Short History of Cellphone Ringtones 511
RobotWisdom writes "This week's New Yorker magazine includes an interesting
short history of cellphone ringtones, including statistics on their (huge) profitability worldwide. My favorite quote: 'I spent three days of productive work time listening to polyphonic ringtone versions of speed metal, trying to find exactly the ringtone that expressed my personality with enough irony and enough coolness that I could live with it going off ten times a day. In a quiet room, in a meeting, this phone's gonna go off-- what are they going to hear?'"
The only ringtone needed EVAR (Score:5, Insightful)
Ringtones are one of the dumbest things to pay for (Score:5, Insightful)
The ringtone craze (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, I do know people who have a ring tone for everyone in their phonebook. Perhaps it is useful to them other than being a fashion statement (since caller ID also identifies incoming callers) but is it really worth paying for?
What are they going to hear? (Score:5, Insightful)
Everyone else hollering "PUT YOUR FUCKING PHONE ON VIBRATE!"
Damn I hate ringtones.
I am baffled. (Score:5, Insightful)
For the life of me, I can not figure out why someone would take the time to set up a custom ringtone - let alone pay for one.
I guess it's the same people that blare their radio in the car with the windows rolled all the way down.
Vibrate mode (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What are they going to hear? (Score:4, Insightful)
Just shows how rude some users can be (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course I've got a new one to add to rude cell phone use. In a movie theater if you have a bright screen on your phone, cover it with your hand so it doesn't distract other people.
Though on the good side technology is getting to the point where it can effectively block cell phone signals so since it is obvious people won't police themselves it is only a matter of time before more and more public places like movie theaters block it for them.
Use tunes you already own. (Score:2, Insightful)
Even if you do decide to buy a ringtone, you've then got to hunt around and find somewhere that isn't charging you 5 euros a month for some subscription you didn't even know you were signing yourself up for! (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4295625.st
Personally I now stick to phones that you can put
Paying for ringtones? (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a Motorola v551 which is able to interpret general MIDI files and MP3s. Adding ringtones is as simple as jumping on a MIDI archive or ripping one of my CDs, truncating the song down to the part I want, and transferring them to the phone with the data cable.
Buying ringtones is right up there with paying for pr0n in my book.
I say this.. (Score:4, Insightful)
FUCK OFF!
It's annoying as hell to be talking to someone when they suddenly pick up their phone and cut you off mid sentence. Or you're in a shop and suddenly a phone rings and 12 people dive head first into their bag.
I miss the days of the early 90s where the only people who mobile phones were people who needed them, not every middle age woman and 12 year old girl within a 3 mile radius of the shopping part of town.
Re:The only ringtone needed EVAR (Score:3, Insightful)
My Ideal Cellphone Tone (Score:5, Insightful)
I believe that every cellphone on the planet should have just 1 fixed ringtone that cannot be changed. It should be some guy announcing in a loud and obnoxious voice, "LOOK EVERYONE! I HAVE A CELLPHONE AND I'M AN *ASSHOLE*!" Then most people would keep their cellphone on silent and the issue wouldn't ever come up.
Re:wow (Score:5, Insightful)
There are websites that have have huge collections of MIDI. There's everything from TV themes to pop music to automated Mozart minuette generators. Grab one, shove it in your phone and begin annoying people immediately. It's just not that hard. $2.00 seems usurious.
personality amplifier (Score:3, Insightful)
ringtone != cool (if you are reading this, you are not in that sliver of culture that can pull off a ringtone, please, for the love of god, switch to vibrate)
sorry, that is just the way it is.
(for full disclosure, I have my ringtone set to vibrate, since I am not in the top 0.01% of coolness)
Ringtones: Ban them, please!! (Score:4, Insightful)
There are few things more annoying than being out in public listening to some horrible scratchy version of the latest "music" the Top 40 has inflicted on us. Bonus irritation points if you're in the movie theatre (those sort of people need to be tortured without mercy).
This is depressing (Score:4, Insightful)
Might I suggest "Useful Idiot" by Tool.
In a quiet room, in a meeting, this phone's gonna go off-- what are they going to hear?
Well, in my neck of the woods, if they hear anything other than the gentle buzz of a phone set to vibrate, it'll be the distant sound of your phone shattering into a thousand pieces on the sidewalk four stories below.
Re:A-ding-ding-ding, etc. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I say this.. (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm not a futurist, I don't wear cargo pants, and my current plan to be a millionaire won't be realized until shortly before I retire in thirty three years.
What I AM though is someone who believes that society's basic purpose (from an evolutionary perspective) is to enable human beings to be as connected to each other as possible, and is willing to go to great lengths to maximize that effect with the existing tools.
Just because the most natural form of communication for thousands of years was sitting around a fire in the town square communicating face to face with a handful of other people doesn't mean that its the best form of communication possible...
You are not the target market (Score:1, Insightful)
Can you understand why someone would buy a new pair of Nike's every month when they only need new shoes once a year? Can you understand why someone would pay $150 for a brand-new basketball jersey when they already have a dozen more sitting in their closet? No? You are not the target market.
For millions of people consumer products suich as cell phones are status symbols; they are conspicuous displays of wealth and popularity. It has little to do with function and everything to do with perception and image. A new ringtone is a cool thing to have not only because it broadcasts to everyone in range that the consumer is in tune with popular music, but also that the consumer has the money to afford a new phone and new ringtone.
You may not get it. but not everyone thinks like you.
You make my brain ache (Score:1, Insightful)
WHy not pay a zillion dollars.
Or just get an adapter for your phone for $7. They're available web-wide. I'll assume you know how to use Google at this point?
Yes, I have 3 verizon phones, so I know what I'm talking about.
Re:I am baffled. (Score:3, Insightful)
a) only blare out in the middle of nowhere,
b) believe that a rapid succession of different Dopplered blares is less annoying to others than one steady blare,
c) assume that there is no such rapid succession because most other people don't do this, or
d) only behave differently at red lights because bystanders are in a better position to point and/or throw things at you?
why cant it auto vib (Score:4, Insightful)
Meeting at 11 for 30min, the phone should auto go to silent mode.
too dumb (Score:2, Insightful)
I happen to have download my ringtone via GPRS, but this still turned out to be cheaper than anything else.
Re:beep (Score:2, Insightful)
Including yourself?