FAQ
- Why don't you have Polyphonic Ring Tones (SP-MIDI / MIDI)?
- What is 3GPP and AMR? Why do you offer these as well as MP3's?
- How can I get the ring tones on to my device?
- How do I know what files my device supports?
- What the hell is a custom ring tone??
- What browsers do you support?
- Why do I have to download the Flash player?
Why don't you have Polyphonic Ring Tones (SP-MIDI / MIDI)?
Most last generation and current generation phones support monophonic or polyphonic (multiple intsruments, better sounding) ring tone files. While this is true in the US, 90% of mobile markets outside the US are 2-3 years ahead of the US market in terms of network sophistication and device technology. We create music for current generation phones, and, more importantly, for next generation phones in all markets that will eventually support True Tones, MP3's, Real Tones, 3GPP or AMR. Most of the US carriers currently have many devices that support this kind of audio. The main reasons we chose not to make polyphinc ringtones:
- We can't guarantee a level of quality and accuracy across devices.
- Every device manufacturer has a different protocol and methodology for creating third party content. This is a major hassle for a small studio offering free ring tones and MP3's.
- As with point #1, every phone has a 'level' of polyphony that it will support - meaning, you may be intoxicated with one of our ring tone files only to download the MIDI file and find that it sounds like a Commodore 64 playing from the bottom of a garbage can.
- Even the best poly ring tones don't match up with our worst ring tone...
What is 3GPP and AMR? Why do you offer these as well as MP3's?
3GPP is a standards body and media specification (like MP3 or WAV) that is specifically designed for use with audio and video in next generation devices and networks. AMR is a definition, we believe initiated by Nokia, within the 3GPP and stands for Available Multi Rate. We use Nokia's Multimedia Converter to convert our audio to AMR, using a specific encoding known as WB-AMR. Both 3GP and AMR compress and encode raw audio (just like an MP3 rip) into a file suitable for mobile devices including PDA's and mobile phones. Bottom line - if your phone supports .mp3, .3gp, or .awb (WB-AMR) files you can download any and all of our free mobile device content.
Note: .3gp and .awb ring tones are lower quality than mp3, so you will notice a difference from the mp3 that you heard on the site when you previewed it. They are also much smaller in file size, so you can store more of these types of files on your device. If your device is compatible with all three, we recommend you choose the high quality MP3 file.
How can I get the ring tones on to my device?
There are two ways to get our free content onto your device:
- From our preview page for any given ring tone, send your chosen file type to your email address. All you have to do is fill in your email address, pick a file type, agree to our terms and you're done. The file will be sent to your email address as an attachment. Once you have the file, you can upload it to your phone via BlueTooth, a link cable or IR (whatever transfer mechanism your phone supports).
- From our preview page for any given ring tone, send your chosen file type to your MMS mail address. This requires that you have an MMS capable phone, have activated the MMS service with your carrier and have a valid MMS mailbox (like - 'yournumber@mms.mycingular.com'). Your file will be sent as an attachment to your MMS address.
How do I know what files my device supports?
Check our mobile device provider page. To be absolutely sure, consult your device manual, check with your provider or visit one of these sites to get the specs for your device:
- Phone Scoop - Mobile phone news, info, reviews, community and deals.
- Mobileburn - Mobile phones and reviews.
What the hell is a custom ring tone??
Guess we should have answered this one first. This means that the phone has selectable ringtones that can be set to a custom melody (or "ringer") that you can change to something other than the ringtones included with the phone. Most next generation and some current phones let you assign a ring for an individual caller, so you have a nice way of knowing whose calling.
Some phones include a built-in "composer" that let you enter the notes manually and create your own ringtone right on the phone.
Others require that the ringtone be created elsewhere and downloaded to your phone via special SMS, EMS, or MMS messages, or via Wireless Internet.
Ringtones can also sometimes be transferred in the form of a file from another device, such as a phone, PDA, or PC, via a cable, infrared, or Bluetooth.
What browsers do you support?
We have tested the site in the following browsers across Win 2000, Win XP and Mac OS X:
Internet Explorer 6.0.2, SP1 & SP2
Internet Explorer 5.5, SP1 & SP2
Internet Explorer 5.0, SP1 & SP2
Safari 1.2 (Mac OS X)
Firefox 1.0
Mozilla Suite (Mozilla 1.7)
Netscape 7.2
Netscape 4.x
Opera, version 7.54u1
IE 5.5 (Mac OS X)
If you find encounter any problems when using the site, please send us the issue from the About page.
Why do I have to download the Flash player?
We chose the Flash player because it has the largest penetration of the browser market. In other words, more people have downloaded the Flash player than have downloaded the Active-X plugin for Windows Media player or Quick Time. This allows us to deliver previews of all our ring tones and MP3's to the highest number of people, with one delivery mechanism. Also, the Flash player is supported in older browsers. Overall we feel this provides the best and easiest experience for the most amount of people.
Feel free to send us any comments, recommendations, suggestions or grievances. About page.
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