When you're surfing the 'Net you'll find plenty of sites text message services offering tones by today's hottest musicians; you can pick monophonic, polyphonic, or true tone formats. More on that later. A Caveat Before You Buy! The first thing you need to know before you select, buy and download a suitable ring tone is if your cell text message service phone is up to date enough to utilize this feature. Like everything else in technology, cell phones have evolved very quickly. As a result, the cell phone that you purchased just a year ago may not have the ability to fully text message service access the type of ring tone currently available. So make sure you check. Re-read your manual or call your service text message service provider to find out. It's possible that you can upgrade your phone for a reasonably low fee. What's Available? Ringtones text message services are divided into three formats Monophonic. Polyphonic. True Tone or Real Tone To understand this type of technology, a person needs to have a physics/mathematics background and understand musical text message service composition. Luckily, all that is needed to know is what types of ringtones are available in text message services and what they sound like. The following is a description of three types of ringtones, monophonic, polyphonic, and true tone. Most websites offer samples of each and once you hear an example, you'll know what type you'll want to use on your cell phone. Monophonic Ringtones Some of the first cell phones came equipped with the capability of having a one-tone ringer. "Monophonic" is the simplest of ring tone technology that uses a midi format. This "one-note wonder" changed text message service ringtones. Gone were the chirps and chimes; now you could play a song. A monophonic ringtone is a single note playing a song. You can recognize your favorite song but it sounds a little lame. Most monophonic tones are offered free of text message service charge because of more full-bodied tones now available, but if you're trying to make a statement, however, read on.