The time has come to end the tyranny of the Crazy Frog phenomenon and all other 'me too' ringtones. Xingtone has assigned itself with a mission to crush the months of hurt endured not only by our ears, but at £3.00 minimum a pop, by our pockets too!

Recent research by the company shows that over 85 per cent of mobile phone users purchasing a ringtone during the past year have done so because they want to personalise their phone. But, Richard Miles, from Xingtone says that 'we're allowing ourselves to have the wool pulled over our eyes.' The vast majority of us not only pay £3.00 to £4.50 for an indistinguishable ringtone but find we're stung for the subsequent updates and offers that only come to light when our monthly phone bill hits the mat.'

'I have nothing against buying a ringtone if I could just preview it and know what I was getting,' says Miles, 'but what really infuriates me is the frequent use of hidden opt-out clauses which lead us to believe we're buying a single tone when in fact we're allowing them to constantly charge us week after week.'

Xingtone allows you to personalise your mobile phone using digital tracks you already own, or even audio clips of their friends and family, to create a unique ringtone. There are no hidden costs and no annual fees, and you only pay for what you want. You simply choose the music track, which part of that track you want to capture and the company then sends it to your mobile phone.

To use the service you need to go to www.xingtone.co.uk, download the free software, select a favourite track or home recording, highlight 20 to 30 seconds to save as a ringtone (options incluse fade in and fade out), and then press the 'Send' button to transfer it to the phone via text. Each data transmission costs £1.50.

Alternatively, you can purchase the software at leading retail outlets including PC World, Amazon, Staples, The Apple Store, and Dabs.com for £14.99 (inc. VAT). You'll receive the first 15 transmissions for free and any additional transmissions will cost £1.00.

BIOS, Sep 30, 05 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In Audio