The mobile ringtone only kids can hear
A SMALL Welsh company is set to hit the big time by selling a mobile phone ringtone with such a high pitch adults cannot hear it.
Merthyr Tydfil-based Compound Security, which has just two employees, said experts believed its "Mosquitotone" would be bigger than the Crazy Frog, which became a global phenomenon.
The idea was inspired by Compound Security's Mosquito alarm. It is based on the fact that most adults gradually lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds and was designed to stop louts loitering around shopping centres without upsetting adult customers.
A Scandinavian teenager had already developed an earsplitting high frequency sound into a ringtone which swept schools as pupils used it to exchange text messages in class undetected.
'Teen Buzz'
Now, with the original version known as "Teen Buzz" already having hit the US, the Welsh company has developed its own 17 khz version.
It is on sale in Britain now for £3 and should be on sale around the world by the beginning of next week, backed up by a £500,000 advertising campaign.
Marketing manager Simon Morris said he did not believe there was any moral problem with the product and the company was satisfied it could not be used for bullying. "Teachers we've spoken to say it's a bit of a giggle."
