iTunes

In a word, iTunes is ubiquitous. Apple has created a music player that doubles as a music store, a mobile app store, a movie rental service and much more. The mobile version of the software, available on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, includes a ringtone download service that stands far above the rest of the other ringtone services we reviewed.

The selection of songs, sound effects and other audio files in the ringtones library is overwhelming. What's more, if you can't find the ringtone you want, or don't have an iPhone, the iTunes software gives you the ability to create ringtones from any sound file on your computer. All these features and more earn iTunes our TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award for the best ringtones service.

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You'll find the major ringtone features for iTunes in its mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Tap on these apps, select the search option, marked by a magnifying glass icon on the bottom of the app. Then input any song, sound effect or other audio file you want and hit search. Within a few seconds, you'll see several categories of search results from across iTunes' broad content base. You do have to scroll down a bit to see the ringtone options; however, there are almost always multiple ringtone options for any search you perform.

Before you download a ringtone, iTunes gives you a full preview of the ringtone. This is invaluable, allowing you to make sure that you're getting the song or sound you were looking for.

Granted, you can only buy ringtones directly from the mobile app on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. However, with some maneuvering you can get the tones to other devices if you wish. When you sync your device to your computer, iTunes creates a Tones tab with a bell icon. You have the ability to drag the files in this tab onto your computer. From there you can upload it onto any other smartphone and assign it as a ringtone.

Because iTunes is so ever-present in the digital world, most people have at least heard of the software's full features. However, we would be remiss if we didn't mention all the things this software can do. Ringtones are only a very small part of the iTunes program. iTunes sorts and organizes your entire digital media library everything from music, movies and TV shows to books and college courses. It even provides free internet radio. The iTunes store is the number one music distribution outlet in the United States. Users all over the world have downloaded over sixteen billion songs and other media through the iTunes Store. That trend shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

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When it comes to iTunes' selection, there's not much more we can say than "it has everything." Every artist, every genre, every song recorded since the advent of the phonograph. That may be an exaggeration, but it makes the point that unless a certain artist has no internet connection, or simply is opposed to making money, they're on iTunes. Additionally, their songs are either available as ringtones on the mobile app or are easily converted into ringtones using the desktop application.

In previous versions of iTunes, the program featured a button marked "convert into ringtone." Apple eliminated that button in the most recent version of the software. However, if you have a sound file, such as a song you've purchased or a recording of your child's laugh, there is relatively painless way to create ringtones from those files. We've posted an article titled "How To Create Free Ringtones in iTunes" that gives you step-by-step directions on how to do this.

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The main problem with the iTunes ringtone download service is that it is only available through the mobile application found on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. This is an extreme disappointment because, while the iPhone may be the best selling smartphone on the market today, there are far more smartphones running operating systems that are not iOS.

In fact, the majority of smartphones run operating systems such as Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry. Smartphones running these operating systems do not have access to the iTunes mobile apps, nor do they natively sync with the iTunes desktop application, either on Windows or Mac. Furthermore, the iPhone is only available on three carriers in the United States: AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

However, since all ringtones are essentially audio files, you have the ability to transfer them manually to any smartphone on the market. Plus, with iTunes you can relatively easily create ringtones from any sound file on your computer.

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If you are one of the very few folks who have never used iTunes , be assured that when you open the program you will know how to use it within a few short minutes. It's available in virtually every language and in every corner of the earth. In fact, there are only a few remote countries in central Africa and Asia that don't have access to the service.

In true Apple fashion, the company has spent countless man-hours honing and polishing iTunes into the ultimate customer experience. It's hard to get confused in this program.

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While Apple considers all sales made from the iTunes store final, the company offers a multitude of help and support options. This is a symptom of Apple's unrelenting obsession with excellent customer service and the Apple experience.

The only thing we don't like about the iTunes ringtone service is that it only natively works on iOS devices. There are a couple of work-arounds that we've mentioned. However, we would love to see Apple make the iTunes app available on more devices. That probably won't happen, but we can always hope.