Ringtones: The Ultimate Horror

By John Freeman on April 26, 2007

Ring tones are a matter of personal choice (I will confess to currently having Shaun the Sheep on my mobile, much to my wife’s despair no matter how much she likes the show), but imagine the sheer horror of your phone ringing — and it’s someone else’s ring tone.

Not only can I see this becoming very confusing if your phone rings in a public place like a restaurant or bar (in which case, why isn’t it switched off, you inconsiderate git!), but the very idea that thanks to the “Push Ringer” technology just announced by California-based company Emotive, my phone might start blaring out some godawful Spice Girls number, or worse, fills me with unimaginable alarm…

This has to be one of the worst ideas for mobile phone development ever, although I have to admit, the idea that you could make some CEO’s mobile start mobcasting “Kinky Boots” in the middle of a meeting is rather appealing…

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.