Showing Some Ringtone Love

Do you remember, way back in the day, when ringtones were nowhere near as important as they are now? You had your 9 factory rings, and that was all you could choose from. People were content with this lack of selection because, well, that's all there was.

But, contentment with humans doesn't always last long, and soon people wanted more than the 2 pound cell phones with 3 bell rings. From that point, cell phones progressed to factory monophonic ringtones with simple melodies like "Happy Birthday" or "Brahm's Lullaby" or any of those other classic songs the phone companies resorted to. It was enough to satiate the hunger for new ringtones for a little while.

Alas, this was not to last either. Soon people wanted popular songs. So, for the low price of $1.49 per ringtone, a person could purchase super cool polyphonic ringtones with songs that may not have necessarily been the newest releases but were certainly better than the classics of the day before.

Now, for the rather hefty price of $2.49, you can get short (and rather insufficient) clips of the newest arrival songs, with quality good enough to actually sound like the song itself and not just a keyboard rendering of it.

Now, for those of us poor souls with a Sidekick, the following information won't apply. But for those who have phones with mp3 ringtone capability, you might want to hop over to makeownringtone.com. All you have to do is upload a song from your computer, select the portion of the song you want, and voila! You have your very own ringtone sent to your phone.

The best part about it is that it's completely free.

I'm not getting paid to share this information...I just look back on my days with my Razr and remember how fun it used to be to create my very own ringtones that I could play for my friends with pride. You, too, can feel that pride.

What A Cool Idea

Whoa.

The wonderful people at Gadget Lab have unveiled a new prototype: a magnetic phone.

That's right. The phone actually comes in two pieces that you can connect in any way that's most comfortable for you. Want a flip phone? Boom, you've got it. Prefer the QWERTY keyboard? Got that too.

While the merits of a magnetic shape shifting phone are easy to see, there are a few flaws that are worth mentioning. For a person like me, who would lose her own head if it weren't attached to her shoulders, a phone like this has a lot of potential to be lost. Or I would lose one piece and be stuck with nothing but a keyboard or a display.

It looks like it's going to be a long time before a phone like this will be introduced into the mainstream, though, and for good reason. But the idea is one that will surely prove to be invaluable in the future.

For more information and pictures, visit Gadget Lab.

Announcing: The T-Mobile G1

We've been waiting for this ever since Apple came out with the iPhone. Those who are less than satisfied with AT&T's service or who just didn't want to jump on the iPhone bandwagon have searched and searched for an affordable phone with a reliable service provider, perhaps using new software.

Cue the T-Mobile G1.

The T-Mobile G1 is basically a touchscreen, smartphone Sidekick. It's a collaboration between Google, T-Mobile, and HTC. Google will be releasing it's new program Android on this phone, and Android has been greatly awaited.

This phone is going to cost simply $200 with a contract with T-Mobile. Though T-Mobile's low service prices and exceptional customer service should speak for itself, this phone certainly is as good a reason as any to switch to the service.

This phone will be available October 22nd, and I simply can't wait!

How To Customize Themes On Your Sidekick

Do you have a Sidekick 3, LX, Slide, or 2008? If you do, you've probably noticed (and loathe) the lack of customizable options on your phone.

To be fair, the only thing that can't really be customized for free is your ringtone. Sure, you can give people in your phone book special factory ringtones, but don't expect to download them off free websites and transfer them to your phone (no matter how many people who don't own Sidekicks may say that you can).

But there is something that you can make your own on your Sidekick, and that's your background. A great place to find really nice backgrounds is at sklxthemes.com. Some backgrounds even come with custom hinge sounds, so that your phone plays a music clip when you flip the screen up or down (how cool is that?).

Before you hop skip over to Sklxthemes to grab yourself a new background, let me give you a quick step-by-step process for putting these ringtones on your phone:

1. Hook your Sidekick up to your computer using a USB cable.
2. Open up the file folder that leads to your Sidekick (if it doesn't automatically pop up). It should appear in your "My Computer" file.
3. Once you're in the file folder for your Sidekick, you should see folders for music and DCIM. Right-click in open space and create a new folder entitled "Themes".
4. Once that file is created, find the theme you want and click "Download". Be sure you remember where the file downloads to: you'll need this for the next step.
5. Go to the location where the file downloaded to and click "Extract Files". The computer will ask you where to extract the files to; select the drop down menu and set the files to extract to the "Themes" folder you just created. Again, click "Extract Files" and your computer will start extracting them to your phone.
6. When the computer says your files are extracted, you're done! Safely remove your phone from the USB cable (the themes won't show up if it's still plugged in).
7. To change your theme, go to the Jump menu, hit the Menu button, and in that menu you should see either "Themes" or "Backgrounds". Going to that button will show you your available themes. Just click on the theme you want and you've got it!

Note: Ensure you have a MicroSD card in the memory slot. I don't think there's enough available space in the phone memory to store themes.

Hope this helps you out! And happy customizing!

Palm is A "Pro" at Smartphones

Calling all Treo fans...Calling all Treo fans...

As far as Treos go, it doesn't get much better than the Palm Treo Pro.

If you're looking for dependability, professionalism, and usability, the Palm Treo Pro is the phone for you. Featuring Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, you're sure to keep track of all your business documents and contacts.

The sleek black design is a huge upgrade from earlier versions of the Treo, and it's user friendly interface and easy to use QWERTY keyboard are a sure hit.

As mentioned before, the phone isn't offered as part of a service agreement yet, so the price is pretty high. It's worth the big money if you want to spend it. According to the Boy Genius Report, this phone will be offered soon under the AT&T service, and you'll be offered the phone at a much lower price. If you can wait for it (although it offers plenty to be excited about), go ahead and grab it later.

A Great Idea From Blackberry

Blackberry has become quite the household name for smartphones, from their first models to the Bold.

So it's no surprise that Blackberry would come up with an idea like this: a flip smartphone.

Yes, that's right: the specimen you see to the left is none other than the new Blackberry Pearl Flip.

The specs are nice, and the idea of a flip smartphone is certainly attractive to those who like flip phones with business capability.

I'm no Blackberry enthusiast, but I will admit they may be on to something here. The idea is certainly a fresh turn from the usual smartphone prototypes being offered.

This phone is being offered on the T-Mobile network and will sell for about $600 a pop. It's a hefty price tag, but well worth it for anybody who's interested.