DIY: Ring Bling

Grow your own mobile phone ringtones with these inexpensive apps.

Back in February, U.S. performing-rights organisation Broadcast Music, better known as BMI, projected U.S. ringtone sales would top US$500 million this year. That's more than double last year's US$245 million.

This estimate doesn't surprise me. After all, I've forked over my fair share of cash for ringers that distinguish my calls from those of the mobile-carrying masses. But it kills me to spend hard-earned dollars for a low-quality 20-second snippet of a song I already own simply because I need to download it in a format my phone can use.

Fed up with the system, I tracked down four software packages that let you edit, convert, and transfer digital audio clips to your mobile phone. Some phones -- especially older ones -- don't support custom ringtones, though, and not all apps work with all phones, so check for compatibility on the vendors' Web sites.

The apps I looked at transfer ringtones to your phone in one of two ways: direct or download. The first method, which connects via USB, infrared, or Bluetooth, is free and straightforward, but you'll need a USB cable for your phone, or infrared or Bluetooth on both your PC and mobile phone. Downloading is easier and less hardware-reliant, but your phone must have Web access and be able to receive text messages. Plus, depending on how your provider charges for downloads, it can get expensive.

Direct
Avanquest's Ringtone Media Studio is the most feature-packed of the four apps, offering not only ringtones, but images and video, as well. The package costs US$19.95, but the free trial allows five transfers.

The straightforward interface has a series of tabs for each of the three components: music, images, and video. Clicking on the Melody Studio tab brings up a simple audio-track editor. Pick a polyphonic MIDI file, MP3, or CD track from your PC, and start working. You can apply effects such as reverb, distortion, or fades, and a second track lets you combine two audio samples into one ring. When the clip sounds the way you want it, highlight the section you want to use, and, if you're connected by infrared or Bluetooth, click the Transfer to Phone button. The app will convert the track to the proper format and send it to your phone. If you're connected via USB, you'll have to transfer it using the software for the specific handset.

Avanquest's Ringtone Media Studio

Ringtone Media Studio also resizes and codes images and videos for viewing on your phone. Both editors are easy to work with, letting you add effects, music, and even transitions. The company's Web site also hosts a large audio- and image-download library. Just don't expect any hit tunes among the cheesy, canned melodies.

If all you want is audio, try Magix's US$19.99 Ringtone Maker. Its free trial allows three transfers. Magix is no stranger to audio software, and Ringtone Maker uses a similar interface and toolset to the company's other editing titles. Working within the application is much like using Ringtone Media Studio, but it edges out Avanquest with its broader range of audio options. In addition to MP3s and CDs, you can use OGG Vorbis, WAV, and WMA files, as well. The interface includes a four-track mixer for making custom beats from the 500 included loops, and it has a healthy selection of effects. Better still, you can preview what the ringtone will sound like once it's converted to the proper mobile format.

Magix's Ringtone Maker

Download
Were it not for the instant gratification and extraordinary ease of use, we would probably steer clear of download-style ringtone creators. These apps work in much the same way as peer-to-peer services. You cut up your audio using the app, and then click Send. The software then converts the audio to the proper format and sends it to the vendor's servers; you get a text message containing a Web link. Open the link, and the ringtone downloads to your phone.

Because your phone needs Web access, this method is more costly than direct-send options. And anyone who's accessed the Internet on a mobile phone knows it's not the speediest connection, so downloading a tone that's longer than a few seconds can take some time. Plus, in our tests, we frequently got data-server or "page not available" errors that prevented us from downloading.

If you already pay for mobile-phone Web access and get a strong service signal, however, download ringtone creators are worth a look. Both Xingtone and ToneThis 2.6 (available under the name RingFactory, too) allow only one trial transfer. Available for both Mac and Windows, the US$19.95 Xingtone offers a clean interface and a choice of simple or advanced editing tools. The app is so clear-cut, you can create a ringtone and have it on your phone in less than a minute. And tools such as fades and track normalisation are nice extras. My only issue was the app occasionally froze up in the middle of sending, requiring me to shut it down and start editing all over again.

Xingtone

ToneThis 2.6 (US$17.99) works in much the same way as Xingtone, but its interface isn't nearly as nice, and it lacks Xingtone's advanced editing tools. You can use it to create wallpaper, too, and overall, it was more stable. For a basic, straightforward way to create ringtones, ToneThis is tough to beat.

ToneThis 2.6