To this day, calling by mobile phone is probably one of the least used functions of these devices . Its main feature has been relegated to the background in favor of instant messaging applications, social networks and email. Surely, because we live in a world whose pace of life has become so frantic that answering a phone call would force us to stop the activity we are developing.
When mobile phones were not so smart and barely had the 'Snake' game, the only way to personalize them and open a kind of alternative entertainment route was with the ring tones . The advertisements advertising politonos in television and press were the order of the day. Low quality sounds that the most gourmets could not bear. Luckily, everything changed with the iPhone.
Steve Jobs and Nokia's tone
Who has not had a Nokia phone? The Finn was, for years, a leader in the mobile telephony sector. It offered quality devices in a market not as competitive as the current one. That is why the most recognizable call tone is yours , taken from the Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega, from the guitar solo Gran Vals written in 1902.
Millions of mobile phones had this active ringtone and, despite being useful as a warning, Steve Jobs did not like it . To say that it was scandalous and of poor quality was to fall short. It's no wonder that when the iPhone was first designed, it was in mind to create high-fidelity sounds. In part, because of the disaster that was the collaboration with Motorola and the Rokr E790, with integrated iTunes.
And it is not that the iPhone was the first phone capable of playing higher quality audio as ringtones. However, the process to convert them was not entirely simple .
Creating unique ringtones
One of the ideas Steve Jobs had for the first iPhone was that users could use their iTunes music catalog as a ringtone. The problem is that it needed the approval of the record companies and mobile phone companies. A major setback that could delay the iPhone's exit to the market. For this reason, the first version of iOS did not include this feature.
To compensate, 25 ringtones were created that had the approval of Steve Jobs. In a few words: they had to sound like movies. These tones were: Alarm, Ascending, Bark, Bell Towe, Blues, Boing, Crickets, Digital, Doorbell, Duck, Harp, Marimba, Motorcycle, Old Car Horn, Old Phone, Piano Riff, Pinball, Robot, Sci-Fi, Sonar , Strum, Timba, Time Passing, Trill and Xylophone.
Once the legal issues were overcome in 2007, GarageBand allowed users to create ringtones with their songs from iTunes. At present, this function continues to exist, although it is unknown to the majority. Many choose to use tools available from the iPhone itself .
How to get the perfect ringtone
Several studies have been aimed at finding out how to get the perfect ringtone. The ideal tone should be recorded, clearly and distinctly, in the central audio range of the human ear, which ranges from 2 to 4 KHz. Also with a dynamic range from quietest to noisiest of around 96 decibels. This is because most of the spoken languages find this distinction.
In 2002, Apple bought the German company Emagic, specialized in digital audio and, with it, Dr. Gerhard Lengeling . Lengeling is not one of the most recognized faces of the company, but he is Senior Director in the production of Apple's music apps software. Without it, the successful Logic Pro and GarageBand applications would not exist.
Part of Dr. Lengeling's work is embodied in the creation of musical instruments by software . In 2005, Apple released for GarageBand the Jam Pack 4: Symphony Orchestra Instruments, of incredible quality. One of the instruments available is the orchestra Marimba, which emits a sound very similar to the iPhone's call tone 'Marimba'.
Although not confirmed, there is a fairly widespread trend that ensures that the tone was created with GarageBand or with Logic Pro . 'Marimba' contained all the factors that made a useful and distinctive ringtone.
Marimba as another symbol of distinction of the iPhone
Shortly after Apple put the iPhone on sale, 'Marimba' became a very distinctive ringtone , as is Nokia's. Even many artists have been encouraged to make their own versions . When it rings, many people know that it is an iPhone without needing to see it. Something similar also happens with the 'Rasgueo' tone, very popular with 'Marimba' in its beginnings but that did not manage to remain in the collective memory.
What is clear is that Apple always manages to stand out , for better or for worse, in the areas in which it is involved.
Comments
Post a Comment