Ringtone Hype
from the paying-for-the-sound-of-silence dept
I've written before about the wireless carriers' current obsession with ringtones. It appears to be a booming business, to the point that others are muscling in on the carrier's turf by offering "non-authorized" ringtones or even the ability to make your own ringtones (for a fee, of course). While it may be good money in the short run, I still don't see how it's sustainable. As mobile phone platforms are increasingly open and standardized, ringtones will go through the same Napsterization process, where many will be available for free. Meanwhile, I still don't understand what's wrong with the good, old-fashioned vibrate mode that doesn't bother anyone around you. However, the article does mention the growing popularity of the silent ringtone that we wrote about last week. Apparently, it costs $2. Incredible. We've reached the point where people are willing to pay to have their mobile phone not ring. Maybe the next step is letting people pay to have someone else's mobile phone not ring. "My goodness is your ringtone annoying. Here's $2. Go buy yourself a silent ringtone."
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I agree...
What amazes me is that people are willing to pay $2 for a cheezy MIDI file, but they would rather steal real music via KaZaa then pay 99 cents!
I might just be willing to pay $2 if the "ringtone" was a wav/mp3 instead of those horible MIDI files!
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No Subject Given
If you look around the 'net, you will find places to get really great ringtones for free. Good Java apps are toughter to get for free.
All you need is a cable / IR adapter ($10 on eBay). Nokia offers free software to upload / sync with Outlook. Motorola has something similar, but not quite as elegant.
If all else fails, you can buy the 2500 ringtone / 250 java app CD for ~$10 on eBay
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xingtone
i just found this site today: xingtone.com.
their free program allows you to convert any mp3 or wav file into a ringtone. only works w/ AT&T, Sprint, Cingular or T-Mobile. i haven't tried it yet since i don't have any of those services, but i'd like to know if anyone else has.
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Re: xingtone
You can also try...
http://www.eringers.com
Site is totally free. Download both poly & mono's (midi files) and voice ringtones for free. You can also upload any wav files (as long as they're within file size limit) and have them converted to different voice ringtone formats and ready for download immediately.
Andy
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www.weneedtunes.com is free right now
1. Register at the site. Only a few fields to fill in - honestly!
2. Upload some tunes (our system will do all the compression and conversion in an average time of four minutes)
3. Browse on your phone to http://weneedtunes.com/your_user_name/ , enter your user name and password and then you can download the super compressed files and play them on your phone WITHOUT installing any extra software.
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