Review: Ringo

Posted by: tjchan on Feb 24 2008 - 1,102 views

According to BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated), the United States ringtone market is at around $550 million for 2007. That’s a lot of money just to use a small portion of a song which you probably own and have become fond of. Ringtones seem to be the growing trend as a fashion statement as well as a unique expression of self.

Thanks to Ringo, you can now express yourself using any wav, mp3, or wma sound file as a ringtone. Want to hear the R2D2 chirp as you get an incoming message? Now you can. What about a clip from that swanky new tune by Pedah? It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Get in the groove and express yourself as we get ready to tango with Electric Pocket’s Ringo!

You got the tunes, but Windows Mobile won’t let you use them for a ring tone, eh? Well, that’s no longer a problem as you’ll soon be using Ringo - not to mention saving a bundle being freed from subscription based ringtone fees. Let’s get ready to boogie!

Installation and Registration:

Just install and run the ActiveSync installer. A CAB installer is also available. Registering is simple. Just tap the giant ’Menu’ soft button and select ’Unlock Ringo’. Then enter your unlock code that Electric Pocket provided you and you’re ready to Ringo!

Using Ringo:

This is the main screen called ’tones’ which the program opens to. It allows you to pick and play sound files for both your ringtone and new message alert tone. When you select ’Pick’, the tone browser will be displayed (see below). This process may take a while if you have loaded up your device with numerous sound files. The play button allows you to preview the sound file. If you have selected a full length song, Ringo will automatically take a portion of it from the beginning. If this isn’t acceptable to you, might we recommend you use Audacity to edit your sound file? The giant ’Download Tones’ button will open up your web browser and direct you to a place on Electric Pocket’s site to download additional tones.

The menu button expands to show the following options (shown below). ’Pick Ringtone’ and ’Pick Message Tone’ will open up the ToneBrowser again to allow the user to choose which sound they want played on that particular event. You can also preview the current tones from this menu, edit friends and groups (this specific part of the menu changes depending on which screen you are on showing the other 2 available tabs), viewing version information, unlocking the full version, as well as exiting the program.

Ringo allows you to set up customized ringtones and message tones for individual people in your contact list. This allows you to know who’s calling just by how your phone rings!

The groups section is also controlled by your phone’s contact manager - I only have 2 groups to show you now…making this seem a bit redundant but I am sure you have more groups for your phone. Regardless, I can have all people that are in certain groups have a special ring tone as well. Let’s try a little Mozart for people in the ’Unidentified’ group and perhaps a little techno for those in the ’Unknown’ one.

Conclusion:

What can be said except that this is a gem that will pay for itself! Gone are the days of paying subscription ringtone fees. You can easily select existing mp3’s, wma, and wav files for ring and message tones - along with the ability to set special tones for friends and people in certain groups. Easy to use, and tons of fun! This one certainly gets my nomination for an upcoming JAMM essential. So load up those tones and ring up the good times with Ringo!

Vital Stats:

Name: RingoVersion: 1.4.0.3

Platform: Windows Mobile 5 and 6, Treo, Centro, and Blackberry

Developer: Electric Pocket

Available From: JAMM Store

Price: $24.95 Trial: Yes - 7 Days

Device Used for Review: i-Mate JAQ 3

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!