ringtones

Apple added iPhone ringtones to iTunes late last year, but only if you purchased them. After struggling against users for some time, Apple finally started allowing non-DRM'd ringtones in iTunes. This decision spawned quite a few solutions for creating ringtones from songs that you already have. One of the lesser known methods is using iTunes itself.

The method is a bit tedious the first time through, but CNET's Bryan Thomas has come to the rescue with this nice step-by-step video.

This tip is outdated. Please see this new tip for updated instructions. We all know that the new iTunes adds the ability to create custom ringtones and buy them from the iTunes store. What you probably don't know is that you can easily add your own ringtones as well. By now I'm sure that, with great tools such as iFuntastic and iToner available, a large majority of us already have ringtones ready to go. For all you folks too scared to hack your iPhone, this is a great semi-Apple supported way of adding ringtones for free.

One of the most common complaints about the iPhone is how quiet the ringer is. Most, including myself, have blamed this on iPhone's tiny speakers. As it turns out, the culprit is the audio itself and not the speaker it plays on. Granted, tiny speakers aren't good for playing loud, low-frequency audio, but that's not the point. It's always a good idea to use loud, high-frequency audio as a ringtone. Where do you find such an amazing piece of audio? Amazingly enough, most of don't even realize that we have it living on our Macs this very moment.

With the advent of being able to easily hack ringtones onto your iPhone, there's just one thing missing: an easy way to convert your songs into ringtones. As it turns out, Apple has done the dirty work for you with the 30 second previews which accompany every track on iTunes. Erica Sadun of TUAW has figured out a super easy way to nab those previews for use on your iPhone. Step by step instructions after the jump!