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May 24, 2003
Ringtones? I'm Confused
Someone please explain this to me... :?
Livewire: Ringtone Market More Than Just Hot Air?
Apparently by 2005, sales will be somewhere around $400 million—for cellular phone ringtones?!? I guess some of the newest phones allow you to use ringtones that have mp3 quality, so the music industry is cashing in on royalties for short clips of popular songs. However, one of the highest selling ringtones actually sounds like a fart. Maybe I'm just jealous because I can't download ringtones to my phone, but I really think this whole industry is absolutely ridiculous.
Listen to what Verizon had to say in defense of not allowing their customers to download from third party developers: "There have been many companies who have attempted to provide free downloads and we block our customers technologically from downloading them onto their devices because at that point we cannot protect against viruses or anything that would harm their services or phones." What would they call that virus? The ringworm? C'mon. Who's out there writing viruses for cell-phones? You're just in it for the money, Verizon. Get over it.
Posted by Joey at May 24, 2003 01:21 AM
Comments
I can download ring tones on my phone, but I don't. Maybe it's just me, but I only prefer the actual ringing phone tone. I have a couple of times used the musical ones, but they always scare the crap out of me when they go off and I'm not expecting it. :)
Besides, who wants to download and PAY for a ring tone on a phone? That just seems to trivial to me and a waste of money. But then again, their target audience is young teen males who don't care what they spend their money on. They'll buy anything that sounds like a bodily function. :duh
Posted by: Kristen at May 27, 2003 08:27 AM
Speaking from inside the industry, the Verizon explanation doesn't make sense. Would you buy a computer if you were told, "By the way, you can't download any programs to your computer unless you buy them from us. It's for your own protection."? Yes, it's about the money.
Posted by: Kimberly at June 3, 2004 07:59 AM