A code-reading apparatus determines the type of data in recorded code data and carries out appropriate processes depending on the determined type of data. The code-reading apparatus comprises an imaging unit 7 for photographing encoded data. The encoded data comprises a header portion and a body portion, the body portion including encoded ring tone data, the header portion including a data identifier D indicating the type of data in the body portion. The apparatus further comprises a data identifier unit 19a for identifying the type of the encoded data photographed by the imaging unit 7 based on the data identifier D, and control units 13 and 19 for reading the encoded data depending on the identified data type and for reproducing the ring tone data that has been read.