• ringtones

    Amateur Move: Journalist Interrupts President Obama With Quacking Duck Ringtone

    As someone with a proudly stupid ringtone ("Gonna Make You Sweat"), I'm okay with being embarrassed when it invariably goes off in public. But then, I'm not a White House reporter who interrupts the President with loud digital quacking. More »
    06/29/09
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  • cell phones

    Microsoft Proposes Phones That Tap and Rub to Get Your Attention

    Microsoft Research is set to present a paper this week outlining an entirely new set of notification tools for cell phones, including communicative tapping and rubbing mechanisms, complementing the blunt, simple, and often not-so-silent 'vibrate' function with a set of truly quiet 'rub' and 'tap' notifiers. They argue that user notification is a communications bottleneck for current cell phones, and that rubbing or tapping motions could notify users as well as communicate common messages, to which there could be assigned simple patterns of movement. More »
    10/21/08
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  • Pick up already, damn it

    World's Longest Ringtone Clocks In at Over an Hour

    For those of you who love to let your cellphones ring incessantly, never bothering to pick it up or let it go to voicemail, here's the world's longest mobile phone ringtone. The ringtone, supplied by Japanese company Dwango, lasts 61 minutes and 40 seconds and will be submitted for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records. [PlusD via Textually]
    10/06/08
    6,729
    36

    Comment by mhlaxp: I have a ring tone called silent that goes on forever. I like it- sort of a John Cage... 3 Responses | Other threads

  • ringtones

    Safe Sex Ringtone for India, Funded by Bill and Melinda Gates

    In order to thwart the spread of HIV in India, "condom a cappella" has been released by an organization that's funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A ringtone that's meant to promote safe sex, we thought that it might consist of a crying babies, nasty bodily functions or soliloquies from one's parents, but instead the ringer is a chant of "condom, condom!" And as everyone knows, if people chant a word on a cellphone ringer, its correlating concept is immediately embraced by the youth of the world. [breitbart] More »
    08/19/08
    10,339
    23

    Comment by hddvd: I must say that our knowledge about India and China is limited. Technically they are at least 5 years ahead... more » | Other threads

  • cellphones

    Question of the Day: What's Your Ringtone?

    The noise your phone emits when someone's trying to get a hold of you is a deeply personal thing. Our intern Dan likes to be shamed into answering his phone as quickly as possible—when his phone shrieked "EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!" at the office, everyone laughed and he ran into the corner to take his call, post-haste. I prefer the vibes, for discretion, though I've got a sweet Tokyo Police Club ringtone as a noisy backup since I hate every phone's stock ringers. So, how does your phone get your attention? More »
    08/05/08
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  • Gadget Rock

    Police Drummer Stewart Copeland Lays Down Custom Interface Tones For BlackBerry Bold

    I'm loving this trend of prominent and/or English rockers with ambient/prog tendencies laying down soundtracks for gadgets and software. Most famously we have Brian Eno composing the "Windows Sound" for Win 95, then Robert Fripp of King Crimson helping out with Vista's sound set. Now Police drummer Stewart Copeland has done the same for the BlackBerry Bold, composing a five-note "theme" that will pop up in preloaded ring tones and alarm chimes, whenever the Bold gets around to shipping. Personally, if I ever replace my Van Halen "Jump" ringtone, I want it to be with some custom-composed robot squawking by someone like Daft Punk. Somewhere, John Mayer is shedding a single tear of envy. For sound samples hit up: [APC via CrackBerry]
    08/04/08
    5,400
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  • iphone ringtones

    Video Ringtones For iPhone Revolutionize Answering Your Phone

    What's more awesome and annoying than regular music ringtones? Video ringtones. iFoneTec has developed VideosTone, which lets you play back a standard formatted-for-iPhone video whenever someone calls. You can pick different ones for different people, like Devo for Lam and Ricky Martin for Jesus. We've been trying to try this app for ourselves but our download from Installer.app keeps timing out. The people on ModMyiPhone have had more luck getting Coldplay to dance on their phones, apparently. [ModMyiPhone]
    06/30/08
    20,107
    60

    Comment by pucci123: hi for my posts can some 5 of you support me by signing up with this website [iphone.free4me.net] This... more » | Other threads

  • wwdc

    Apple Cutting Deals For More Ringtones

    According to the New York Times, multiple label executives have confirmed that Apple is looking to expand its iTunes ringtone collection by June—far more than they have in the past. Their interests include both downloadable song snippets and ringback tones (new ringers). But apparently, the labels feel that these ringtones should cost more over a hypothetical 3G iTunes Store than the current Wi-Fi option. Why do music labels feel that way? Oh, because they are a bunch of greedy dinosaurs who hate you, that's why. [NYTimes]
    05/19/08
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  • music

    AT&T's Top Ten Ringtones of the Year

    And the award goes to...major corporations who are making a killing on ringtones. AT&T compiled a list of their top selling ringtones of the year, and while comfortably hiding their massive erections behind the podium, announced them to the world: More »
    12/22/07
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  • apple

    iPhone Users Get GarageBand Ringtones

    iPhone users with crappy bands will rejoice today, as the recently released GarageBand 4.1.1 update adds easy ringtone exporting. Users have full access to Apple Loops and iLife jingles—as well as their own recordings—to export tracks. Here's the full procedure: More »
    12/14/07
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  • ringtones

    Ringboxx Gives Your Home Phone a Slice of the Ringtone Action

    Let's face it, the ringtone on your home phone is dull and annoying. Fortunately, the Ringboxx can change all that by getting your home phone in on the custom ringtone party. Users can connect the device to a PC and download a tone from a collection of thousands of popular songs. It can even be programmed to sync tunes with individual numbers so you always know who is calling. More »
    12/04/07
    1,757
    11

    Comment by MirDreams: I'd like to have custom doorbell I could have run any MP3 or Wav file. I assume there's already... more » | Other threads

  • do you hear what i hear

    Santa AT&T Gives Away Free Holiday Ringtones

    AT&T is getting into the Christmas spirit and is serving up free Holiday ringtones, answer tones and a game called Santa Tower Bloxx to its customers. The ringtones include festive classics such as "Jingle Bells," "The Dreidel Song" and "Noche de Paz." The holiday answer tones featured in the promotion include "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Feliz Navidad" and "Wizards in Winter." You can text the word "GIFT" to 7230 and a reply message will be sent with the link to download the ringtone. The carrier does show its Scrooge side as texting and downloading fees will still apply. There's no word on how long this offer will last, but my guess is it won't be around past Dec. 25 whether you're naughty or nice. [I4U News]
    11/29/07
    1,695
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    By hook
  • apple

    Software Guru Rips Apple for Cashing in on Closed Systems

    A few days ago, veteran Mac software developer and Apple community gadfly Wil Shipley published a tirade against Steve Jobs and Apple for limiting development on products like iPod and iPhone. He says what motivates the company now is not quality assurance, the usual excuse, but profiteering: More »
    09/21/07
    9,326
    50

    Comment by jvanhala: while i belive this Apple strategy of reselling you a tone off a track you have purchsed is RETARDED... and... more » | Other threads

  • software

    7.4.2 iTunes Update Patches Some Ringtone Hacks

    iTunes 7.4.2 just came out, and its reported that it breaks some custom ringtone hacks. Apple's been open-minded about hardware changes, but anything infringing upon iTunes sales has been patched pretty aggressively in the past. Ringtones, too, it seems. The file renaming hack to cease working. Sendsong and manual copying of ringtones to the iPhone still seem to work as do a few of our older methods. [Macrumors] Updated: Custom Ringtone hacked once more.
    09/17/07
    9,574
    9

    Comment by brinked: An easier way to get free ringtones onto your cell phone is using a free online ringtone maker. Be careful what... more » | Other threads

  • iphone

    Someone discovered yet another way to get ringtones onto your iPhone for free. This time it involves a command line editor, some changing of metadata, and your regular songs will be come ringtones immediately. [Xanga via TUAW]
    09/12/07
    3,195
    7

    Comment by grem28: Where there's a will! C'mon, people are always soldering around here. I'm surprised i'm the only one who brings this... more » | Other threads

  • apple

    How to: 8 Ways to Get Ringtones Onto Your iPhone

    [Depreciated since iTunes 7.4.2] Purchasable iPhone Ringtones are officially here. However, with the discovery of free iPhone ringtones from inside iTunes 7.4 (and the rediscovery of them in iTunes 7.4.1), most of you won't want to pay $0.99 for the privilege of using a 30-second version of a song you've already purchased. Here are eight alternative ways to get ringtones onto your iPhone. More »
    Feature
    09/11/07
    365,896
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  • apple

    iTunes Ringtones Now Available

    Crazy Frog and iPhone fans can at last rejoice, as iTunes is now providing ringtones, just as we reported last week. You know the drill: get a 30 seconds ringtone of some of the songs you already bought in the iTunes Music Store for an extra 99 cents. Or alternatively, you can avoid the rip-off and make your own ringtones for free using the alternative method.
    09/11/07
    27,584
    19

    Comment by katieelizabeth: This is driving me insane. After trying 5 different ways to change a song to a ringtone I decided I... more » | Other threads

  • ringtones

    Ringles: The Next Ringtone Product You Won't Buy

    Apple's offering of $0.99 ringtones was just the latest effort for the recording industry to sell you a smaller version of songs you already own in order to use them on your phones. Following up that announcement, two record companies have just announced Ringles, which is essentially a CD with 3 singles, a ringtone and a CD Cover for $6 to $7. Sony BMG and Universal will be the first out with 50 titles and 20 titles respectively during October/November. Are you excited? Yeah, us neither. Just open up an audio editor, chop your music file into a 30- second piece and you're done. [Reuters via Boy Genius via Sci Fi]
    09/10/07
    1,151
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    Comment by fussnfeathers: Actually, I see this as a win-win if the public buys it. Most kids (read- those really into ringtones) only... more » | Other threads

  • gadgets

    The DrumPants, Turning Musicians Into Instruments One Leg at a Time

    More »
    09/07/07
    17,583
    36

    By blongo3

    Comment by rndmx: Its nothing all that new. My friend and I did it last year for our percussion ensemble using a Roland... more » | Other threads

  • iphone

    Free iPhone Ringtones From Directly Inside iTunes 7.4

    A MacRumors forum member discovered that you can actually get free ringtones directly inside iTunes by just changing around a file extension. All official purchased ringtones have the .M4R extension, so all you have to do is rename any AAC file to a M4R file to get it to show up in iTunes under Ringtones. Sync to your phone and you're done. To delete the ringtones, you may have to go into the Ringtones folder under your iTunes music directory. Zero cents beats 99 cents any day. [MacRumors]
    09/07/07
    419,164
    43

    Comment by RoyalKennebecasisAdventurersSociety: There's always a trick to get anything for free, this one just happens to be easier than most. 1 Responses | Other threads

  • apple

    iTunes Ringtone Editor Hands-On

    After a summer of waiting for ringtones for the iPhone, they're finally here. And Apple delivers with a package that's easy and convenient to use. iTunes lets you know which tracks you can turn into a ringtone by displaying a bell next to them. More »
    09/05/07
    20,892
    30

    Comment by mthomas209: You can make free ringtones for your iPhone at [www.free-ringtones-maker.com] ... Have fun! more » | Other threads

  • rumor

    Apple to Sell Ringtones Bundled With Regular Songs?

    The Post says they've got confirmation that Apple will start selling ringtones to iPhone users using iTunes. Although they couldn't confirm pricing, they could say that you will probably be able to make any song you buy from iTunes into a ringtone. More »
    08/31/07
    4,705
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    Comment by CRX282: Whats the point of a ringtone if you can barely hear it anyway. Im sorry but the volume on... more » | Other threads

  • how to

    Free iPhone Ringtones from iTunes

    TUAW's post on how to rip the 30-second track samples from iTunes for use on an iPhone is evil, brilliant and I love it. The secret: export a playlist from the iTunes store, download the MP4 sample clips, and upload them using iFuntastic. More »
    07/27/07
    64,163
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  • apple

    How to Swap iPhone Ringtones in 7-EZ Steps

    iFuntastic is a Jailbreak GUI/Checklist for simplifying the still complicated iPhone Ringtone hack. Previously, there was a tutorial, but this UI does a lot of the scripting for you, including download of the tools, prepping ringtones, unlocking the Phone, etc. Warning: Downloading and running random apps on your Mac can be dangerous for your software. We're trying to confirm it works, first hand. UPDATE: No dice. Maybe you're having more luck. UPDATE2: Works. If step 4 fails, try once more hitting the skip button on step 4. [iPhoneAlley via MyiTablet]
    07/23/07
    8,443
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  • cellphones

    Override Your Buddy's Lame Ringtone

    This is just a practical joke waiting to happen. Emotive got the funding they needed—$7.7 million—from a variety of investors, including Warner Music Group, to create a product that can override the callee's ringtone. It is called a "Push Ringer." Sick of your friend's super annoying "My Humps" ringtone? When you call him or her you can force your own ringtone on their phone with this new system. More »
    04/20/07
    4,306
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  • gadgets

    "Hidden" Details on the iPhone

    For the iPhone junkie, here is a video that breaks down the Keynote to flesh out some arguments about the iPhone. The most notable point made is that an iPhone tab in iTunes' interface lists ringtones, near-confirming that the iTunes store will sell ringtones to customers. Well...that or you will get ringtones free with music downloads. And I'm just $ure that will happen. More »
    02/24/07
    14,648
    38

    Comment by deziner: @uber_fragger: Hey uber_fagger If you really don't like apple products, why are you following a blog about the iphone?... more » | Other threads

  • cellphones

    iPhone Ringtone Sheetmusic: Let Angelic Tinkling Remixes Begin

    As the world embraces the iPhone ringer sound, we continue to dissect it here at the Giz, and now NYC musician Andy Neesley helps us out by transcribing the ringtone for us. And hey, this is actually correct. Now those who are musically literate can play it on the piano, get together string quartets to play it, or even work up a rousing rendition with a kazoo choir. More »
    01/19/07
    150,812
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  • cellphones

    Cellphone Concerto Encourages Ringing Phones During Performance

    David Baker is a composer putting on a 15-minute, fully interactive cellphone concerto at the Chicago Sinfonietta. Fully interactive meaning the audience members will be playing the concerto from the direction of Baker. The audience will be divided up into sections and red and green lights will tell the audience when to activate their ringtones. Baker told Reuters that this piece would reflect the "wonderful balance" between order and chaos in society—wow, that was deep, man. There will be two performances of the cellphone concerto—on October 1 and 2. – Travis Hudson More »
    09/25/06
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  • cellphones

    Verizon Hates Creative RAZR Owners

    Okay, that may be a bit harsh, but in all honesty it is true. Verizon blocks the ability to transfer files into the audio folder of Verizon-purchased RAZRs. Supposedly this is done to prevent consumers from creating and transferring their own ringtones to phone and forcing Verizon users to download ungodly expensive ringtones directly from Verizon. Here is how they pulled it off, according to Eliot Van Buskirk and Sean Michaels at the Wired blog. More »
    07/14/06
    16,179
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  • gadgets

    Magic Ringtone: Overpriced Ringtones Now For Your Landline

    Ringtones could, quite possibly, be the bane of civilization. However, since people love hearing the latest R&B and pop "hits" bellow from their RAZR and other trendy, marginally functional cellphones, companies are now stepping in and creating devices that allow your custom ringtones on your regular landline. Specifically, the Magic Ringtone MP3 Home Ringer simultaneously connects to your landline telephone and computer using a USB cable. Whenever the phone rings, the infernal device goes to your computer and fetches MP3s, replacing the perfectly OK vanilla ring with, I don't know, Kevin Federline's "Popozão." More »
    07/02/06
    948
    2

    By Gizloco

    Comment by The Brain: My old Microsoft Cordless phone did that too. That was back in the Windows 95 days. more » | Other threads

  • software

    Skype Music Store, Coming Soon?

    Skype's had a deal to sell ringtones from Warner Music Group artists like Madonna and Green Day for a few months now, although we've yet to see them pop up on the Skype Store, and so the news that they've also signed a deal with EMI Music Publishing didn't raise our eyebrows any—or at least it didn't until we realized the EMI deal wasn't just for ringtones but for music downloads as well. More »
    04/24/06
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  • cellphones

    Valleywag: Verisign Cutting Crazy Frog Loose?

    Valleywag's got an exclusive (though unverified) tip that Verisign—the super-registrar of internet domain names—might be out to sell its mobile phone business, which includes those perpetrators against good taste and sonic quality, Jamba. It seems the $273 million that Verisign paid to purchase Jamba (a.k.a. Jamster, purveyors of the criminal Crazy Frog ringtones) isn't paying dividends, and the company aims to cut their mobile divison, which also includes mobile messaging service Lightsurf, free. More »
    02/22/06
    518
    5

    By Joel
  • telephones

    Skype Gets Good Ringtones

    Just a small heads-up to let you know that if you have a Skype phone, you'll soon be able to buy any of Warner Music Group's songs to use as ringtones. Labels include Atlantic, Asylum and Rhino so get ready for your fave Bjork and Black Sabbath songs to ring in your ears. It's always been a dream, I know. No specific details yet, but we'll keep you updated. More »
    01/31/06
    444
    1

    By tgrumet

    Comment by genericman: At least on the Mac version, Skype lets you set any audio clip as your ring tone. I wonder... more » | Other threads

  • ringtones

    Whats That Engine Noise in Your Pants?

    Fresh off laying off some 30,000 workers, Ford is trying to curry its fans favor by releasing ringtones (and wallpapers) of its cars. One of which is the Ford Mustang, whose ringtones include that most American of songs, The Star Spangled Banner. Now, it s not just, you know, instruments playing these songs. Nope, Ford went ahead and recorded engine and other car sounds to serve as the instruments. It s kind of like when the cats sang Jingle Bells only this time with fine, American-crafted cars doing the singing. Hey, at least it s free. More »
    01/31/06
    302
    1

    By Gizloco

    Comment by schalliol: Ahh yes, Jingle Cats. more » | Other threads

  • cellphones

    VibeTonz, Ring Tones' New Friend

    As if having to put up with everyone else's bad taste in ring tones wasn't annoying enough, now we have to witness total strangers writhing in ecstasy. Ladies and gentlemen, check out VibeTonz, embedded technology that gives users a choice of how they'd like their cellphones to vibrate. First out of the gate with this jittery new feature will reportedly be Samsung, with a model using VibeTonz that s due to hit the streets before too long. Now, cellphones can vibrate in concert with the ring tones they're playing, gamers can feel the recoil when they blast away, and lovers can simulate a heartbeat with passionate vibrations. Perhaps it will cost extra to download a series of rhythmic pulses which steadily speeds up to a pile-driving climax. More »
    01/17/06
    867
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  • cellphones

    Crazy Frog Pulls a Columbia House

    OK.This is an immutable law of physics: If you PAY FOR a Crazy Frog ringtone, you deserve to get screwed. I think it's Einstein's 3rd Corollary, only back then it was if you pay for a picture of Queen Anastasia getting boned by a horse, you deserved to get screwed. Same difference. More »
    12/22/05
    3,695
    3

    By johnb
  • cellphones

    BET Ringtones Marketed Through Video Pop-Ups

    Pretty sneaky, BET. In order to sell more ringtones, the TV network is now embedding text-messaging codes into music videos, giving you an easy way to download that song's ringtone into your cellphone quickly and easily. Powered by Motricity, it seems about half of BET's videos now have a 10-to 30-second pop-up that encourages viewers to get that ringtone, using the short code BETTV and a different product code for each song. Ringtones cost about $1.99 for polyphonic and $2.99 for master and includes other features like wallpapers and games. Full song downloads are on track to be available by the beginning of next year. More »
    12/12/05
    3,848
    0

    By tgrumet
  • cellphones

    VideotonesLike a Ringtone, but More Annoying

    There are few things in this world that are actually more annoying than a Top 40 R&B ringtone playing at full volume, and this new service has managed to top that. The Nokia Series 60 phone in India is currently featuring a videotone service that not only plays back a stupid song when called, but it also plays the corresponding video. Bring on the funk, bring on the noise. More »
    11/29/05
    249
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  • portable media

    Gizmodo Ink

  • WSJ tech columnist and his aide-de-camp Katie had only 24 hours to try out the new 5th-gen iPod (plenty of time, considering it s only supposed to run for 2 hours playing video) and, somewhat strangely, describe the player's video capability as a "kind of business or social experiment". More »
10/19/05
93
1

By Noah R
  • cellphones

    Schnappi to Eat Crazy Frog

    It's so cute to watch Europeans go through their little fads. While we busily sexualize teenagers and rappers, the Europeans are busy sexualizing frogs and alligators, giving them a totemic influence far beyond their creators' initial intentions (??). Case in point? Crazy Frog and the soon to be popular Schnappi, an alligator created by an eight year old. Expect remixes of Shnappi vs. I Will Always Love You - Tekno Stylee Remix by Wiktor Kool! to rock the Euro digital radio waves any time now. The horror. The horror. More »
    08/09/05
    303

    By johnb