Are Free Ring Tones Really Free?

Ringtone advertisements are everywhere these days. This is to be expected, given the fact that cellphones are everywhere these days too. With such a omnipresent piece of technology, people need to personalize their cellphone as best they can. And certainly, having a big set of ring tones is the best way to accomplish this.

And ring tones are definitely not the only way to personalize a cellphone. People can get wallpapers, or images that act as backgrounds for the display on their device. With newer cellphones having faster processors, mobile games have also become a popular addition to many cellphone models. So, now you can do lots more with your cellphone. These devices are now often used as an expression of the style and personality of the person that owns the cellphone.

Many companies have entered the ringtone business hoping to leverage this desire for user creativity. Even the carriers themselves are now offering ringtones to their subscribers. The carriers and many other firms use a fairly standard business model for delivering these ringtones - the user pays a fee of around one and three dollars per ringtone in order to buy and download the ringtone.

But some companies seem to suggest that you can get free ringtones through them. The ads tell users to enter their phone number and they will be able to download a bunch of free ringtones. Is this the real deal? Well, yes and no.

Look carefully at the small print. In most case, by entering the phone number you are also agreeing to sign up for a ringtone subscription plan that costs around ten dollars per month. This subscription plan gives you some number of credits to spend every month on ringtones and wallpapers. By signing up, yes you do get some number of extra credits for some extra ringtones. So in some sense these are free ringtones, but you only get the free ones by paying for a somewhat costly monthly service.

So what can you do instead? There are a few services that provide software systems that allow you to create your own ringtones from your own set of CDs or MP3 files. A package like this will also let you use your own digital photos to upload custom wallpapers for your phone. If you are computer savvy and are willing to spend some time doing this, then this can be a good option.

But if this too much of your time, there are other services that give you unlimited ringtone downloads for a flat fee. Generally these services are much less expensive than those services that deceptively advertise free ringtones. So it usually pays to research ringtone deals fairly extensively before committing to a purchase.

For an original version of this and other articles related to this topic, see cellphone articles.