Polyphonic ringtones - definition

With polyphonic ringtones more than one melodic note is played simultaneously.

Not at all like ordinary ringtones, which can duplicate continuous notes (monophony), the polyphonic ringtones can make practical sounding music by combining a few notes at the same time - polyphony. The more notes the synthesizer can play at the same time, the more pleasant it sounds. Generally cell phones synthesizers can recreate from 4 to 72 concurrent tones.

Polyphonic ringtones ought not be mixed up with the supposed "Genuine tones" (otherwise called "Genuine tones") which are essentially sound accounts, normally in a typical configuration like MP3, AAC, or WMA.