ringtones
Latest
BlueQ's unsightly Vibrating Bluetooth Wristband
There's no shortage of vibrating alerts available for your cellphone these days, and while the MBW-100 watch will kindly inform you of whose calling while still looking relatively stylish on your arm, BlueQ's simplified attention getter certainly lacks any hint of fashion. BQ Wireless has unveiled a stripped down wristband that simply sports an internal Bluetooth module, on / off button, and a Transfer button in case your cellphone won't automatically take over the cal from the device. Put simply, this wrist adornment shakes your arm when someone's trying to ring you up, and while this may be somewhat less noticeable than a blaring ringtone in the middle of a crucial interview, it's bound to be exponentially more embarrassing when someone informs you that your articulatio radiocarpea is buzzing uncontrollably. Nevertheless, it's slated to hit retailers in July for $39.95 if you're still interested.[Via Slashphone]
Emotive's Push Ringer overrides ringtones, pranksters overjoyed
Forget personalized ringtones and ringbacks, the next tween obsession has arrived in the form of Push Ringer, which "enables a caller to push an outgoing ringtone to the receiving phone -- allowing the caller, not the called person -- to set the tone." We're assuming you're either elated or sighing mightily after reading that, but there's 7.7 million reasons why you wish you would've implemented it first. A group of deep-pocketed investors have sunk $7.7 million into Emotive Communications' flagship idea, which temporarily overrides the phone's preset ringer, and moreover, allows the recipient of the surprise sound-byte to "instantly buy a copy" if they so desire. Notably, this very service has already taken the VoIP world over, as Skype users are probably more familiar with the RingJacker concept. Now, who's down for inventing the Push Ringer Reverser to send a "you got punk'd" clip back at the egotistical sender?[Via The Raw Feed]
AT&T bringing wrestling to mobile phones
If you're bustin' to get that jumpin'-off-the-ring wrestling action anywhere you are, you're about to be in luck. That is, if you're an AT&T wireless customer. In a paradoxically odd way, the larger-than-life pro wresting stars of WrestleMania and other pro wrestling shows are about to land hard on that 2 inch cellphone screen. What will the content be? For starters, graphics ($1.99 each) and videos featuring wrestling stars, ringtones with wrestler's voices ($2.49 each) and updates from weekly matches and the like -- just don't let that wrestling scream ringtone out on a Honolulu bus. Even select World Wrestling videos will be on tap as part of AT&T's media service offering at $20/month. And, of course, the cherry on the parfait will be a premium WrestleMania video package for $4.99 a month extra. Let's get ready to rumble.
Some guy offering silent ringtone
We think this is a joke, but we're actually more afraid that it's not. San Francisco-based "conceptual artist" Jonathon Keats has generously offered his latest composition, "My Cage," free of charge as a ringtone through mobile multimedia vendor Start Mobile. But wait, there's a catch, it's four minutes and thirty three seconds of pure silence. And it's not the kind of silence teens can hear, either -- it's actually pure silence. So pure, in fact, that Start Mobile keenly points out that "the silence may take place without the listener being aware of it." While we think it really doesn't serve the intended function of a ringtone in the purest sense of the word, we can't argue with the price: free. Let us know in comments what percentage of calls you manage to answer, mkay?
SingTones delivers instant karaoke ringtones, ensures humiliation
If you're not fortunate enough to have access to KTF's ringtone-making stations, and think those Top 40 songs-turned-tones are just played out, how'd you like to hear your own screeching renditions blasting from your mobile? SingTones -- a new service / software designed to aid in the creation of karaoke ringtones -- allows users to purchase popular songs and then dub their own voice atop the music. By texting to buy or purchasing the track online, customers can then listen to the soundtrack, belt out the lyrics into their phone, and instantly receive a customized ringtone sure to elicit incredible amounts of embarrassment if used in public. SingTones charges a whopping £3.00 ($5.75) per song if ordered from your mobile, and £2.50 ($4.76) if purchased online, but tossing your ho hum vocals atop of your favorite tune can be accomplished for much less coin if you've got the necessary skills to whip up your own.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Chicago Sinfonietta arranges concerto for ringtones
It seems that ringtones of every frequency have skyrocketed up the list of popular pet peeves (at least in boardrooms and lecture halls), but the Chicago Sinfonietta went against the grain by kicking off its 20th anniversary season with a piece that would drive interviewers, ministers, professors, and less-than-understanding managers insane. David Baker, a music professor at Indiana University, crafted the "participatory Concertino for Cell Phones and Orchestra" after symphony director Paul Freeman conjured the idea of having attendees blast those monophonic jams on cue in order to create an abstract form of musical art. Utilizing colored signals resembling a stoplight, guests were armed and ready to emit whatever ringtone they pleased, and the cacophonic barrage of high-pitched beeps reportedly formed a euphonic medley that only an artist could appreciate. While we aren't sure if this newfangled form of music will ever hit the iTunes Music Store, catching it on Verizon's V CAST service might not be too far fetched.
News Corporation shells out $188M for piece of Jamba
Apparently, we're in the wrong business. Media powerhouse News Corporation has agreed to purchase a controlling interest in ringtone guru Jamba for $188 -- yes, $188 million from current owner VeriSign. The resulting joint venture will be folded into News' Fox Mobile Entertainment group, creating a terrifyingly large mobile media behemoth from whose gravity no one will be able to escape. Alright, maybe that's a little alarmist, but it does seem plausible that some extraordinarily high percentage of all ringtones purchased in the future across the globe will ultimately come from Jamba (or its American subsidiary, Jamster). If there's one positive note to come out of this monopol... er, agreement, it's that Jamba will soon be offering The Simpsons Mobile, a themed store offering wallpaper, ringtones, screensavers, and video from the popular show. Now if we can only hook ourselves up without getting duped by a free ringtone scheme, we'll be good to go.[Via MobileTracker]
Commodore's Gravel In Home and In Public MediaTower
Just in case one Commodore product wasn't enough, the company will announce two other new hardware products at IFA. As a sister item to the Gravel In Pocket, Commodore will also demo the Commodore In Home, and like the name says, it's for the casa. The Gravel In Home comes with an 80GB drive to give you access to video on demand, Replay TV and streaming music services. Like the Gravel In Pocket, it too will be available in a few months. The Los Angeles-based company also announced the Commodore In Public MediaTower, a kiosk to download music, ringtones, games and the like from "high traffic public areas" via USB, WAP or Bluetooth -- something we're surprised that Apple didn't come out with first. Then again, maybe Stevie J.'s already got one in the pipeline. [Warning: PDF link!]
RIAA establishes Master Ringtone Sales Award
The big wigs over at the RIAA have established a new reward system, much like the one they use for traditional albums, called the Master Ringtone Sales Award. They're keeping track of how many times a song has been downloaded as a ringtone -- it has to be the original recording, not some clunky midi version -- and once that number hits 500,000 it's considered to have gone Gold. One million sales merit Platinum status and two million marks the start of the ever-expandable Multi-Platinum category, into which the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" and three others have already climbed. Check the link for a list of all 128 songs honored -- including some Mariah Carey recorded for Pepsi -- at the inaugural ceremony held in NYC. Rumor has it that next year's event will have a lifetime achievement award for the late Crazy Frog. [Via Slashphone]
Cingular offering "personalized" celebrity Answer Tones
How do you make an annoying service even more unbearable? In the case of Cingular's Answer Tones (better known as ringback tones), you give customers the option of torturing their callers with "personalized" celebrity greetings to go along with the current catalog of low-quality song snippets. The wireless services provider has just a launched a program called "Say My Name" that offers subscribers the dubious ability of having celebrities like Juvenile, Ice T, Jamie Kennedy, and a bunch that we never head of, repeat a $2 canned message -- complete with the owner's first name (if they're lucky enough to have one of the 40 or so names deemed popular enough for this promotion, that is) -- while they're digging around pockets and purses for their phones. Note to our friends: the first time we hear a "Wassup, this ya boy Juve the Great..." when we call one of you, you'll be immediately kicked out of the Circle of Trust.[Via Mobiledia]
"Stealth ringtone" can only be heard by teens
We admit, the vibrating alerts in some phones are extraordinarily loud, often too loud to be discreet. And if the phone is sitting on a hard surface? Forget it. Motorola's BUZR could be years away, if we ever see it at all, so what's a mischievous, cellphone-toting student to do when phones are banned from class? Rumors are flying that students in the UK have recorded the sound produced by a device called the Mosquito, designed to disperse roving gangs of teenagers by emitting a sound that can only be heard by youngsters. By using the recording as their ringtone, they hear it (along with their friends and any nearby canines) while the poor headmaster is left in the dark. It's debatable whether your average cellphone is capable of producing sounds in the range necessary to elicit this effect, so this may be nothing more than a rumor, but if you see packs of dogs belting out some tunes near the local high school, you know what's probably going on. [Via Ringtonia and BoingBoing]
Cingular drops "La Migra" ringtone
Cingular Wireless has pulled a ringtone that mocks Latin American immigrants from its site, after being contacted by an advocate from a group called the League of United Latin American Citizens. The $2.49 ringtone, called "La Migra," ridiculed Latinos, with wording such as "Step away from the telephone-o. I'm deporting you back home-o." According to reports, a Cingular exec was "nearly speechless" after listening to the ringtone.Update: Thanks to Sascha Segan for pointing out that the ringtone was actually a bit of satire put together by Latino comedian Paul Saucido. You can catch Sascha's interview with Saucido here.
Samsung's slim t509 gets priced at $50 on T-Mobile
If you're looking for a slim candybar-style handset with decent data capabilities, you should definitely take a gander at T-Mobile's Samsung t509, which just got priced at merely fifty bucks after rebates, discounts, and such. You'll probably recall that the ~0.4-inch thick t509 is a tri-band model that also features Bluetooth and a camera with 4x zoom (whose resolution is still unspecified, which almost certainly means VGA). This model gets its Internet on through T-Mobile's EDGE network, and also sports such amenities as a speakerphone, pre-loaded IM clients, and some kind of ringtones that must be good because their names are trademarked.[Thanks, Chris C.]
Universal Studios starts mobile division
Yeah, everybody is doing it, but there's always room for one more media conglomerate to create overpriced mobile content for the masses. Universal Studios has just launched a mobile unit, Universal Mobile Entertainment, that will provide mobile content based on Universal properties. Turns out they'll be playing it pretty safe, with games, ringtones and mobile versions of existing video clips. Tie-ins will include modern hits like "Battlestar Galactica" and classics such as "Jaws." They're also looking into the possibility of doing mobisodes like those done for ABC's "Lost" and Fox's "Prison Break," but nothing solid on that front yet.[Via MocoNews]
Mariah Carey to write and record ringtones
We're not sure if this signals the end or further resurrection of her career but the Glitter girl herself, Ms. Mariah Carey has inked a deal to write and record original ringtones in a Pepsi/Motorola exclusive offering. No doubt, it’s nice to see artists and corporations alike embracing new technologies as a means of getting their ware out. Still, we just hope she can avoid the temptation of warbling about in her trademark whistle register pitch -- a ringtone sure to make Crazy Frog sound like a soft baby coo dipped in whispers.
Motorola patents cellphone shock BUZR
If you need to turn that ringer off in a movie theater or meeting, but find that the ol' vibrate mode just isn't doing it for you anymore (or if you need a surefire way to wake yourself up in the AM), Moto has the answer: shock mode. The company has filed for a patent on what it calls "a system that allows a cell phone to set off electrodes on a stimulator pad, alerting users of incoming calls." Moto also notes that the system can be used for "therapeutic stimulation," and that customized patterns -- think of them as the shock equivalent of ringtones -- can be downloaded to enhance the experience. We assume it'll only be a matter of time before someone figures out how to use this as a weapon (or at least a 21st century alternative to the joy buzzer) as well. And if you thought you had trouble getting through security with your camera phone, just give it a try with one of these babies.[Via Mobiledia]
Cingular to help MySpace bands create, sell ringtones
All those MySpace groups who don't end up winning Verizon's "Calling All Bands" contest will still have a wireless carrier-sponsored shot at stardom thanks to a new service called Cingular Mobile Music Studio that will turn their songs into ringtones available for purchase from the band's MySpace page. Any MySpace-accredited artist or band whose songs consist of original material may submit one track to project manager InfoSpace for consideration, and if deemed appropriate, it will be transformed into a 30-second downloadable ringtone. Artists will get 25% of the $2.50 that each 'tone will cost, and receive their cut as a check in the mail every quarter as long as revenues for that period exceed $100. This is the second major partnership between Cingular and MySpace, with the carrier's subscribers already able to receive text alerts when someone leaves a comment on their page, and one of several pushes the social networking site has made into the mobile space.[Via Seattle Times]
Chuck D, Tommy Lee and reggaeton groups try to add star power to CTIA
While CES played host to such celebrities as Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and even Bill Gates, CTIA is not without its share of stars. Or at least has-been stars. Or wanna-be stars. At the top of CTIA's A list is one man we do have to give it up for: Public Enemy's Chuck D (of course, if it was Flav instead, we'd be working on some sort of snide comment about his timing about now). The rapper and activist (pictured) is launching his own mobile music service, Chuck D Mobile, which will sell ringtones, voice clips and other audio from rappers. According to Chuck D's manager, the service will avoid gangsta rap and focus instead on "healthy stuff." Also strutting his stuff at CTIA is former direct-to-tape star Tommy Lee, who has a deal with Hands-On Mobile, formerly Mforma, and will apparently be developing content that will, in the words of Lee, scare "the sh*t out of your buddies." We're assuming Lee doesn't have "healthy stuff" in mind when he says that. Oh, and lest you think Lee's scary sh*t is the last word in CTIA stardom, still more ringtones will be coming your way from reggaeton "stars" Nandy and Pokoloko. The two groups, along with Tony Touch, have cut a deal with content provider WiderThan. We expect more music ringtone announcements in coming days, though we don't anticipate anything from the likes of Cruise, Williams or Hanks -- though we wouldn't be surprised to hear some ringtones from Gates (or at least Ballmer). Read - Chuck DRead - Tommy LeeRead - Reggaeton
Samsung has a perfume phone in the works?
Smelltones here we come. It looks like Samsung has filed a patent for storage compartment in phones that can hold perfume cartridges and release their scent at appropriate times, such as when receiving a call. That's not even the weirdest part, since the patent goes on to outline other situations that might warrant a spraying action, like when the user raises or lowers their voice: "Darling, don’t yell at me you will smell bad!" (Their example, not ours.) They also mention the possibility of a phone holding multiple cartridges and mixing their scents for one deadly spray, but hopefully we witness the end of civilization before that fateful day.
Orange signs Sony Ericsson, Christina Aguilera
Sultry songstress Christina Aguilera has signed on to shill for Orange Europe as part of their campaign to market Sony Ericsson's candybar W810i and clamshell W300i Walkman phones. The deal with SE gives Orange exclusive rights to a European rollout of these handsets -- both quad-band GSM/EDGE models -- with the W810i's 2.0 megapixel camera giving it the edge in terms of feature sets. Aguilera, who like the Walkman mobiles is part of the Sony family (she records for Sony BMG), will provide Orange and its customers with exclusive content such as ringtones, song downloads, remixes, and videos, available on the Orange World site. No word yet on when the SE mediaphones will be available, how many euros they will set you back, or the level of nudity we can expect in Aguilera's Orange commercials.
