On my last phone I could set ringtones for each caller if I wished. I could also download ringtones (usually for some nominal cost, but I never did that). On the new phone I can make my own ringtones. I can record something and set that to be a ringtone. Bits and pieces of MP3 files can become ringtones. The only limitation I can see is my very fertile imagination and the time I would need to spend on each ringtone.

I thought of recording each daughter saying “Hey Dad it’s me.”, but then I remembered that over the phone they all have similar vocal characteristics. I could record myself telling me which daughter is calling, but then anyone within earshot would know which daughter is calling me. Interesting concept, but not enough imagination yet.

I guess I could do my Stitch or Bullwinkle impersonations and make a slightly different message for each daughter. Maybe, maybe???

I could find bits of their favorite songs and set those as ringtones. One daughter is very, very easy to pick — Anything Star Wars or Frogs. I don’t think I’ve heard any phone that rings with a Bullfrog croak. Dogs barking for the young Vet Tech student?
Something that sounds tropical for the daughter in Florida? Or maybe the sound of a zoo, since I hear she has the start of one. And the oldest, hmm?? I will need to think on that one.

I currently have some picked out, so I can recognize some of my callers, but what about friends? Should each friend have their own ringtone? Should I group some friends together? Group my work contacts together? Have some annoying default tone for anyone not on my contact list? The choices seem to be endless, but I will get tired of this soon.

Do you want to have you’re own ringtone. What would it be?

What is it with me and high tech toys recently? I bought myself a book reader (read the many nook posts.) 😉 and now I have a new ‘smart’ phone.

All I really ever wanted in a phone was the ability to make phone calls. You know, dial the number, the phone rings and someone on the other end picks it up. Then you have a conversation until it is finished. You hang up and that is the end of it until the next call.

My first journey into the cell phone age occurred just a few short years ago. I thought I would get a cell phone for the two oldest daughters at home just in case they needed to get in contact with me. Little did I know that the the oldest of the two already bought a cell phone. So the extra went to the youngest. I thought that at 13 she was a little young to have a phone, but I did not want it to go to waste. I had that 2 year contract and all.

Just a little over 2 years later, my original cell phone would no longer hold a charge. So I went back to get another. I found out that there were no cell phone ‘deals’ on any phones that just made calls. They all had things like cameras, the ability to play music or even download news. Hmm. All I wanted to do was make phone calls. I got an inexpensive phone that did come with a camera, but I don’t think I ever took more than 5 to 10 pictures with it. I did use the phone part.

That brings us to late last week. Again just a little over 2 years have gone by since the last cell phone adventure. Everybody is now carrying around a ‘smart’ phone. These things can take good pictures. You can access your email. You can access the internet. You can even access your blog or other social outlet. There are even games to play on the phone. You might say you are carrying around a little computer that just happens to make phone calls.

Because of some updates to things at work, I was looking at these new smart phones. One of them would allow me to stay connected if I ever had the need. Since I could see a benefit to this, I was casually looking at new smart phones. The cost was a bit much, but I could see myself getting one at some point in the future. No big deal, my phone was working well, and I liked it.

Then came the fateful day that my cell phone died. It would no longer dial numbers. It would no longer turn on or off. It was almost less than a phone. I could still receive calls, and because of the lucky fact that I had the blue tooth turned on, I could make calls using voice commands. But I could see that it was not going to be a good way to go. The voice commands were (and still are) a bit inconvenient at times. Some of my contact names are very similar to others on the list. The voice calling would sometimes miss the actual person I wanted to call. So I took the phone in to see if they could revive it.

To make an already long story shorter, the phone was dead (and it would cost more than a new phone to fix it). I am now the proud or not so proud owner of a new ‘Droid’ phone. It plays games. It accesses my email. It post to my blog (if I had teeny-tiny fingers). It can take pictures. It can load videos. It help me when I’m lost. It can play music. It will even store books. And it even makes phone calls!

I’m not exactly sure about all of the features, but I may get used to them.