Crave

Whenever you hear "Wah-wah-wah," you know you've got mail from Dave.

You've already got individual ringtones set up for your boss, your spouse, and other important people. MailTones brings that same concept to e-mail, playing custom sounds when you receive messages from those certain special senders.

Using the $2.99 app [iTunes link] requires two things: That your iPhone is configured for push e-mail (fetched automatically, not manually) and that your e-mail server has the option of forwarding copies of new messages to another address.

Gmail, for example, makes this a snap, as does MobileMe. As for other services and servers, well, you'll have to find out if forwarding is an option. If not, this isn't the app for you.

With that single step completed, however, all that remains is to configure MailTones' alerts, which offer three options.

Friend Matching works like call-based ringtones: You get an alert when you receive mail from a specific person. (However, you can't just enter someone's e-mail address; you have to choose someone already in your address book. Minor gripe.)

Subject Matching sounds an alert when the subject line contains one or more keywords. And Domain Matching targets mail from specific domains (like, say, the office).

For each match you set up, you can choose from 25 available tones, which range from short, simple "dingtones" (my word) to boisterous cowbells, ship horns, and fire sirens.

Suffice it to say, most people get a lot more e-mail than they do phone calls, and it's easy to experience alert overload. Consequently, you'll almost certainly want to set the New Mail tone to "Ignore" so you don't get interrupted every 10 seconds.

At the same time, turn on Show Alerts, which provides a text message-like pop-up (with the sender's name and subject line) along with the audio alert. That way you'll know if the message is important enough to warrant a full-on visit to Mail.

MailTones is an idea whose time has come. If you're tired of pulling out your iPhone every five minutes to see if that new message is something important, now you've got an audio-cue alternative. Indeed, for anyone inundated by e-mail, MailTones is $2.99 well spent.

(Credit: Vringo)

Like most mobile platforms, Android phones can assign ringtones to incoming calls. What the platform can't do on its own is let callers choose their own favorite ringtones to play when calling a friend. Vringo for Android is a beta application that can do that. What's more, it makes this self-chosen ringtone a video ringtone, which is immensely cooler.

Vringo got its start on Java feature phones, and now works on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian, too. Here's the premise--you sign up for an account and choose one or more video ringtones, or "vringos," to use. You download it, and can set your vringo, changing it as often as you like. That vringo becomes the ringtone that other Vringo buddies see when you call them. You also see it when your own phone rings with an incoming call--unless the caller is a fellow Vringo user, in which case you see the Vringo they've selected, not the vringo you've chosen. Got all that?

After logging in on the Android phone, new users will see a dashboard with three preloaded video ringtones to get started. You can get more from Vringo's library by browsing categories. We're disappointed that there seems to be no search feature. After a 5-second default preview (you can click to see a full clip at launch, except for the Marvel category), you can decide to download the vringo to your gallery.

Most vringos are free, with Marvel-themed Vringos costing $2. Unfortunately, Vringo beta for Android also doesn't seem to let you filter by price, something that will need to happen as more premium vringos are offered. You can add your own vringos by uploading a video from the Android phone, or by recording a new video to turn into a vringo. You can also create new vringos from the computer in the online Vringo Studio beta by importing a video from a Web URL.

At this point, Vringo for Android beta isn't in the Android Market. You'll need to download the APK file from the mobile browser, then install it using an app like AppInstaller, which you can get from the Market (hint: search "installer" to see a list of choices). Open the installer app you chose and select Vringo. You'll need to make sure that you've configured the phone to accept applications downloaded outside of the Market environment. If you have not, the installer should prompt you. Here's another hint, if the application icon doesn't appear in the program list, try rebooting the phone.

Vringo hasn't told us much about the new beta yet, so we'll fill in more information as we get it. In the meantime, you can try it out for free. You get the first premium vringo free as well, so choose wisely.

(Credit: Ferrari)

While you wait for the newly unveiled Ferrari 458 Italia to be revealed in the sheet metal at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, you can enjoy the sounds of the Italian supercar every time you receive a call or text message on your mobile phone. That's right, Ferrari has released official 458 Italia ringtones.

We'd call the automaker vain if the 458's 4.5-liter direct injected V8 didn't sound so mouthwateringly good.

Available sound bites include overtaking, acceleration, on board, and off the mark clips. Download the ringtones in MP3 format for most mobile phones or M4R format for your iPhone at Ferrari's 458 Italia microsite. While you're there, grab one of the mobile phone or iPhone-size wallpapers to complete your Ferrari fanboy package.

Dan the Mantern makes his triumphant return to The 404 to talk about his exploits as a newly single man. Yes, ladies, he is available. You can find him on J-Date. Today, we expound on weekend movies "I Love You, Man", "300," and "Revenge of the Nerds" and find out why Jeff Bakalar is going to prison.

Dan T. Allen: 22-year-old male seeking female.

(Credit: Wilson G. Tang/CNET)

Apparently, EA sent out packages of brass knuckles for the release of its video game version of "The Godfather II." Unbeknownst to them, it is a crime in most states to send brass knuckles, as they are in the same category of weapons as switchblades and gas guns. Also on today's show, we cover Vermont legalizing "sexting," a special eBay auction just in case you need to tell someone off, and Disney releasing a controversial animated movie featuring a black princess.

We've got a special treat for you today, as well. If you check your RSS or iTunes feed, you'll discover that we've officially pushed to you The 404 ringtones, including our main theme courtesy of Mr. Jamie Lewis and a Tom Merritt-inspired "Calls from the Public" ringtone. Also, if you have an iPhone, we've got special instructions on how to use our ringtones on your Jesus Phone. But wait, there's more! Yes, because of popular demand, we're pushing out acoustic versions of Jonathan Coulton's performances of "Codemonkey" and "Re: Your Brains" performed in our very own podcast studios. Don't you just love us?!?!

Remember to mark Thursday, April 16, as the day your life changes when Bore Out Loud and the Snore Oh Four battle to the death in a dance off (bring your tap shoes). Be sure to RSVP. We'll be partying hard at the whole upstairs floor of The Delancey in New York City at 7:30 p.m.

Verizon Wireless has launched three new applications that interact with the voice recording feature on select cell phones to allow users to create new content. The content can be used on the phone or shared with other Verizon customers.

With Sonic Boom's ToneMaker users can create their own music by layering their own vocals on prerecorded tunes. You can then use the clips as a ringtone or pass them on to others. ToneMaker is $3.99 per month on handsets with Verizon's Get It Now Internet service.

YouTones from FunMobility takes the same concept in a slightly different direction. Users can combine their own voices with a selection of prerecorded thematic YouTones performances to use as ringtones or audio messages. Also available on Get It Now phones, YouTones charges $2.49 for each created clip.

The last application is mSpot's Make-Ur-Tones. With this application you can create customized ringtones from a catalog of over 250,000 music tracks. Users select a 30-second audio clip of their chosen song before downloading the new ringtone to their phone. Ringtones are $2.49 each.

Ever heard a safe-sex promo sung in multipart harmony? Have a listen to the "condom a cappella" ringtone. Just launched in India--where approximately 2.5 million people are living with HIV--it's part of a three-year ad offensive aimed at making condom use there more socially acceptable. And it's actually quite catchy.

Turn up the volume: it's the condom ringtone.

(Credit: BBC World Service Trust)

The ringtone marks the latest phase in the mass-media campaign, which has placed ads on television, radio, and film, and in print and outdoor media. Ultimately, the HIV-prevention messages are expected to reach an estimated 52 million men.

According to international charity BBC World Service Trust, which is producing the ads, the idea behind the condom ringtone is "jo samjha wohi sikander" ("the one who understands is a winner"). To wit: an ad promoting the new ringtone depicts a wedding, where a mobile ringtone buzzes with a loud "condom! condom!" Embarrassing for the man holding the phone? Not even. The reaction of those around the red-faced guy is to see him as smart and responsible.

"Ringtones have become such personal statements that a specially created condom ringtone seemed just the right way of combining a practical message with a fun approach," said Radharani Mitra, creative director of the BBC World Service Trust India.

The campaign is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The National AIDS Control Organization is also using the ads to support its condom promotion efforts.

The ringtone, which can be downloaded both via SMS or the Web site www.condomcondom.org, has reportedly been downloaded more than 60,000 times in the last 12 days. And trust us, it's much better than that other safe-sex ringtone: "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off."

AUDIO

Ringing a new tune
Listen to the condom a capella ringtone produced by the BBC World Service Trust India.
Download mp3 (690KB)

(Credit: Roc-a-fella Records)

With sales for digital singles outpacing CD sales, it's hard to imagine an artist overlooking any avenue of digital distribution and revenue. Yet with the exception of a handful of tracks, American rap icon Jay-Z has resisted releasing his 100-song catalog as ringtones--until last week. That's when most of the remaining tracks streamed into the digital media marketplace. Most. Through August, ten of the artist's smash singles have been earmarked for only one site.

Starting Monday, those hidden hits, including 'Can I Get A', 'IZZO (H.O.V.A.)', and 'Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)', became exclusively available on Thumbplay.com. Thumbplay, a mobile content company with an estimated worth of $400 million, now carries 101 prepackaged Jay-Z ringtones, including the coveted 10 (see the exclusive titles below.)

But will ringtones continue to sell in a hobbled economy? Mitch Rotter, Thumbplay's Vice President of Content Acquisition & Merchandising, thinks they will. Ringtones are about social expression, he said in an interview. To a youth demographic, "they're a fashion accessory," and therefore a worthy buy for teens proving their cool to peers within earshot.

Thumbplay's Jay-Z titles:

1-900-Hustler, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
-Can I Get A, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998)
-Encore, The Black Album (2003)
-Excuse Me Miss, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (2002)
-Girls, Girls, Girls, The Blueprint (2001)
-Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love), The Blueprint (2001)
-IZZO (H.O.V.A.), The Blueprint (2001)
-Jigga What, Jigga Who, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998)
-Roc Boys (And The Winner Is), American Gangster (2007)
-S. Carter, Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)

(Credit: CrunchGear)

Love dogs. Love the Japanese even more for their highly bizarre gizmos. No other country has consistently amused and amazed the world with its weird and wacked-out inventions. Try topping this latest idea: Ringtones audible only to dogs, from Tokyo-based interactive content provider Dwango (PDF in Japanese).

Lest you think it's an error in translation, Dwango describes the download service very clearly as Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon--which translates to "Ringtones only dogs can hear," according to CrunchGear. But since this is available specifically for DoCoMo's i-mode phones, only Japanese dogs need apply.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Some of my favorite cell phone apps and services are also the simplest. Thumbplay, a major content storage and sales company (coverage), gets that with its latest service for Web-enabled phones, Thumbplay GET.

It's essentially a link request and return service for Thumbplay's content offerings. Users text GET, followed by the artist's name or song title, to Thumbplay's short code, 48000. Seconds later a link is returned through text, which leads to the search results. Users can then click to purchase the download.

Though primarily positioned as a song and ringtone service, Thumbplay GET will also serve some listings for wallpaper and games.

>>See all the hot cell phone news from CTIA