October 26, 2004 9:20 AM PDT

Billboard chimes in on ring tones

By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News

Related Stories: Nokia's Preminet aims to chill Qualcomm's BREW
October 24, 2004; AT&T Wireless opens mobile music store
October 4, 2004; Hip-hop rings put 'bling' in cell phones
September 21, 2004

Billboard magazine now sees ring tones as worth including in its venerable top-seller listings.

The music industry magazine will soon be publishing a list of best-selling ring tones, alongside its more traditional categories, like best-selling album.

The new listing, which debuts in the Nov. 6 issue, reflects the "growth, innovation and success of the rapidly growing mobile music market," Billboard said in a statement Tuesday. The "Hot Ringtones" chart will list the top 20 selling ring tones for each week. It will be based on sales of polyphonic, or "real music," ring tones compiled primary from U.S.-based providers, Billboard said.

Inside CNET News

1-2 of 12

Scroll Left Scroll Right

Googleplex expansion to include 'Experience Center,' test labs
Web giant is spending $120 million to beef up its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, according to filings with the city reviewed by the San Jose Mercury News.

Cutting Edge
Video game Spacewar reborn at 50 (photos)
Gallery
Litigation lunacy: Silicon Valley's lost its collective mind
The dreary details differ, but the same theme informs--we're good, they're bad, and dear judge: would you please kneecap these guys for us?

News Blogs
SNL laughs at Verizon confusing 'old people'
To LTE or not to LTE? Verizon mocks Verizon's ad that make no sense whatsoever to real, forlorn human beings.

Technically Incorrect
Tips for keeping your browsing private
Video
Samsung Galaxy Mini may get low-end sibling
The Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 could make its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, according to a leaked promotional image.

Mobile
Ethical manufacturing petition delivered to San Francisco Apple Store
Video
Tor anonymity project looks to help Iranians sidestep Net ban
Tor's "obfsproxy" technology would make encrypted data look innocuous and let it dodge government censors. That could help citizens in Iran reach blocked sites as antigovernment protests reportedly loom.

Politics and Law
Seminal computer video game Spacewar lives again
MIT creates a simulation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar. A relic of the early days of minicomputers, it was one of the first computer video games and set the stage for many others, including Asteroids.

Cutting Edge
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)
Gallery
The pool table that levels itself in rough seas
A pool table on a cruise ship is gyroscopically controlled so that it moves with the waves and the balls don't slide at all.

Technically Incorrect
Around the world in a solar car
In a two-seater electric car powered only by the sun, a team of German students plan to circumnavigate the world.

The Car Tech blog