Ever-expanding array of ring tones is music to cell-phone owners' ears

By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Brianne Fahey of Cincinnati downloaded Britney Spears' "Toxic" as a ring tone for her phone. Ring-tone revenues totaled $94.3 million in North America last year. Gannett News Service

She went to a Web site in search of a ring tone to download. One minute and $1 later, she says, she was calling herself to hear a version of Spears' hit "Toxic" emanate from her Nokia 3560 phone. She's now a ring-tone convert.

"It's kind of unavoidable that people's phones are going to go off all the time," says Fahey, who works for Hewlett-Packard. "If you're going to carry it with you at all times, it might as well be fun."

Ring-tone revenues in North America totaled $94.3 million in 2003, and they're expected to jump to $116 million in 2004, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research and consulting firm.

A dizzying array of tones is available for consumers to download from the Internet or directly from their phones. They include Top 40 hits, TV show themes, video game sounds and famous voices. Some programs even allow users to record their own ring tones.

If all the options leave your ears ringing, just follow these steps to join the ring-tone revolution.

Figure out the make and model of your phone, as well as what's included in your service plan. Not all phones are ring-tone compatible. You need to be able to send and receive text messages to download many ring tones.

If you don't know the model number offhand and your phone manual is missing, try turning off the phone and removing the battery. You should see the phone model number printed on the label.

Investigate the ring tones your wireless provider offers by going to your provider's Web site. If you have wireless Internet access, you also can connect to the Internet through your phone and browse through your provider's ring tones that way.

On most providers' Web sites, you can listen to ring tones before you buy them.

Explore Web sites that sell ring tones that are independent from wireless providers. Use caution. There are a lot of them out there, and it may be difficult to figure out what you're getting into.

"To know what you're paying for and getting in return, dealing with your wireless carrier directly would probably be the best bet," says Erin McGee, a spokeswoman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association in Arlington, Va., which represents cell phone companies.

Still, if you're feeling adventurous in cyberspace, you can give www.zingy.com, www.3gupload.com or www.planetringtone.net a shot.

Pay up. Most ring tones range from 99 cents to $2.99 each, but some wireless providers and Web sites allow you to download multiple ring tones for a lower cost per tone.

Most providers charge the cost of downloading ring tones directly to your bill; Web sites vary in the types of payment they accept.