I am really ANGRY about Apple's "solution" for ringtones. I want to put MY OWN original content onto MY OWN iPhone. I don't want to put just some other song loop that Apple has "approved" for use. I want to CREATE MY OWN CONTENT and put it ON MY PHONE! (I PAID FOR MY PHONE... Not Apple!)

I thought Apple products were for cool creative people who CREATE original content... Not just for the mindless workers marching off the cliff... (Like the famous commercials.) I want to CREATE MY OWN content for MY OWN iPhone that I PAID FOR! It is MY iPhone! Not Apple's!

I am sick and tired of corporate lawyers telling me what I can and cannot do with MY appliances that I PAY FOR. (Especially when it has NOTHING to do with the entertainment industry!)

I am talking about recording MY OWN sounds with MY OWN equipment and loading those sounds onto MY OWN PHONE that I PAID FOR! I DEMAND MY FAIR USE RIGHTS!

I really resent Apple's current "solution" for custom ringtones. It is completely unacceptable! And I want the whole industry to know it... AND I WILL GET VOCAL ABOUT IT!

@FairUser:
I'm angry too. We're all angry, but it's the RIAA that is making Apple do that. (Frankly, they may have something to gain by getting rid of iTunes, but that's another story...) Get vocal, but just get vocal at the RIAA. They're the ones being frigtards.

That said, Apple purposely bricking iPhones is effing stupid, and they'll pay for that one in consumer loyalty. We're right behind you.

I am sure it aint the RIAA stopping apple allowing you to use your custom ringtones on your jesus phone. I am sure it's the record labels, as they have allowed apple to see their music online with DRM, thus only allowing to be played on your iPod.

I am not saying what Apple has done is ok, because it's not, it stinks!

One thing i don't understand is when Steve Jobs said Apple will charge for ringtones in front of a roomful of reports, why didn't anyone cherp up and say something? It's no good that reporters are saying it sucks online, when they could have said something in-person to the CEO!! I know I would have, and I don't even have an iPhone!

@FairUser:

Just wondering if you have been up in arms with your previous cell phone manufacturers and/or wireless providers. Have you been able to use your own "sounds" to create ringtones for your other phones? I know I haven't been able to...Apple gets us much much closer than any other cell phone provider has in the past (at least with my own experience), so I hardly think it's fair to start getting on their case for not getting us to 100%, seeing that nobody else does either. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Apple's ringtone solution is perfect, but I do think it's a lot better than other phones/providers I've had in the past, and a good step in the right direction.

leah...

Actually, a couple of software developers released programs that allowed me to put custom ringtones on my Palm Treo and no efforts were made to make them unusable. Of course, Palm has nothing like iTunes, so that may be the reason no one complained much.

I do agree that Apple does offer the best deal regarding ringtones compared to others, but I'm extremely disappointed that the editor doesn't allow us to increase the volume of the ringtones to a point one can actually HEAR them when the phone is left in another room or when used in a noisy location. That never happened with my former iToner ringtones.

I have used WM 6. And, when it comes to customizing the phone and the os; it is the best. I even created my own screen that resembled iPhone; ofcourse I used windows icons and not iPhones'. And, now I own an iPhone and I feel as if Apple considers us to be morons and don't allow us to modify anything on the OS. Comeon Apple; installing an application on the OS doesn't break it. Atleast not ringtones.

I have recently sent Apple my views about not allowing custom ringtones, I paid for the phone, I paid for the CD, therefore I do not need iTunes to tell me I need to buy it again. I've let them know this will lead to a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. I Also let them know what, we as users, need:

Voice Recognition: Would be nice to speak the person's name and iPhone dials. This makes iPhone a bit dangerous when trying to make a call while driving.

GAMES: Let's face it, there is more to life than music when on a plane, how about at least two games? I would pay for that!

Quicktime and Flash: Why can we still not watch MPG files sent in our email from iPhone? Didn't Apple create Quicktime? How did this slip by everyone? This is a PDA, when will it act like one? Even the Blackberry has Windows Media Player built in.

MMS!!: What phone today that has a camera but cannot send/receive MMS? Oh yeah, the iPhone!! This is such a flaw I cannot believe it hasn't been dealt with, not everyone has an email address to send to. This is NEEDED NOW!

Insurance: If you can get the phone with a two year contact for $299 then Apple and AT&T need to work out a contract with an insurance carrier, they can get stolen just like any other phone.

Multiple SMS: It's a VERY big pain in the neck to be able to only send an SMS to only one person at a time. We don't even have the ability to forward a SMS to another party. This is like the stone age! Where is the technological advances we were promised?

It's time for Apple to face what issues are FAR more important than worrying then what ringtone didn't get purchased from Apple.

I was overly excited to purchase my new iPhone and sadly I was severely disappointed.

In the past I have used Motorola Products, the Razr, Rizr, Pebl and Slvr, then T-Mobile introduced the Dash which I loved. I used all of these products and never had any major problem or complaint. All of these phones were easily synced with my computer and easily customized for my own use, this includes custom ringtones and all of these phones had the standard options available that all phones have.

Apple has brought to us an excellent piece of technology in the iPhone; however, their restrictions on the features, customization and ringtones make me feel like i spent $599 (less my $100 gift certificate) to be part of a nazi regime!

I cannot understand why I paid for this device and I cannot use it they way I want to use it! If I want to assign a custom ringtone I should be able to do so, especially since I paid for the phone and the song, if Apple wants this control then the iPhone should be owned by them but since I paid for it, then it is mine. If my life and business rely on a 3rd party app then I should be able to use it on the iPhone I paid for, if Apple is so concerned with this then they should open their ears and listen to the people that actually use the phone in the real world and make apps and options for the phone that are actually useful.

iPhone is supposed to be at the forefront of technology; however, Apple must have forgotten to include options that are standard in almost every new phone on the market, features such as:
video media player
mms!!! iPhone is the only phone I know of that is missing this
games

AT&T also has their "early termination fee" which was used for other phones due to the fact that phones were offered either free or at a fraction of the msrp and the early termination fee was intended to offset the cost of the phone; however, iPhone is only offered at full price from Apple, not offered by AT&T at a discount so why are we still subject to the "early termination fee"? Also, iPhone is not covered by any of AT&T's other optional phone services such as warranty, replacement or insurance but we are still held to the same regulations as non iPhone subscribers.

Thanks for the iPhone, Hitler (Oops, I mean Apple and Steve Jobs).

Thanks everybody for your time. I know I am not the first person to have these complaints but I figured I should make myself heard.

Let me know if anybody out there decides on a class action lawsuit and I will be right there with you!