to get you a connection and resultantly bombard you with more radiation.

We cannot do away with cellular devices looking at the convenience they have ushered consumers in. Nevertheless, we can adopt some helpful attitudes to minimize the harmful effects this technology is bringing to mankind.

About The Author
Peter Lenkefi
For more more information about the hazards that cell phone antenas may pose please visit http://www.cellular-mobile-phones.com

Accessories such a coat, purse, or shoes can either complete or dress up an outfit. Cell phones have almost as many accessories as Barbie does. Accessories can be practical, ornamental, or just available. In the cell phone world there are practical accessories that help you to operate the phone safely and those that allow you to carry it safely.

Some, like downloadable ring tones, are there for you if you want them. I have put accessories into groups to make them easier to describe. There are operational accessories that include battery chargers. Chargers are phone and model specific so that they are not interchangeable.

Hands free kits can be bought that are easily installed in your vehicle. These will let you talk on the phone and keep your hands on the wheel. The signal between your phone and cell tower can be strengthened with the use of antenna boosters. Where there are weak cell phone signals these are really good.

There are specific batteries from your cell phone’s manufacturer and for your specific cell phone. Until you can recharge your cell phone battery there is an attachment that will your weak battery a boost. There are speaker phone kits. Rather than drive with one hand and hold the phone with other, these attachments let you talk on the phone and keep your hands on the wheel.

Place dashboard mountable holders well within arms reach. There are a number of styles of cases and holders. The eyeglass case and horizontal case are alike. Pocket eyeglass cases are similar to vertical cases. Cell phone holsters can be worn across your shoulder like a policeman or on your belt.

Wear multi-use cases on your arm, your wrist, or your thigh. Not only will these cases hold your cell but they will hold your license and a few dollars. These types of cases will hold your cell, your license, and a few bucks. These cases hold your cell phone, your license, and maybe a few bucks.

Velcro(tm) are generally found on these cases. You can find accessories for your cell that are technical in nature. Internal accessories include downloadable ring tones and games to help you pass the time while you are waiting. These ring tones can include holiday songs, the traditional ring, or The William Tell Overture.

Cell phones are little computers that are internet ready, organizers, calendars, note recorders, and to do lists; they are no longer just phones. They now have phone directories, recordings of missed calls so you can return calls later, and they record the identity of callers.

There are antenna boosters that strengthen signals and radiation shields to reduce radiation exposure. Cell phone accessories include covers and face plates. There are front and back pieces to phone covers.

Face plates, some with designs, go over the keypad and the front of the phone. Cell phone accessories include very cute plush animal covers. They are both functional and cute, and the phone goes in the back of the animal. The animal acts as a cushion for the phone in case its ever dropped.

Prices of cell phone accessories and cell phones can vary. Most accessories are optional and some are simply fun. It is important to remember that not all cell phone accessories are interchangeable. You should learn all about your cell phone and how it operates.

About The Author
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice on purchasing a variety of Cell phone plans and more! His numerous articles are a resource of interesting and relevant information. http://www.mobile-n-cell-phone.com.