Welch on iPhone ringtones

Ambrosia Software’s “Andrew Welch in a TUAW interview”:www.tuaw.com/2007/10/0…

"The tack they are taking with the ringtones, though, is not 'We'll provide such great ringtones that you'll want to buy from us' but rather 'This is all you're ever going to be able to use, too bad if you want to use something else.' I think they took a winning formula, and got it entirely backwards."

This is the most disappointing part of what Apple is doing. Even with the iTunes Store, when they had to lock down the songs to appease the music industry, they still thought about the user: songs on 5 machines, unlimited iPods, multiple iTunes accounts on the same machine, great selection, and effortless buying experience. I can wait for a real iPhone SDK (WWDC 2008 please Apple kthxbye), but Apple of all companies should not let corporate deals needlessly cripple the ringtone user experience.

Manton Reece @manton