Cell phone accessories blog

(Credit: Vringo)

Vringo's video-ringtone service has been on our radar for well over a year, and the company's fun and unusual product is just getting better and better. The release of Vringo Mobile Application 2.0, with its full-featured client for Java phones, makes up for the slight disappointment of the online video-ringtone-creation studio.

Vringo capitalizes on the fever of personalized media by letting you create a video ringtone that others see when you call them--so long as they're Vringo users, too*. When another Vringo user calls you, you'll see the ringtone they selected for themselves.

Giving people power over the sounds and images that announce themselves to friends is a twist on the usual ringtone deal, and--so long as you don't have obnoxious taste in videos-- is a cute way to express yourself.

Vringo's newly updated mobile app, available this week exclusively from CNET Download.com, makes selecting new video ringtones from the video gallery much more visual; you'll be able to quickly see thumbnail images of a video and view a preview before downloading it to the phone. On phone models running the Java 8 operating system, both previews and videos run in higher resolution.

Be forewarned that if your data connection is less than optimal, loading video previews can take some time. We hope the next version will pick up the pace in that department.

Vringo has also fluffed up its buddy-management system, adding an all-new Share button on the main interface and a few more prompts to invite buddies into the fold. The Share button, in particular, serves existing users well and is another outlet for Vringo to recruit new clients. No Vringo app, no quirky video ringtone.

The rest of the app looks good, too, with straightforward navigation and the ability to immediately access, scroll through, and preview videos in your collection without resetting them. Our favorite extra? Being able to upload your own cell phone video to your video collection.

Pricing and availability
Vringo Mobile Application 2.0 is a free download, as are the contents of its video gallery. At some point, Vringo will adopt a freemium model and sell premium video content, which has been the plan since its early beta days.

Version 2.0 is currently available for Sony Ericsson phones, with compatibility for a greater number of Java-enabled models projected to join the ranks in about three weeks. At that time, a Symbian S60 build should also materialize. You're still able to get version 1 of Vringo's mobile app until then.

*If you're using a Sony Ericsson phone running the Java 7 operating system, you'll also see your own Vringo ringtone play back silently when you call a pal.

Video ringtone company Vringo has launched Vringo Studio, which gives user the capability to create their own video calling cards. Previously, users could only select from a pre-built library of videos on the site. With the new Vringo Studio, users can search for any video on YouTube, select a portion of it up to 30 seconds long, and send it to their phone, where it can become their outbound ringtone for other Vringo users.

The Vringo.com main site also supports the creation of custom video ringtones, and from sources other than YouTube, including videos on a user's computer. But it's very picky on what it will work with (video files have to be under 2MB, for example), and it has no clip editor.

Vringo Studio lets you create your own outbound video ringtones from YouTube clips.

As far as I can tell, Vringo Studio, which is in beta, is not linked to from the main Vringo site. That's just as well; I found the current version of the online app buggy.

Vringo's video support has always been cool, and the capability you now have to make your own videos rounds out the service. But it's the outbound ringtone capability that sets Vringo apart. Vringo lets you decide what your ringtone looks and sounds like to people receiving your call; most ringtone selectors just let you define what the ring is when people call you.

In order for Vringo to work, both caller and callee need the Vringo app on their phones (it's available for a lot of phone platforms--but not the iPhone). It can be a lot of fun, and it's a very viral app. If you want to join in so you can see how your friends' video ringtones when you call, you need the app. Vringo is forming deals with carriers to help with distribution (it recently got on the Turkish carrier Avea). The service is free at first, but there's a subscription fee after the trial.

Previously: Vringo. Video ringtones. Get it?

One of the most striking things about this early batch of Android apps is how many excellent freebies there are. Ringdroid is yet another sophisticated, intuitive freeware app that will prove a boon to T-Mobile G1-toting ringtone-lovers.

Ringdroid lets you create ringtones from MP3, WAV, and ARM files you load onto your phone through the SD card or that you purchase through the Amazon MP3 store.

(Credit: Ringdroid)

Unlike many Android apps that use the Menu keys to store some software functions, most of Ringdroid's controls are out on the interface and all respond to touch. You can set the start and ending notes by sliding arrows along the timeline, by pressing Start and End to record the point, or by typing in time stamps.

You can zoom in to set more precise marks on the timeline, and can press the Menu key while in zoom mode to reset to the beginning. When you're ready to save, you'll choose from the drop-down menu to create a ringtone, alarm, notification, or edited tune.

Ringdroid is also equipped with a Record button on the app interface, letting you lay down your own sounds from scratch.

Ringdroid is missing the ability to fade in and out, loop, and equalize song selections (read more here), but its ease of use and flexibility in saving audio snippets as more than just ringtones make it an instant must-have app.

Step 1: Pick a song. Step 2: Select a clip. Step 3: Send to phone.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Not long ago, CNET Editor Brian Tong gave an instructive Insiders Secret video on creating your own iPhone ringtones using only iTunes 8. Although he only used one program as promised, there was quite a bit of cobbling involved to turn that song into a phone tune. Truth is, I'm a little lazier than that. I'm looking for one application to make me a decent-sounding ringtone I can get on my phone with the least amount of hassle possible.

ToneThis is a good fit for this endeavor. I've reviewed this freeware application in the past--it was the update it received this month that recaptured my attention. More on that later.

The core application makes use of buttons and tabs to guide you through creating audio or video ringtones and wallpaper. (Games may be available for some handsets.) You'll choose the format and browse for your media from either your hard drive or from an internal Flickr browser. Then you'll crop the image if you're making wallpaper, or you'll use the mouse to pick off a selection for your audio or video ringtone. When you're done, you can click to send the link to your phone via SMS, or e-mail it to yourself or a pal.

ToneThis 3.6 includes a new toolbar for Firefox that gives you avid ringtone-collectors an easy way to scout and save new media. It promises you'll be able to conduct quick searches for wallpaper and mobile videos, and even click a button to highlight the media available on a given Web page. Clicking the media opens it in ToneThis, where you'll be able to make your simple edits and then send it to your phone.

...but it will be neat when it does.

(Credit: CNET)

In reality, the toolbar is a fair idea with a big bug problem. For one reason or another, sending videos and images from the toolbar may fail. For example, sending YouTube videos to the phone from the toolbar may not work if YouTube updates their protocol before ToneThis can adjust. The toolbar takes up a fair amount of precious browser space. For it to only sometimes work doesn't make it a useful addition, though it's no reason to shun the entire product. It is, however, reason enough for the ToneThis team to get cracking on that bug list. Other known bugs include the first frame of a video not displaying while in edit mode (make your selection first, and then press 'play' to preview), and the mouse temporarily disappears if you roll over the video while in editing mode.

These would be formidable stumbling blocks were this a premium program, but users are generally much more forgiving about freeware, me included. As a simple ringtone-maker that's geared toward novices or ringtone opportunists, ToneThis' basic settings and controls will calm new users and will almost assuredly disappoint the ringtone elite.

However, there are a few settings, like the Flickr browser for making wallpaper out of images let loose in the public domain. There are also volume adjustments for audio ringtones, selections for adding fade-ins and fade-outs, and an option to make high-quality true tones. It's frustrating, however, that there's no option for manually setting the range or adjusting the selection on either side--it's easy to lose your place and be forced to start over to capture the sample you want.

The same elementary features go for wallpaper. You can crop and rotate an image, but you'll see no other editing features bundled in.

As a smooth operator bent on impressing the populace, ToneThis trips and falls. Yet as an incredibly easy and free way to self-produce decent ringtones and phone wallpaper from your own collection, ToneThis achieves a high measure of success.

Verizon Wireless has launched three new applications that interact with the voice recording feature on select cell phones to allow users to create new content. The content can be used on the phone or shared with other Verizon customers.

With Sonic Boom's ToneMaker users can create their own music by layering their own vocals on prerecorded tunes. You can then use the clips as a ringtone or pass them on to others. ToneMaker is $3.99 per month on handsets with Verizon's Get It Now Internet service.

YouTones from FunMobility takes the same concept in a slightly different direction. Users can combine their own voices with a selection of prerecorded thematic YouTones performances to use as ringtones or audio messages. Also available on Get It Now phones, YouTones charges $2.49 for each created clip.

The last application is mSpot's Make-Ur-Tones. With this application you can create customized ringtones from a catalog of over 250,000 music tracks. Users select a 30-second audio clip of their chosen song before downloading the new ringtone to their phone. Ringtones are $2.49 each.

(Credit: Roc-a-fella Records)

With sales for digital singles outpacing CD sales, it's hard to imagine an artist overlooking any avenue of digital distribution and revenue. Yet with the exception of a handful of tracks, American rap icon Jay-Z has resisted releasing his 100-song catalog as ringtones--until last week. That's when most of the remaining tracks streamed into the digital media marketplace. Most. Through August, ten of the artist's smash singles have been earmarked for only one site.

Starting Monday, those hidden hits, including 'Can I Get A', 'IZZO (H.O.V.A.)', and 'Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)', became exclusively available on Thumbplay.com. Thumbplay, a mobile content company with an estimated worth of $400 million, now carries 101 prepackaged Jay-Z ringtones, including the coveted 10 (see the exclusive titles below.)

But will ringtones continue to sell in a hobbled economy? Mitch Rotter, Thumbplay's Vice President of Content Acquisition & Merchandising, thinks they will. Ringtones are about social expression, he said in an interview. To a youth demographic, "they're a fashion accessory," and therefore a worthy buy for teens proving their cool to peers within earshot.

Thumbplay's Jay-Z titles:

1-900-Hustler, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
-Can I Get A, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998)
-Encore, The Black Album (2003)
-Excuse Me Miss, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (2002)
-Girls, Girls, Girls, The Blueprint (2001)
-Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love), The Blueprint (2001)
-IZZO (H.O.V.A.), The Blueprint (2001)
-Jigga What, Jigga Who, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998)
-Roc Boys (And The Winner Is), American Gangster (2007)
-S. Carter, Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)

(Credit: CrunchGear)

Love dogs. Love the Japanese even more for their highly bizarre gizmos. No other country has consistently amused and amazed the world with its weird and wacked-out inventions. Try topping this latest idea: Ringtones audible only to dogs, from Tokyo-based interactive content provider Dwango (PDF in Japanese).

Lest you think it's an error in translation, Dwango describes the download service very clearly as Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon--which translates to "Ringtones only dogs can hear," according to CrunchGear. But since this is available specifically for DoCoMo's i-mode phones, only Japanese dogs need apply.

(Source: Crave Asia)

A personalized ringtone is worth a thousand preset tones. It's no wonder why so many users produce their own, and why so many developers join the talent show. While all ringtone-making software share some commonalities, they usually vary by some degree of pricing, audio editing sensitivity, and delivery mode. RingtoneExpress, for instance, is light on editing tools, but offers four methods for loading MP3 and WMA content onto the phone. The pricing is kept low, about $10 for limitless ringtone creation, and uniquely, it can also suck the audio out of YouTube videos for conversion to an MP3 ringtone.

ToneThis hails from the school of personalized cell phone content that errs on the side of simplicity. Not everyone wants or needs dozens of settings to produce a functional ringtone or wallpaper photo, and to that end, ToneThis is the perfect entree for casual customizers.

It's got a few basic enhancements for editing ringtone length and adding fades, but it could stand to gain a few more. Even novice users might like to reduce red-eye in a favorite photo. Still, for many, ToneThis will be the hassle-free vehicle of choice for getting their videos, music, and photos onto their cell phones.