Alert Ringtones

I know this blog is only new, but since the iPhone has just been released, I’ve found myself talking about it again. This time – we have crazy idiots that are smashing their $500+ iPhone in order to explore the insides. It took Apple 6 months to develop the iPhone, yet crazy hooligans have totally destroyed their iPhone within minutes. I suppose they didn’t take their time to research on the net how to disassemble the iPhone. By Sunday afternoon, these guys had clocked up 56,000 views to their youTube video and resulting in it being the 13th most watch video.

The iPhone is rather strong and able to withstand heavy knocks. You will need special tools as a putty knife or other flat tool to pry off the back case and remove the black rubber plate. It’s no easy feat to disassemble the iPhone, so best bet would be to get Apple direct to make your iPhone repairs.

The real nuggets in all these dismantlings is to get the iPhone to do things that Apple didn’t intend:

• To get it working on networks other than AT&T (the official US service provider)
• To harness the phone’s operating system to run programs

After dismantling the iPhone, we also have found out the partnerships Apple has.

• Main processor and memory chips from Samsung Electronics
• Audio-processing chip from Britain’s Wolfson Microelectronics Plc
• Wi-fi wireless chip from Marvell Technology.

So now the race is on for cheap parts to be made by Taiwan and remove the monopoly on “Apple” parts for repairs.

Only in the ringtone industry can promoters get away with using the word complimentary to NOT mean free. Below you will find the exact words pasted from a mobile phone carrier’s Compliance Policy for Partners & Affiliates. Unfortunately they wont allow me to disclose their name in this post.

1. Do not use the word “Free”
2. Do not use the terms “No Charge,” “No Cost,” “Bonus” or any other term to mean “Free.”
3. The only promotional term allowed for giving away Ringtones (or any other mobile content) is “complimentary”

Now I think this is very misleading to consumers when searching for ringtone offers. They will come across “complimentary” and most likely think they are getting something for free, when in fact they are being charged.

If you go to the online dictionary, you will see “complimentary” and “free” mean the same thing.

It seems the various ringtone providers are contradicting each other. Rockyourtones has the below rules:

The only approved synonym for “free” that can be used are COMPLIMENTARY and BONUS.

So here they have agreed that “free”, “complimentary” and “bonus” are synonyms – that is, meaning the same thing. You can see a sample ad below illustrating the confusion.

The new iPhone is now on the market with already some frustrated customers. The frustration is not due to the technology, but rather the inability or activate the phone. The iPhone can be activated by logging onto Apple’s iTunes or visiting an Apple or AT&T store.

Some stores are already sold-out. There are currently 2 type of iPhones for sale:

• 8 gigabyte version for $599
• 4 gigabyte version for $499

If you want to snap these cell phones up on eBay, then the average going price is $962! A good profit for those who lined up and acquired them. There are something like 9000 iPhones up for auction now on eBay. The iPhone definitely marks a revolution in the cell phone industry, and Apple surely deserves a round of applause for such innovation.