Greetings. Even AT&T or Verizon wouldn't pull a stunt like this. It appears that when Steve Jobs announced the ability for iPhone users to download ringtones (a function that most other phones have had for years) he didn't mean just any ringtones, he meant only the ones you bought from Apple.

As you hopefully know, most modern phones can play virtually any midi file -- and in many cases MP3s -- as ringtones. The steps required to get such free ringtones onto a given phone will vary in complexity, but it isn't usually a big deal. It's even appears to be completely legal if you otherwise have legit access to the audio in question, since a court ruling (at the urging of the RIAA it seems -- trying to cut down on royalty payments) determined that ringtones were not derivative works (that's my understanding of the legal situation, anyway).

But iPhone users reportedly learned quickly that an iTunes update prevented them from renaming files to install their own ringtones on the iPhone, that is, those not purchased from Apple. Workarounds for this restriction have already appeared, and unless there's some sort of bizarre confusion afoot, it looks like we're seeing the initial sorties in an Apple-inspired ringtone war.

If any other cellphone company tried to impose this apparently purposeful restriction, they'd be pilloried in short order. Let's see how the Apple faithful react to this one. And of course, if Apple chooses to explain that this is all a big misunderstanding, and that users are free to use whatever ringtones that they wish with the iPhone, regardless of source, that would be fascinating and welcome news as well.

The Internet has become the powerful tool it is today largely due to its open nature. While downloadable ringtones aren't a first-order issue in the Internet scheme of things -- certainly not when compared with key concerns like network neutrality -- attempts by firms to limit user choices through "closed ecosystems" are always suspect regardless of their specifics. Lately it seems that Apple has been providing something of an object lesson regarding closed thinking in this respect.

--Lauren--

Additional note: I've been asked specifically about the situation regarding ringtones and Verizon. While Verizon has been routinely blocking a variety of local operations on their phones (including some forms of local file transfer), it has typically been the case that you can still transfer files (including your own free ringtones) into most of these Verizon phones as e-mail or MMS attachments. I'd be interested in additional information about any other relevant Verizon-related restrictions.

As a point of information, AT&T (former Cingular) has not routinely restricted file transfer or related ringtone functionalities in their phones, at least in my experience.

--LW--