Ringtones
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By now most people know what ringtones are. Outside of text
messaging,
they're probably the most popular service that people get for their
phones. In fact, they are so popular that
Billboard has started keeping a top 10
ringtones
list.
Ringtones generally range in price from free for
low-budget monophonic
and polyphonic tones to $2.99 for high-quality
realtones (read more about
different ringtones). Not surprisingly because they are so popular (and
lucrative for
resellers) there are lots and lots of sites that offer these. It's also
an area where the carriers have tried to get
in on the action by selling them directly to their users, so there's
not a huge advantage of going outside their
network if you want the most popular music ringtones. However if you
want a wider selection or some inexpensive or
free alternatives, it's definitely worth checking out some of the sites
below.
We've divided the sites into the two existing
consumption models: à la carte
purchases and ringtone subscriptions
where you get to download a predetermined number of ringtones each
month that you subscribe.
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À la Carte Purchases
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This site has a large selection of polyphonic ringtones,
as well as music, voice and sound realtones.
Cingular and T-Mobile customers can have charges put on their monthly
statement, or anyone can bill their credit card
directly. Mobile1 Phone Game's
pricing depends on the number of 'credits' purchased and the type
of ringtones downloaded (music ringtones
are the most expensive). It's as little as $1.00 for a polyphonic
ringtone and $3.00 for a music realtone.
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A good solid ringtone site, this site is available to
customers of all major carriers except Verizon. The site
offers monophonic and polyphonic ringtones, as well as several
realtones including music, sound effects and lines from
movies. Pricing ranges from $1.99 to $2.99. The site also offers a nice
range of payment options.
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Only $7.99 for six months or $10.99 for one year of
unlimited downloading of over 30,000 polyphonic ringtones,
screensavers, simple games, and applications. Pay additional for the
ability to download up to five music realtones. This
site is compatible with all the major carriers.
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Decent selection of polyphonic ringtones, as well as
music, voice and sound realtones. Prices range from
$1.99 to $2.49 depending on tone selected.
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Offers polyphonic ringtones and sound effects realtones
for $1.99 each or you can subscribe
for $0.99 per month, which gives you access to 5 ringtones. Flycell is
compatible with all the major carriers except
Verizon.
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Offers a limited selection of free 2.000+ monophonic and
500+ polyphonic ringtones, as well as other general
information on cell phones.
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Offers monophonic, polyphonic, and real sounds (e.g.,
donkey bray, church bells, etc.) for $1.99. However,
the site doesn't have any music realtones and the only major carrier
that supports the site is Cingular.
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Napster offers a limited selection of polyphonic
ringtones for $1.99 each and music realtones for $2.99
each. However, they don't offer any sounds or voice tones and they
don't support Cingular and T-Mobile.
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One of the few sites that serves verizon although to the
exclusion of other carriers. You can only purchase
ringtones through your phone and not via the website. The site
describes how you do this. Site offers polyphonic ringtones
and realtone sounds for $1.99 each. Bundled pricing is also available.
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Verizon offers polyphonic and music realtones for $2.99
each (you can save a little bit if you purchase
multiple tones). There coverage is OK, but they don't offer
anything but music and they're only supported by...you guessed it,
Verizon.
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Distributed through most major carriers, Vindigo's
RingMaster product lets you search or browse its catalog of
polyphonic ringtones, sound effects, celebrity voicetones and music
realtones. Pricing is set by the carriers.
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Site offers a range of monophnic, ployphonic, and
realtones and sounds for $1.99. More annoying thing about this
site is that it doesn't classify its catalog by ringtone type, so you
have to sample everything to know what's
available and what you're actually buying. It's unclear which carriers
this site supports so beware!
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Subscriptions
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Blue Frog Mobile has a very impressive collection of
ringtones. They only support Cingular and T-Mobile users so far.
Their subscription service is a little pricey at $9.99 per month but
their selection makes it worthwhile.
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762 Wireless offers a monthly subscription program for
$11.96 per month and is supported by all the major
carriers with the exception of Verizon.
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Blinko offers Cingular customers the ability to download
seven "items" each month for $9.99. Items include
polyphonic ringtones, music and sound realtones, wallpaper and games.
T-Mobile customers can also use Blinko, but they are limited to
individual purchases for $1.99 each.
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Offers monophonic, polyphonic and music and sound
effects realtones for a $9.99 subscription. Service is
only supported by Cingular and T-Mobile and the amount of content you
can consume varies by carrier.
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For $15.99 you get one polyphonic ringtone per week.
Service is limited to only Cingular and T-Mobile.
Not the best deal if you ask us.
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Jamster offers users multiple bundled subscription plans
for $5.99. Bundles include polyphonic and realtones ringtones as well
as other services such as wallpaper and games.
Jamster ringtones are supported by 3 of the 4 major carriers: Cingular,
T-Mobile and Sprint.
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Thumbplay offers 6 polyphonic or real sounds for $5.99
per month. They do not offer music realtones and
they are only supported by Cingular and T-Mobile.
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