Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
Ringtone Recorder Pro provides iPhones a roundabout route for ringtone capture
There is no shortage of ringtone solutions for getting tones onto the iPhone, especially after Apple opened up the phone enough to allow user generated ringtones without buying them from the iTunes store.Now there is a bit of a new twist on the ringtone creation game. Ringtone Recorder Pro [App Store] allows you to use your iPhone as a recorder to get any sounds you can capture into your iPhone. It's US$0.99.
The method is, frankly, a bit convoluted. You hold up your iPhone to a speaker, or just talk and create a spoken ringtone. There is a 30 second limit. When you are done recording, you are asked for your email address (first use only), and then the file, in m4r (ringtone) format is mailed to you. It won't do you any good getting that file on your iPhone. You need to grab it on you laptop or desktop Mac. Drag the ringtone attachment to your iTunes library, and sync back to your phone.
Kind of a
At any rate, the app does what it claims to do, without any bugs or gotchas. Some people reading the description will think this app will allow you to capture music clips from your iPhone music, but that is not the case. If you really want to get a music ringtone on this, you're going to be holding this thing up to a speaker.
Audio quality is good, but it is hardly an ideal way to capture music. It worked very well for capturing my voice. There is a free version [App Store] of this application if you want to try it. It has ads, is slower at saving your recording, and is not quite as easy to use.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
oliver hart said 4:15PM on 6-02-2009
if you NEED your computer for this, youre better off just making your own m4r in itunes and syncing it, for free. i dont want some grainy recording of flo rida off the radio as my ringtone.
ive been making ringtones and uploading them to a repo in cydia. its my current favorite way getting ringtones. tons of people are doing it, but if you have an eclectic taste in music like me, good luck finding a ringtone you like in cydia. i had to upload my own Gogol Bordello : (
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Rick said 4:58PM on 6-02-2009
Creating your own ringtones on an iPhone is simple and this App is useless. You don't need to have Cydia and your phone doesn't need to be jailbroken or have third-party software on your PC. All you have to do is the following (I believe there is a similar way on a Mac) Once you learn the steps it takes about 1:30 seconds.
1. Control Panel > Folder Options > Click on View > UnCheck the box that says "Hide extensions for known file types > press Apply and then close.
2. Choose the song you wish to create a ringtone of and right click. Then, select Create AAC Version and after waiting a few seconds depending on file size a duplicate file will be made of your song and will be directly underneath the old song.
3. Next, figure out exactly which 30-second (or less) segment of your song and right click on your song and click on Get Info > Options > Enable both start and stop time and put in the exact time you wanted your ringtone to start and end at. Press Ok.
4. Then, just as you did in step 2, right click on the song and select Create AAC Version. A third copy of the song will be made. You can then preview it in iTunes to make sure its exactly what you want. DELETE your first copy of your song as you no longer need this version.
5. Finally, right click on your 2nd copy and select Show in Windows Explorer. Once in that folder, right click and rename file. HIGHLIGHT the extension of your file (.mp3, .mp4, .mpeg(?)) and replace it .m4r. Then place the file in the folder where you want your ringtones to reside in and drag in drop into the iTunes (on top of the ringtone folder on the left-hand side).
It seems like a lot, but it only takes about 2 minutes to do and its free.
oliver hart said 5:10PM on 6-02-2009
When I said "using iTunes on the desktop to create m4r, for free", I was implying that method- Except you NEED A COMPUTER!
No you don't need jailbreak, but it's a clear cut way to get ringtones on your iPhone minus the computer. Cydia>Ringtones>Download>DONE!
Show me an easier way minus a computer, and I'll gracefully bow out.
Rishi said 5:00PM on 6-02-2009
Guys, if you have to open up your mac at some point, wouldn't you just record the sound clip there in garage band?
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Gray_hat said 6:16PM on 6-02-2009
TUAW writers you did it again. You tried to sound clever by using a phrase, name or reference, but you failed to actually understand what you were doing.
This is *not* a Rube Goldberg way of doing something. The word is roundabout. A Rube Goldberg would involve fantastic contraptions composed of components being used in ways they aren't intended to. In this case, everything is being used, at some level, for its intended function. The iPhone is recording using a microphone. It is using its radio to send a copy of that recording somewhere. An email is used to deliver an attachment. Nothing is used in any crazy or zany manner.
Please, learn how to use references like this properly. Bad writing like this only propagates more bad writing. (Note: I do not consider myself to be an exemplary writer, but I do make sure I use names and references properly).
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Michael Rose said 7:02PM on 6-02-2009
Mel is innocent; the Rube Goldberg reference was added by me in the editing process. His original word choice was, in fact, 'roundabout,' but I did not want to use the same word in the headline and in the body of the post. It's been redacted to 'circuitous' -- which I think captures equally well the circular nature of the process.
I included the link to the rubegoldberg.com site to allow readers to follow the reference, if they didn't get it immediately.
For what it's worth, the Webster's New World definition of Rube Goldberg:
"A comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation."
Granted, the original cartoons included components specifically used in novel ways (a bird as an alarm clock, etc.), but over time the definition above -- which does not necessarily imply the use of components for other than their original intended purpose, but keeps the connotation of unnecessary complexity for a simple task -- has come into vogue.
To me, making an audio recording on a phone which you have to email to yourself on a computer so you can load it into iTunes and sync it back to your phone so you can have a mediocre ringtone... well, that's kind of a hack, and a little bit Rube Goldberg. All it's missing is the bellows, the birdcage and the bowling ball. :-)
"You tried to sound clever by using a phrase, name or reference, but you failed to actually understand what you were doing."
Not really. I knew what I was doing, and I know what a Rube Goldberg device is; however, what I was also doing was putting words in Mel's mouth, which isn't fair to him. My apologies.
oliver hart said 8:03PM on 6-02-2009
I thought it was an ok reference. A roundabout, silly way to get a ringtone. I got the reference right away. When I think rube goldberg, I think goofy, pointless, doing something that doesn't need to be done. And that's what this app is. In fact, anyone that purchases this application IS a rube goldberg. Is that reference up to par mr. hat, sir?
mad matt said 6:29PM on 6-02-2009
I thought more people knew about www.audiko.net but apparently not. Its a great site that has tons of ringtones uploaded by others. What makes it great is that they have an upload tool to upload and crop songs to make your ringtones on the site. Its essentially a user-generated site, with multiple versions of each song because some people prefer to upload the song and do it themselves.
You can preview the ringtones on the site, and download them in the correct format for the iPhone. Just open the downloaded file with iTunes, sync, and your good to go.
Hope this helps someone out there.
-Matt
http://www.audiko.net
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Maddy said 3:21AM on 6-03-2009
Audio quality is good, but it is hardly an ideal way to capture music. It worked very well for capturing my voice.
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Ted said 12:49PM on 6-03-2009
I've always been a fan of Rogue Amoeba's MakeiPhoneRingtone. Free and easy.
http://rogueamoeba.com/freebies/
I use a dedicated audio editor like Audacity or Sound Studio to quickly edit my song or whatever, then drop it on the Rogue Amoeba app, and bob's your uncle. You can do the same in Garageband, but my own idiosyncracies prefers this method--perhaps you will too!
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directeco said 4:54PM on 6-03-2009
I used to do it your way too with Audacity, etc but then one day I decided to try the GarageBand method and what I discovered is that ringtones made in GarageBand are much louder and clearer. I'm not sure what the reason for this is but I switched to GarageBand after I figured this out.