Emily Sims asked:


There is nothing worse than being duped. Not only do you feel like an idiot, you are left to pay for an item or service you don’t want. The latest scam is the ringtone subscription service. Companies advertising free ringtone downloads, targeted at teenagers, have caught many users in expensive subscription ‘clubs’. The con is simple: Aggressively market your product as “free”, wait until a user enters their mobile number to access the “free” download, then send the user 30 ringtones a month at a cost of 5 USD per ringtone. Premium SMS subscription services, like ringtone ‘clubs’ allow mobile phones to be used like credit cards. Legality is addressed in the terms and conditions agreement, a small box on the subscription form that must be ticked before processing. Written in practically illegible 9pt sans serif text, terms and conditions usually pop up in a small window which must then be maximised. Typically, the word ‘subscription’ and service pricing appear only in the terms and conditions. For example:

By clicking the “COMPLETE” button you agree to subscribe to Any Club’s ringtone service. You will be sent your choice of ringtone FREE of charge as a bonus for joining Any Club. The service allows you to download up to 4 ringtones each week. The US$4.95 charge will be billed to your mobile bill twice per week. To stop this subscription service at any time, SMS “STOP”, to short code 77777777. Your phone must be polyphonic compatible, be Internet-enabled and have text messaging capability. You must be the owner of this device and either be at least sixteen years old or have the permission of your parent or guardian. Artist names used for identification purposes only. Standard text messaging rates apply. For help contact customer service at 1-123-456-789.

This standard terms and conditions script can be found at any ringtone website purporting to provide free content. In practice, terms and conditions protect the ringtone supplier, once the box is checked the customer can be said to have recognised the stipulations of the agreement. Thus the blame is conveniently shifted from the ringtone supplier, to the customer. The customer, it is claimed, should have read the terms despite being (mis)led to the website on the pretense of free content. Recently, thanks to a spate of consumer complaints, several ringtone providers have been forced to change their advertising policy. In the UK complaints of misleading advertising against ringtone company Jamster! have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. In the US a lawsuit has been brought against Jamster!, accusing the ‘Crazy Frog’ proprietors of fraud, false advertising, unfair business practices. Legal action may result in greater transparency on behalf of operators like Jamster! However, consumers should recall the cliche “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”, and be highly suspicious of any website offering free mobile content.



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Philip Nicosia asked:


Ringtones is now a multi-billion dollar industry and our appetite for ringtones shows no abatement. As with anything in life why pay for something when you get it for free?

The search for free ringtones grows everyday but do they really exist. We all see the ads “Free Ringtones” but where is the catch? Usually this a get 1 free ringtone by subscribing for premium services which can end up costing you 10’s of dollars before you realise it.

As the market has grown so have the ringtones. In the old days of beep beep phones free ringtones were readily available and still are as keypress ringtones which you could just enter into your phone by your phones composer module. They were most popular with Nokia and Motorola phones but free ringtone converters are available to change the keypress codes needed to enter into different manufactures composers.

Then came polyphonic ringtones. Polyphonic ringtones are made up of multiple channels to give a more realistic sound. Ultimately they are just midi files which are freely available on the internet in their thousands. A quick search on Google for Free Midi Files produces over 4,000,000 results so finding your favourite shouldn’t be too much of a problem. All you need do then is upload to your phone with a datacable, infra-red or bluetooth connection. If that’s not possible then there are also sites which allow you to upload files to their WAP servers and you download your chosen free polyphonic ringtones direct to your cell phone.

Next came MP3 ringtones also commonly know as true tone or real sound ringtones. With the explosion of mp3 files and the use of mp3 players the chances are you may already have the sounds you want on your mobile phone as your ringtone. Fortunately there is software available on the internet that will help you do this and adds the advantage of being able to edit your mp3 files so it sounds exactly like you want it to. If you just want to hear the chorus, or the intro it lets you cut out the sections you don’t want leaving you with only the bits you do want to hear. An added bonus is also the ability to increase the volume of the ringtone if you need to. If you can cut and paste a text file you can edit your own free mp3 ringtones.



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Vikram Kumar asked:


On the Internet, there are many sites that provide free ringtones. Collectively, there are thousands of free ringtones on the internet. There are so many in fact, that you can actually make a category from it. There are categories per artists, per genre, per country and lots more. But these are more specific. Generally, you can only choose two basic formats in free ringtones. They are monotones and polytones. They are also known as monophonic and polyphonic but all have the same meanings. The monotones or monophonic are ringtones that use a series of notes (one after the other only) to comprise a tune. Polytones or polyphonic on the other hand, uses many musical notes at one time. This type of ringtone is created using sequenced recording method, for example the MIDI. The more advanced among the two is the polyphonic. You can get free ringtone downloads of both tones online.

 

What to Be Wary Of

 

There are many sites that offer free ringtone downloads. However, since it is free and can be downloaded online, it could be unsafe. For this reason, it is important to use a trusted site that recommends or provides links to the safest ringtone download sites online. There are many sites out there that can cause damage to your computer if you download ringtones. It could also be that the site that you enter into can be a scam. Others even cause some viruses to enter your unit when you download. What you need to do is to be wary about this, and use sites that are recommended from other reputable sites. To be sure that you get safe free ringtone downloads, you can follow the tips below:

 

Always read about the site. You need to see if they offer an authenticated service. As much as possible, do not only attracted with the offer of free ringtones. Read all about the site first that offers free ringtones and see the authenticity of their service before you download. Avoid scams. You will know that a site is a scam when it requires you to download spyware or other programs that could be unsafe for you. It may carry bugs and viruses. Try to look for sites that offer free ringtones instead of the required membership fee. Ringtones are just accessories to the computer and do not necessarily need to cost a lot. If you find a site that requires a membership fee, be convinced of the benefits for being a member first. Remember there are plenty of sites that offer free ringtone downloads so you must check what you will gain if you pay a certain amount of money for it. Be aware that certain free ringtone downloads can only be downloaded when it is compatible with your unit. Motorola phones, for instance, have certain free ringtones that can be downloaded to the unit. If your phone is Motorola, look for free ringtones for a Motorola unit to be completely safe. You can also find guides and wizards in the download to the unit making it easy and safe.

 

The important thing to remember is that not all websites that offer free ringtones are safe. For this reason, always ‘do your homework’ by checking and rechecking the authenticity of the websites. Use sites that are recommended or contain links on other reputable and complementary websites. If you don’t, you might get carried away with the enticing promise of being free, and readily jump to the conclusion that you can have the ringtone safely. These awareness tips and some of the tips that you may find on the internet will keep you from damaging you unit in the long run.

 



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Craig Thornburrow asked:


Nobody gets anything for nothing is a common cliche that has a tendency to be overused often. Granted, there is a grain of truth to the statement as more often that not, when something is offered for free it is generally designed as a way of enticing a customer to come on in and take a look around. The ultimate goal is that the person will be pleased with the free item or service and then move on to make a paid purchase of an additional product. Then again, there are some items out there that truly are free such as free ringtone download promotional items.

How does one get a free ringtone download for one’s cellular phone? Easy. All that needs to be done is log on to a website that provides downloads of popular sounds. Once again, it is a really easy proposition! There are quite a number of spots where a person they can be acquired and they are easy to download onto one’s cell. Of course, not all free ringtone services are completely free as many services also offer paid components to the service as well.

In certain instances, a free tone is offered as part of a larger package deal. That is to say, if the customer purchases a one year package, the first three months of the package can be provided for free. Now, this is not an endorsement of a particular subscription service, but rather it is provided as an example of what might be offered on the free ringtone landscape. Before making a selection of such a ringtone subscription, it is suggested to review the complete package of what is offered by the service provider so as to see what is additionally offered as part of the paid package. It would not be a prudent financial decision to purchase something on a fee basis when it could be acquired through a free download.

So, in addition to looking at what tunes are offered, it is also wise to look at the complete picture as well. It would be a shame to miss out on a really good product because the consumer was turned off by a potential price figure without looking at what was offered for the price.

Then again, there are a ton of totally free ringtone download services available as well so if all one is looking for is just a generic (but cool) tone, then such an order can be filled. It should not be a problem locating a totally free one that will fit one’s personal tastes and preferences Look around and surely such a beneficial service will be easy to locate.



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dylan asked:


Ringtones are the sound produced by your phone and they alert you about the incoming call. Everyone likes to download them, especially if they are free of cost. If your phone is WAP compatible, some mobile ringtones can be downloaded directly to your handset.

Have you got bored of the common ringtones available these days? Today, it has become necessary to express your personality. They are a unique way of standing out in the crowd. It says something about yourself.

With the introduction of newer mobile phone technologies, mobile users are getting new ways to individualise their ringtones so they can easily recognize their phone when it rings in a crowded place. No doubt, they have become popular with the mobile users.

Ringtones are the sound produced by your phone and they alert you about the incoming call. Everyone likes to download them, especially if they are free of cost. If your phone is WAP compatible, some of them can be downloaded directly to your handset. There are a lot of portals offering free ringtones to customers. You don’t need to pay anything, simply download them using a WAP enabled phone or send a text message with the related code and it will be sent via SMS text message service.

Find a variety of ring tones on the internet that are free. For example, if you are a horror movie fan,you can set your ringtone to sound like a theme of a horror movie. Likewise, if you are a romantic person, you can choose a romantic tune. From the comical to the serious, light-hearted to the sentimental, you can find a range of tones to suit your personality. You can find a number of tones and find yourself changing your ring tone frequently.

Some phones allow you to set specific ringtones for your friends, family and some for unknown callers. The latest mobile phones allow you to download and share tones. You can connect your handset to your PC by data cable, bluetooth or infrared and get it for free.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and explore the online mobile shops to download your favourite free ringtones.





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Craig Thornburrow asked:


Mobile manufacturers readily provide a free ringtone in every phone model sold. There are already wallpapers, themes, games and ring tones available in every mobile phone. Usually, a freebie tone in a phone is merely a special effect sound trademark of a phone manufacturer.

For example, Sony Ericsson and Nokia models each have their own trademark ringtone. This also goes with the wallpaper, theme and games. Having its own trademark functions will help in the successful advertising of the their brand. Aside from this, there are other special effect tones saved in the phone. These special effect tones can either be the sound of birds, waterfalls, melodious chants, etc.

Users, however, are usually not contented with a free ringtone, they are expected to experiment and explore the possibilities of downloading others. Why? This is because these freebies are usually not polyphonic. Polyphonic tones are the current standard of ringtones available in the market.

Polyphonic playing usually depends on the kind of phone used. A mobile can be said to be capable of playing polyphonic tones if it can simultaneously play about 16 notes at a time. Most of the high-end phones offered in the market are capable of polyphonic playing. Due to this advancement in technology, users have access to a livelier music.

A ringback tone can be assigned to a specific contact in the phonebook function of the phone. Through this capability, mobile users can assign any ringtone for each contact. This way, they can easily know who is calling or sending SMS messages to them. A specific ringtone can be separately assigned to an incoming voice call and a text message.

Current phonebook functions in high-end technology also let users insert a picture or image of the caller. Soon, videos can also be attached to each contact of the phonebook. In this case, a free ringtone from the manufacturer can be similar to their stand-by wallpaper videos.

The freebie tone offered by manufacturers is still basically a single-tone and not polyphonic in spite of the improvement of functions. It can be recalled that a ringback tone is supposed to be the indicator of an incoming call or text. This is the possible reason why manufacturers retain the free single-tone ringtones.

Along with the vibrate functions, they serve as the default format of the phone. In the instance of a virus attack, mobile users can easily revert back to the default format of the mobile phone and an original free ringtone will be activated for the convenience of the mobile user.



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Neal Hamou asked:


The ultimate in mobile phone customization is the creation and utilization of mobile ringtones. This has become increasingly popular among iPhone and iPhone 3g users mainly because users create ringtones based off of their existing library. The popular iPhone by Apple, has a built-in music library known as iTunes which allows users to download music and video files via their computer or the internet. Once the files are in the iTunes music library, users can then create personal ringtones using whatever song or sound file they wish.

But here is where it gets tricky! iTunes requires users to purchase the ringtone sequence even if they already own the song. So how is it possible to get free ringtones? Well to solve that problem there are two fairly well-known applications that are used, iToner and iPhoneRingtoneMaker. iToner is a ringtone manager for Mac users, while iPhoneRingtoneMaker is run using Windows. Both applications cost $15, hopefully less than the amount of ringtones users are planning on uploading. According to a recent article posted by Wired on September 12, 2008, the most recent iTunes update appeared to have crippled iPhoneRingtoneMaker for some users however, iToner seemed to remain functional.

Aside from purchasing those applications, users can still pay a single dollar and avoid the entire headache associated with trying to get free ringtones. With that said, it has been my experience that many users find it difficult to set their desired ringtones. A simple step by step guide can be found in AppCraver’s troubleshooting section with information on how to create ringtones on the iPhone.

If you feel that paying a dollar per ringtone just isn’t cutting it, check for updates on AppCraver to see if current applications still work or to find new applications that will let users create free ringtones.



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Craig Thornburrow asked:


Many web sites claim to offer free ringtones, and most of them are legitimate, but there are a couple of issues that seekers of free ringtones should keep in mind before getting that ringtone. First, some of these sites, and can I stress some, are either outright scams or at best disingenuous. They may have free ringtones, but they’re only available if you buy something else or pay for a membership first. The second potential problem with free ringtones is that the purveyor may be using private material such as movie themes and popular songs without paying royalties to the rights holder.

Many sites that offer free ringtones do so not because they love the public and want to make sure their ringtone needs are met, but rather as a lure to draw them in for nefarious purposes. This issue was highlighted most directly in 2005 when a judge ordered the shutdown of several web sites that were luring web surfers with promises of free ringtones, and then installing malicious software on their machines. Some sites that offer free ringtones may not go this far, but they may feature annoying pop up ads and other offensive content.

Many sites may offer free ringtones without installing spyware or inundating visitors with ads, but they still may present a legal issue. Most popular music is protected by copyright law, and any use of the music, such as in free ringtones, requires that royalties be paid to the artist.

While there are many good sources of free ringtones, it is worthwhile to read independent reviews of the sites before visiting them. If the free ringtones offered are popular songs or file themes, make sure that the website pays royalties to the artist. Be safe while searching, and have fun while hunting for free ringtones!



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Marc Ilgen asked:


Ringtone advertisements are everywhere these days. This is not surprising, given the fact that cellphones are everywhere these days too. With such a ubiquitous device, people want to personalize their cellphone as best they can. And of course, having a variety of ringtones is the best way to do this.

And ringtones are not even the only way to personalize a cellphone. People can get wallpapers, or images that serve the purpose of background images for the display on their phone. With newer cellphones boasting faster processors, cellphone games have also become a popular addition to many cellphone models. So, cellphones are no longer just about making phonecalls. They are now often used as an expression of the style and personality of the person that owns the cellphone.

Many companies have jumped into the ringtone business hoping to capitalize on this desire for self expression. Even the carriers themselves are now offering ringtones to their subscribers. The carriers and many other companies use a fairly standard business model for delivering these ringtones – the user must pay a fee of between one and three dollars per ringtone in order to purchase and download the ringtone.

But some companies seem to offer free ringtones to consumers. The advertisements tell potential customers to enter cellular phone number and they will be able to download some number of free ringtones. Is this the real deal? Well, yes and no.

Look at the fine print in the ad. In virtually all cases, by entering the phone number you are also agreeing to sign up for a ringtone subscription plan at around ten dollars per month. This subscription plan gives you a certain number of credits to spend every month on ringtones and wallpapers. By signing up, you do indeed get some number of extra credits for some extra ringtones. So in some sense these are free ringtones, but you only get the free ones by signing up for a fairly costly monthly service.

So what are the alternatives? There are a few companies that offer software systems that allow you to create your own ringtones from your own set of CDs or MP3 files. A service like this will also let you use your won digital photos to create custom wallpapers for your phone. If you are computer savvy and are willing to spend some time doing this, then this can be a good option.

For people who are not willing to spend time making their own ringtones, there are other services that provide unlimited ringtone downloads for a flat fee. Usually these services are much less expensive than those services that deceptively advertise free ringtones. So it usually pays to research ringtone deals fairly extensively before committing to a purchase.



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Vikram Kumar asked:


 

Today mobile phones are not just used for calling or sending text messages. The rapid rate at which they are evolving technologically, is making cellular phones a complete entertainment package. The constantly evolving features not only make calling and messaging easy, but make owning a cell phone fun too. There can be games, WAP, extras, profiles and lots more. What most people find even more fun, is to have new ringtones, and to be able to continuously update these ringtones.

 

The ringtone is actually a misnomer because it is not tones. It is simply ring sounds that alert the mobile phone user when there is an incoming call or text message. This is a term used for mobile phones with customizable sound. Owners of mobile phones can change different types of ringtones and different sounds whenever they desire. The reason for ringtones is to simply add that extra bit of fun, and make it appealing to the ear. And since customizing ringtones is one of the good features in mobile phones, people can collect ringtones from different sources. 

 

One can get a new ringtone through registering their mobile phone to their network so that regular ringtones can be sent to the user. The user can then change their ringtone as preferred. However, some networks require regular fees for this. As a result, people prefer to download and get free ringtones from the Internet.

 

There are many sites that provide ringtones for mobile phones. Some sites provide them for free. Free ringtones can simply be downloaded. You just have to choose what type of free ringtones you would like to download. They could be:

 

Monophonic. This type of ringtone uses a series of notes for a particular tune. The music is based on a ‘do-re-mi’ series of notes and no other. It has one musical note at one time. Polyphonic. This type of ringtone has many musical notes at one time. To create this type of ringtone, a sequenced recording method was used. Truetone. This is the most advanced ringtone available. It is also known as real tones, superphonic ringtone, mastertone or audio recording. It sounds like an audio recording. It typically follows the format of Mp3 or AAC. Usually, they are excerpts of the songs.

 

Among the three types of ringtones, the most popular and appealing is the truetone. This type can also be offered as free ringtones by sites.

 

There are many sites that offer free ringtones. One of these is Top Twenty Tones. Here you view a variety of free ringtones. They are listed in different categories, and all you have to do is choose which among the many free ringtones list suits your taste.

 

Fun in Ringtones

 

Typically, people download and update free ringtones to beautify and make their mobile phones appealing. Some would even go to the extent of paying for ringtones, knowing how much fun can be brought about by the new ringtone trends. For some, it can be a form of lifestyle. More sophisticated mobile phones are owned by sophisticated people and it goes to say that their ringtones are also truetones with the latest music in it. 

 

Overall, ringtones are features in almost all mobile phones. They can be in the form of either monophonic, polyphonic or truetones. Each type of format determines the types of mobile phone a person owns. Usually, the more sophisticated the phone, the more appealing the ringtone. To get the latest ringtones, a person can simply download free ringtones from the Internet.

 



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