ringtones

11 Stories

Senator's Disruptive Ringtone Is Awesome

Pat Roberts uses theme from 'Frozen,' but he's blaming the grandkids

(Newser) - Sen. Pat Roberts suffered the annoying problem of having his own phone go off during a Senate hearing today. But the reason it's making headlines is because of the amazing revelation that the 78-year-old's ringtone is the theme from Frozen. "Just let it go," he joked...

Bieber Song Scares Off an Attacking Bear

Russian fisherman saved by 'Baby' ringtone

(Newser) - Justin Bieber's antics can be enough to put you off your Wheaties, but his music is apparently enough to scare off a rampaging brown bear: Russian fisherman Igor Vorozhbitsyn was walking to a spot in the Yakutia Republic when "there was a tremendous impact on my back...

Meet the Guy Whose Phone Stopped the Philharmonic


 Meet the Guy 
 Whose Phone 
 Stopped the 
 Philharmonic 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 15, 2012 11:56 AM CST

Meet the Guy Whose Phone Stopped the Philharmonic

'Patron X' is very, very sorry

(Newser) - He is identified somewhat ominously as "Patron X" by the New York Philharmonic, the unlucky soul whose phone kept ringing during a performance this week and caused the conductor to stop the show. The New York Times has an interview with the 60-something businessman, who says he had no...

Ringtone Silences New York Philharmonic

It's a first in the cell-phone age

(Newser) - Usually, when something disturbs an orchestra performance, the New York Philharmonic's music director plays on. But an incessant iPhone ringtone during a concert this week forced Alan Gilbert to stop the show, the Wall Street Journal reports. The universally familiar "Marimba" tone kept playing during Mahler's 9th...

Sarah Palin Talks Israel, 'Redneck' Ringtones, Herman Cain
 Palin Wants 'Redneck' Ringtone 
May 22, 2011 3:30 PM CDT

Palin Wants 'Redneck' Ringtone

And it turns out she's a fan of Herman Cain

(Newser) - Leave it to Sarah Palin to go from talking Israel to talking “redneck” ringtones all in one Fox News appearance. Speaking on Justice With Judge Jeanine last night, Palin criticized President Obama’s Middle East speech ("More than ever we should be standing strong with Israel and saying...

Ringtone Cures Hay Fever: Japanese Co.

'Ringtone therapy' with cellphones treats obesity, too

(Newser) - Japan has had multifunction smartphones longer than the rest of the world, but one feature is new even to the cellphone-loving Japanese: a ringtone that cures hay fever. The offering from Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory—which also sells a gizmo that purports to be a dog-to-human translator—is designed to...

RIP Ringtones: $1B Industry Bites the Dust
 RIP Ringtones: 
 $1B Industry 
 Bites the Dust 


texting trumps calling
Jan 18, 2010 10:55 AM CST

RIP Ringtones: $1B Industry Bites the Dust

Who wants to talk on their phone anymore?

(Newser) - The ringtone industry, which just two years ago was raking in $1 billion annually, will be dead and gone by 2016, analysts predict. Revenue is already plummeting—to about $750 million this year—for one obvious reason: Phones don’t ring very often anymore. “People used to talk on...

Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop
 Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop 
OPINION
Oct 20, 2008 12:53 PM CDT

Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop

Southern rap out-blasts urban beats

(Newser) - Once the king-maker of neighborhood phenoms, New York no longer spawns hip-hop's best, and the rise of ringtones is the culprit, writes Matthew Mundy in the New York Press. Because Big Apple beats are less pop-friendly than their Southern counterparts, they're not making it to teenagers' cell phones. "Hip-hop...

Ringback Tones a Goldmine
 Ringback Tones a Goldmine
Aug 20, 2008 9:39 PM CDT

Ringback Tones a Goldmine

Sales expected to triple, to $4.7B, by 2012, new report says

(Newser) - Ringback tones—the music callers hear while waiting for the party they’re calling to answer the phone—are sounding less like Justin Timberlake and more like a cash register to wireless providers. Sales of ringback tones should triple to $4.7 billion by 2012, CNET reports. That’s almost...

Juan Carlos' 'Shut Up' Still Ringing

King's dis of Chavez inspires sought-after ringtones, T-shirts

(Newser) - A diplomatic misstep by Spain's king has rung in a $2 million windfall: A ringtone of Juan Carlos asking Hugo Chavez "Why don't you shut up?" has been downloaded about 500,000 times. Many fans are student foes of the Venezuelan president. Several versions use actors to avoid copyright...

Stairway to iTunes
Stairway
to iTunes
Oct 15, 2007 2:46 PM CDT

Stairway to iTunes

Reuniting Led Zep bows to demands of download devil, uploads catalogue

(Newser) - Led Zeppelin has joined the digital age, allowing its music to be sold online for the first time shortly before playing a one-off reunion show in November. The essential classic rock oeuvre is one of the last to get the mp3 treatment, Reuters reports. Led Zep will cave in to...

11 Stories