Love it or loathe it, the Crazy Frog ringtone took the country by storm last year. Now a ringtone that sounds like a buzzing mosquito is sweeping the nation – and only kids are meant to be able to hear it!
The official Mosquito Ringtone, ‘Mozzy Tones’, gives youngsters the chance to finally outsmart parents and teachers when at home or at school. Many adults won’t actually be able to hear the 17-kilohertz ‘teen buzz’ because of age-related hearing loss. According to The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, this condition begins after the age of 20, first affecting the highest hearing frequencies (18 to 20 kilohertz), although most common in persons over 65.
‘Mozzy Tones’ is being distributed globally by Opera Telecom, in conjunction with Melodi Media.
Gary Corbett, CEO of Opera Telecom, says, “Kids will love ‘Mozzy Tones’ because only they are meant to hear it. Some adults will literally have to put the phone right up to their ear in order to make out the sound of a mosquito, and if they stand a few feet away they won’t be able to hear anything at all.”
Iain Kerr, Director of Melodi Media says, “This latest ringtone phenomenon will sweep the country as kids look to catch the latest ‘teen buzz’. Kids will also be able to text each other silently, with the notification of an arriving message being effectively hidden from any adults, but very obvious to the recipient.”
The company behind the mosquito sound is UK-based Compound Security. Ironically, the Mosquito sound was originally developed to annoy teenagers and prevent anti-social behaviour. Once installed on a building, the device emits a high-pitched mosquito sound, and has been used by shopkeepers to move along unwanted gatherings of teenagers. Railway companies have also placed the device to discourage youths from spraying graffiti on their trains and the walls of stations.
Simon Morris, Marketing Director for Compound Security, says, “The high-frequency buzzer that we originally developed was designed to irritate youngsters and deter them from hanging around outside shops. However, someone managed to reinvent the mosquito noise as a ringtone and it has proven to be extremely popular - you’ve got to give the kids credit for ingenuity!”
Mr. Morris continues, “As a result of the high level of interest, we have decided to partner with Opera Telecom and Melodi Media in order to create the official Mosquito™ ringtone and make it available globally. Based on the evidence so far we believe that this could prove to be as popular as the Crazy Frog phenomenon as kids try to outsmart parents and teachers when at home and in the classroom.”