Considering how user friendly Apple products are known to be, they don’t like to make things too easy for users when it comes offering something they could be making money from.

When the Iphone first launched the only way you could get a custom ringtone onto your phone was to purchase it from the Itunes store. I’d like to think that due to popular demand, Apple have made it a little easier to put custom ringtones on your Iphone.

Here’s the short version

Step 1. Find an Iphone compatible Ringtone (hint:try bigzing.com)
Step 2. Save it to your PC (I’ve set up a ringtones folder in my Itunes folder)
Step 3. Make sure Itunes can find it (if you can’t see your ringtones when you click the label then try File>Add Folder and add your ringtones folder)
Step 4. Sync your phone

Thanks to Apple’s attempts to protect their ringtone sales, it’s a little more complicated than sending it via blue tooth across the table, but once you’ve done it once from then on it’s a piece of cake.

You’re as probably as disappointed as me that the Iphone doesn’t support custom message and email notifications. I am to, and this one would be ideal. I wasn’t going to upload it, but my girlfriend wants it on her Iphone so here it is.

Listen and download the Iphone Worf Incoming Message Ringtone.

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For those that can remember this intro tune for the Benny Hill Show always brings a smile to my face. As soon as you hear the first few bars you know your in for a few laughs Benny Hill Style.

Listen and Download the Benny Hill Iphone ringtone

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Here’s a ringtone for the the computer geeks (it’s on my phone). Though I may not be a true computer geek as I have no idea which movie this sample is from. Post it in the comments if you know it.

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“Houston, We have a problem.” is the famous Tom Hanks line from the Apollo 13 movie. It must have been repeated a billion times in a million places and would most likely qualify as a cliché.

Listen then download the Iphone ringtone version.

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Being on the other side of the world that won’t be getting the Iphone for a while if ever I’ve been scouring review sites looking for information on Iphone’s ringtone capabilities.

I was a little dissappointed to read this

Although the phone contains a complete iPod, you can’t use your songs as ringtones. [source]

It looks like Apple has sewn up the market for itself and the Itunes store. It’s a bit of let down, especially considering that their number one product was made popular by people putting there own songs on it.

There are so many phones on the market at the moment that allow sideloading I don’t think Apple could label this a competitive feature.

Lets hope that there are some hackers that lined up to buy the new Iphone and are right now working out how to get around this money grabbing limitation.

Mac Rumours is reporting that Apple plans to charge users 99cents to convert MP3′s into a 30 second extract for use as ringtones. The scary bit is

Reportedly, the new version of iTunes will allow you to convert any song that is available on iTunes into a ringtone with the “Make into Ringtone” feature. The cost for this service is $.99. It’s not clear, based on information available, whether or not CD-ripped songs can also be easily converted or this is specifically an iTunes Store feature.

I’m hoping Apple has seen the light and allows users to sideload their own mp3′s as ringtones.

Just about everywhere is reporting that the only option for getting ringtones onto the soon to be released Apple Iphone is via sideloading with Itunes.

I love it.

I’m conjecturing that Apple’s idea is to push more business through it’s Itunes store. That’s not a bad thing. Itunes store charges $0.99 for most tracks where as the carriers and other ringtone providers are charging $2.50 or more to get a single tune as a ringtone. (don’t get me started on the services that charge five bucks plus a week to subscribe)

The hype surrounding the Iphone is going to make a major impact on the phone market in the US where it is due to be released on 29th June. The carry through from that is the industry is going to realise people will be saving themselves a fortune by not being ripped off every time they want to put a new ringtone on their phone so more phones will be released with sideloading features.

I figure that by the time we have gone through the product cycle another 1-2 times there won’t be a cell phone that doesn’t offer sideloading and it will kill the ringtone market as we know it.