As many people could have accurately guessed, Apple unveiled the mysteriously missing custom ringtones for the iPhone — so it’s now possible for users with an iTunes account to “ringtone-ize” certain purchased songs for just 99 cents more. Sure, even though it may be official, it’s not the cheapest way imaginable on the long run. As for other options that are as easy to use, let’s talk about iToner from Ambrosia Software.
Design. The most simple and functional design in a iPhone-shaped window. Just drag and drop your iPhone-compatible audio file (yes, even iTunes DRM’d ones) and hit the sync button. And as easy as that, your new ringtones shall appear in the ringtones menu.
Functionality. Works even better for variety than the limited collection of ringtones from iTunes — and yes, they can be longer than 30 seconds (although that may miss the ringtone point). As an advanced function, a whole playlist from iTunes can be kept in sync as ringtones. And did I just mention it’s really easy to use?
Limitations. The only possibility that comes to mind is that one day Apple will have enough of these third-party ringtone solutions and lock iPhone access to only iTunes ringtones. Still, the guys over at Ambrosia claim that the ringtones will continue working throughout iPhone updates — but apparently not iTunes updates, as we discovered with the 7.4 release last Wednesday. But to their merit, one day later an update was released in Ambrosia’s website that restored iToner’s functionality. If they keep it this way, all iToner users should remain happy.
Final thoughts. iToner costs fifteen dollars, which should come at about fifteen ringtones purchased from Apple — not counting each song that must be purchased first! So if on the long run you plan to add more than $15 worth of ringtones to your iPhone, this one has pretty much paid up for itself, then. And even though there are other free ringtone solutions, it must be pointed out that these require “hacking” the iPhone — whereas iToner doesn’t need it. In a few words, iToner is a must-have for all iPhone power-users.
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[tags]Apple,Mac,Software,iPhone,Ringtones,iToner[/tags]
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