Macrumors is reporting that the iPhone-required iTunes 7.3 software has been spotted with a “Ringtone” tab! The “ringtone” tab was first sighted at hte Macworld announcement of the Apple iPhone. Furthermore, the new version of iTunes has been listed as an iPhone requirement but is still not released.
The speculation goes something like this: iTunes will take any song available on iTunes and convert it into a custom ringtone for your Apple iPhone. The service will run you $0.99, and it’s not clear whether you will have to download new songs for this feature, or if you can use songs you currently own in your iTunes library or on a CD.
You can create your custom ringtone through a “Garageband-like” interface – allowing you to choose what 30-second section you want to use as your ringtone.
The Apple Q&A list also shows a picture of the iTunes software with 8 tabs (as opposed to the 6 we’ve seen in the video). We won’t be able to use MP3’s as ringtones outright, but at least we’ll be able to make custom ringtones from our MP3’s! (and we’re not at all surprised by the very Apple-like move to charge a buck for each ringtone)