Ringtones: The Ultimate Horror

By John Freeman on 26 April 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…

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.