Vendors compete for iPhone ringtone creation market

Stephen Withers
Monday, 14 July 2008 12:38

Business IT - Technology

Want to roll your own ringtones for that shiny new iPhone 3G? A choice of programs aims to make the job a snap, and there's only five cents between them.

Longtime Mac developer Ambrosia Software has updated its iToner application to work with iTunes 7.7 and iPhone 2.0.

Basically, you just drag MP3, AAC, WAV, or AIFF files onto the iToner window, then click its sync button. $US15 worth of ringtone simplicity.

But what iToner doesn't do is trim longer sound clips to a more appropriate length.

That's where PocketMac's RingtoneStudio comes in. Not only does it take sound from "practically any multimedia file", if the sound is longer than 30 seconds, it lets you select the portion you want to use as a ringtone.

When you're done, the new ringtone is added to iTunes' Ringtones folder ready for syncing.

That useful piece of extra functionality (clip selection) saves you 5c, as RingtoneStudio costs $US14.95. On the other hand, you may prefer to avoid iTunes when adding ringtones to the iPhone, which gives iToner the edge.

Fortunately, both companies provide a free trial period, so you can make up your own mind about which is better. Both programs run on Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5.