Our beloved Ringo has just added some new free ringtones for all of those using Ringo. Made exclusively for Ringo, you won’t find these ringtones anywhere but at www.ringomo.com. Ranging in a mix of Classical, Country, Rock, Salsa (mmmm, salsa and chips) and Ragtime, you’re phone will keep things interesting with every call.

If you don’t know about Ringo, then read our review and find out why we loved it. It works for BlackBerry, WIndows Mobile, and the beloved (but forgotten?) Palm OS. With its easy to user interface and ability to play MP3s for ringtones and messages tones, why wouldn’t you get Ringo now? Ringo is available at ringomo.com for US$19.95.

Pitty the fool that spends 99 cents for a song and then another 99 cents to make it into a ringtone for their iPhone. Why a fool? Because they could be doing all this for free! We told you about the insane easy iToner last week and now we’re going to tell you about the just as easy MakeiPhoneRingtone. MIR if you’re nasty. With MakeiPhoneRingtone, you simply drag your AAC files (rename those MP4s to AAC if you’ve got ‘em) and MIR automatically takes care of the rest. Next thing you’ll see is your newly dragged music in the Ringtones section of iTunes. It does the “hack” magic all in the background!

Now, some have experienced some odd errors (like the inability to change the extension of the file…an important part in getting those files on your iPhone), so we recommend you use the latest 1.1 version. It uses the more stable “stik” method of “converting” your files into iPhone ringtones and it cleared up our problems lick-a-tee split.

Rouge Amoeba promises to keep up with this free application even if newer version of iTunes breaks this great trick. As of now, it sees no reason to charge for this application, so get it while you can!

It’s a bit ironic that Steve Jobs would make a jab at NBC Wednesday with Apple’s custom ringtone for the iPhone announcement. Basically, the NBC-Universal issue is that Universal wants more control over the DRM and higher prices for its content. If you look at the 99 cent price per ringtone charge Apple is pushing, you could say Apple is committing the same sin as NBC. Think about it. You can only use songs (and not even all of them) from the iTunes store. Control. You have to pay FULL price for a partial song! Higher prices. Sure, you could play the entire song as a ringtone, I guess, but would you get your complete value from it? No. While you can customize the start and end points of the song, does that really justify the high price? Not really.

Going further, what about the fact that you are being double charged? I mean, if you already purchased a song prior, you have to purchase it AGAIN! How does that make sense? I can’t believe Jobs could tell the audience at Moscone Center with a straight face everyone has to pay TWICE for the same song!

What makes this whole thing just amazing is the fact that you can put ringtones on the iPhone now without the help of Apple. Sure, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to use iFuntastic, but iToner (which we reported on) does the drop amazingly easy and costs $15. Granted, not cheap, but after a dozen or more ringtones from iTunes, it will be cheaper than Apple’s alternative.

To customize the start and end points isn’t too difficult, either. Garageband can do the edits on ones files and then you can save that out as your ringtone. Sure, it’s probably not as easy as it is in iTunes 4.7, but the selection and cost doing it this way is so much cheaper.

So that brings us to how Apple blew it. I don’t want to say it is being greedy, because it really could have charged more per song, but it is demonstrating that it likes to a make a buck toward the obscene. Like the DRM argument that even Steve Jobs agreed with, you should only have to pay ONCE for something you already own. If I purchase “Respect” from Aretha Franklin, then I shouldn’t have to buy it again if I want it to be my ringtone.

So why is Steve behind this? Well, there’s a new player in this game and it’s AT&T. Carriers make big money off of ringtones and this topic was sure to have come up with Apple when it brought it’s iPhone to then SBC with all of Apple’s demands. AT&T had a lot to lose and I’m sure ringtone revenue was not one thing it wanted to come out of its grips. Add in the evil record companies and you’re back to high pricing.

While I think Apple blew it with this lame pricing plan of 99 cents (49 cents would have been a better price point if it had to go through with the double charge plan), hopefully it’ll look the other way and continue to allow products such as iToner to work with the iPhone. It may have its back up against the wall, but it has been demonstrating this blind-eye treatment with all the Apple TV hacks. Hopefully, it’ll continue with the iPhone.

I’ve been using iFuntastic until 3.0.3 failed to work for me for all of my iPhone ringtone management. It left me in the frustrated state of how to get more ringtones on my iPhone. I had known about another software application out there claiming to have the quick and easy way to custom ringtones for the iPhone. Now that iFuntastic wasn’t working, I rang up Ambrosia Software’s site for a speedy download of its iToner.

Once the download completed and the disk image expanded, I gave iToner an immediate task. To my amazement, it did work quickly and was as simple as dragging Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” to iToner’s iPhone-like interface and clicking the Sync button. The transfer was fast, in fact, I thought it had failed and I removed my iPhone from its dock to check. Sure enough, “Like a Rock” was listed in the Ringtone list. Sweet!

There’s not much to look at in iToner. It’s basic and job-one is to just handle ringtones. It does not sniff the current ringtones on your device, but does keep track of what you’ve copied over to your phone via iToner and list those tracks. One thing I did notice from iToner’s advanced settings is the ability to copy over playlists from iTunes. Very cool if you want to just make a quick playlist of all your ringtones in case the next Apple update wipes out your current set of MP3 and M4As.

While iToner is fast and easy, I think $15 is a very steep price for what you can find for free (or donation) elsewhere. Again, this is without a doubt the most easy and fool proof ringtone manager for your iPhone, but it’s about three times the cost that I would be willing to pay for it. Yes, iFuntastic 3.0.3b1 isn’t working on my phone, but at least 2.1.x is still on my drive and that does work. And it’s free. But, if you’re not into soft-resetting your iPhone and fear bricking it, then maybe $15 may be a value at insurance policy pricing.

Verizon Wireless today announced an exclusive and multi-tiered relationship with classic rock legends AC/DC, as the company’s V CAST Music service becomes the first digital music service to deliver AC/DC’s entire back catalog digitally. Respecting the band’s reputation for delivering a full-album experience, Verizon Wireless is making AC/DC’s music available in full-album downloads. AC/DC’s catalog consists of 18 classic albums, and for many music enthusiasts, the AC/DC catalog has been one of the most highly-anticipated digital releases to date. The multi-tiered relationship includes AC/DC’s entire back catalog – of which Verizon Wireless is the exclusive mobile music provider through March 2008 – plus exclusive performance footage on V CAST Video and a special V CAST Mobile TV program.

Formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young (still the most formidable electric guitar team in rock), AC/DC released its first album, “High Voltage,” in 1975. The group has gone on to sell more than 63 million albums in the U.S., making AC/DC one of the five best-selling bands in American music history. The “Back In Black” album has achieved RIAA “Double Diamond” status, for sales in excess of 21 million copies in the U.S., and is the U.S.’s fifth largest-selling album ever. AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

“Verizon Wireless and V CAST offer a fantastic new high-tech platform for the long-awaited digital release of AC/DC’s music and video catalogs,” said Steve Barnett, chairman, Columbia Records. “Through Verizon’s cellular phone and mobile television technology, new and established generations of AC/DC fans will find fresh and innovative ways to enjoy the sights and sounds of the world’s most electrifying rock and roll band.”

“AC/DC’s back catalog is hot and fans nationwide have been filling chatrooms and bulletin boards for years speculating about the digital release of their albums. We are proud that Verizon Wireless customers will be the first to load up on their fill of classic AC/DC,” said John Harrobin, senior vice president of digital media for Verizon. “By respecting and preserving the full AC/DC album experience through full-album digital downloads and mobile video, we will ensure that the group’s classic rock is understood, embraced and here to stay.”

AC/DC “Shakes Up” Mobile Music with Full-Album Downloads on V CAST Music

This new relationship will encourage new digital behaviors as Verizon Wireless customers will have the ability to purchase music as full-album downloads of AC/DC’s entire back catalog. By visiting the V CAST Music online store at www.verizonwireless.com/music fans will be able to download any of AC/DC’s full albums to their PCs and then sync them to their phones with V CAST Music Manager. “You Shook Me All Night Long” will be the only single available as an individual full-song download over-the-air, and will be used to promote full-album downloads of AC/DC’s catalog in ongoing marketing campaigns. Fans can also get the sounds of their favorite classic rock band with AC/DC Ringtones and Ringback tones from Verizon Wireless.

AC/DC on V CAST Mobile TV Coming Soon

In an effort to educate new generations of music fans on the breadth of their enormous body of work, AC/DC will soon deliver AC/DC TV on the new V CAST Mobile TV. AC/DC will present footage from the infamous Live at Donnington extravaganza and other performances so fans can access and watch, directly on their Verizon Wireless mobile phones.

So, you’re kinda having buyers remorse, huh? Missin’ those custom ringtones on your free LG or Motorola phone you tossed to the junk drawer for that $600 iPhone of yours. “But I really love this phone!” Ya, ya, we know, we love it, too. But man, no custom ringtones? Come on, Sci-Fi ain’t that good and who’s going to use Motorcycle for a ringtone? It’s not even a Harley!

http://www.ccir.ed.ac.uk/~jad/ringtone/CTU24.mp3Well, don’t worry young iPhone 1.0 user, you can have custom ringtones. Anything you want in M4A (AAC) format. You just have to download some hacking software, perform some Terminal commands, kill -9 iTunes, and cross your fingers. That’s it! But hey, when your phone rings with the CTU Cisco ringtone, you’ll be looking sharp. Real sharp. Okay, okay. The link. Proceed with caution.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the leading U.S. performing right organization representing more than 6.5 million musical works from more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, today released its annual projection for U.S. ringtone sales and for the first time released a U.S. ringback tone market projection for 2007.

BMI estimates that the 2007 music ringtone market will dip to $550 million (U.S.) in retail sales, down $50 million (U.S.) from calendar year 2006. BMI pegged the market at $600 million (U.S.) in calendar year 2006; $500 million (U.S.) in 2005; $245 million (U.S.) in 2004 and $68 million (U.S.) in 2003, respectively.

BMI projects that ringbacks will generate approximately $65 million (U.S.) in retail content revenues in 2007. This is BMI’s first market estimate of the long-awaited rollout of the ringback tone market. A ringback tone is a musical work that is performed to the caller when they place a call to a participating mobile subscriber.

BMI’s estimates are based on more than 520 million individual, detailed ringtone transactions analyzed by the organization over the past 12 consecutive quarters. BMI tracks census sales data on more than 325 outlets for the sale of mobile entertainment in the U.S.

“As we forecasted last year, the ringtone market matured in 2006. The slowdown in ringtone growth, however, was partially offset by the first wave of promising U.S. growth in ringback tones,” said BMI Vice President of New Media and Strategic Development, Richard Conlon. “We believe that the ringtone market’s growth has leveled off and the novelty phase has ended. We envision increased revenue opportunity in the streaming sectors of the mobile entertainment market, ranging from ringtones to audiovisual cellular phone TV-style offerings.”

Since entering the market in 2001, BMI has tracked and processed more than 520,000,000 individual ringtone sales by title, artist and gross retail revenues generated. BMI also tracks titles and revenues associated with ringback tone services. BMI’s database of earnings and titles is believed to be the most comprehensive in the industry. BMI uses the data that it collects to distribute public performance royalties on a pro-rated basis to its affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers.

Looking for a custom ringtone manager for your Windows Mobile or Smartphone? Whelp, we just got done reviewing one from Electric Pocket and it’s name is Ringo. If you are looking for a good way to customize the way your phone rings when either a specific contact calls or a bunch of contacts from a selected category, then check out the Ringo review.

Microsoft is a company known for its shortcomings. I could spend the entire day and few thousand lines of pixels here going over just some of them, but one particular one I’ll touch on is it’s lack of ringtone management on Windows Mobile. With it’s lackluster ability to associate custom rings to a call, I’ve become very frustrated with both my XV6700 and Motorola Q. Thankfully with the latest release of Window Mobile 5, Microsoft finally added ringtones to each contact; however, there is no easy and quick way to add a custom ring to a slew of friends or groups. With a few ringtone managers available to aid in this failing, none really have made the management in the ringtone manager easy with a small footprint. Is Electric Pocket’s Ringo that manager?

Ringo has been a popular fixture on PalmOS Treos including the new 700p. The 700w has also been equipped with this easy to use ringtone manager that comes with 50 MP3 ringtones for immediate use. You will be able to use any MP3 or WMA file for a specific ring for a certain somebody or somebodies as well as being able to assign the two file formats to SMS delivery alerts for that important person.

“Smartphones are truly lifestyle devices and Ringo enhances the experience by allowing users to personalize it to match their moods,” said Iain Barclay, Electric Pocket’s Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer. “With access to over 50 free MP3 ringtones built right into the application, we believe Ringo will be enormously popular among Smartphone users.”

Your smartphone is probably in the included bunch of supported phones, Cingular 2125, Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash and the SPV C600 from Orange, so why don’t you give it a looks-see. For $19.99, it may be a winner.