14 DAY TRIAL // The absence of ringtones for the iPhone was surprising, mainly because Apple had shown screenshots of iTunes integration with the device where a Ringtones tab was clearly visible. The features was expected to be added at a later time, but update after update came and they are still not here.
Now reports are coming in that Apple plans to add the ringtone feature, developing a solution with major music labels that would allow users to buy them directly through iTunes. All this has been rumored before and the entire ringtone thing was only a matter of when, not if. The interesting thing is that these rumors place an Apple announcement at the same time as the release of the new iPods, on the 5th of September. The solution will allow users to convert songs already purchased through iTunes into ringtones, by selecting the part of the song they desire. This would be an improvement over other ringtone offerings, which only offer pre-determined samples of songs. The company is also expected to offer such pre-determined for those users who don't want to bother with customizing their own. According to the reports, most of the major labels are expected to participate in this service, but Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, is clearly mentioned as being absent.
Such a service from Apple would no doubt be popular with iPhone users that want musical ringtones, but the service might already be seeing stiff competition. Ambrosia Software, a well known Mac developer has announced the availability of its IToner program, that lets users add custom tracks to the iPhone as ringtones. The software will work with all iPhones, and no 'jailbreaking' or modifications are needed. Tracks are added to the iPhone via drag and drop, are instantly accessible, and will even remain intact through iPhone software/firmware updates.
This application could put a serious dent in Apple's ringtone offer, as it will get the same job done, but will let users use anything as a ringtone, not just tracks bought from iTunes.