It's just the tip of the iceberg for the legal fallout from deceptive charges rung up by cellphone users hoping for a shot a free ringtones, wallpapers, and winning shots at contests simply by sending off a text message or an online form with their mobile number. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and others are likely going to have to end up taking it on the chin after AT&T was taken to task -- first by the state of Florida and now by a series of class-action lawsuits that the carrier has chosen to settle (without admitting any wrongdoing in the process, for the record). It seems that customers will be able to file for refunds for such charges rung up between January 1, 2004, and May 30, 2008, for a total of up to three bill cycles' worth. AT&T will be sending out notifications of the settlement to its subscribers shortly; meanwhile, the lawyers involved in the suits collect a nice paycheck of $4.3 million -- a shade more than the average class action member is liable to get, we'd imagine.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Suffering a rash of complaints after allegedly free ringtone downloads from shady random companies started showing up on AT&T subscribers' bills, the state of Florida stuck it to the carrier -- and they've agreed to pay up. AT&T and the state have jointly announced that as much as $10 million or more could ultimately be refunded to customers, depending on how many folks file claims, in addition to a $2.5 million fine payable to the state itself and $500,000 for educating consumers on "safe internet use." What's really funny about the whole deal is that Florida's attorney general has flat-out admitted that they went after AT&T only because the actual offenders -- the fly-by-night shops operating the free ringtone schemes -- were too difficult to round up and sue. The carrier has said that it has since made unauthorized charges more difficult to rack up, and is quick to point out that other carriers have been just as guilty of allowing the shady dealings; indeed, Florida says there are other investigations underway.

Remember how Apple rushed out 7.4.1 on the double after folks hacked 7.4 to enable free ringtones in mere hours? Turns out we may now know exactly what Apple did to patch it up -- and, naturally, how to enable 'em once again. It looks like Apple added new metadata to music in 7.4.1 that was missing in 7.4, a value called "stik" (what that could possibly stand for, we're not sure). Anyway, the value needs to be present and set to "14" on any AAC tune for iTunes to identify and sync it as a ringtone. That's it. Turns out there's an open source package to let you play with the metadata, too, so the whole procedure really couldn't get less expensive. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes!

For all of you waiting to pick up your prepaid copies of Halo 3, the Microsoft Halo 3 site has a few mobile goodies to get at while you wait. Finish the Fight, Last Spartan, and the Halo theme can all be grabbed as ringtones for your MP3 playing handsets. Also up are a collection of pics and avatars and while not specifically for mobiles, a wee bit of Photoshoppery --or an online resize with Imageshack -- can correct that. So if you dig the game, dig ringtones, or just like new things, pop on over to the site to have a look-see.

If you can't wait for the eventual Apple update, then by all means have at it weekend hackers: custom iPhone ringtones can now be yours. Disparate hacks have been cobbled together into a step-by-step guide over at the appropriately named hacktheiphone site. The instructions make use of both the iPhoneInterface and jailbreak hacks which opened up full access to the iPhone's UI and filesystem. Unfortunately, the former only works on the Intel-based Macs at the moment. For those of you a bit wary of screwing the $600 pooch somewhere along the 23 steps, take heed: "everyone [they] know has been able to restore their iPhone fully by using iTunes." So go ahead, we double-dog dare ya. Just report back in the comments how it went, mkay?

[Thanks, HaJo and Richard]

Oh yes they are folks, ringtone icons snatched straight from the newly launched iTunes 7.3 resource folder. First noticed by reader Michael (and confirmed by us) in the comments -- nice work, bro. So what could the little guys be doing there, after all, there isn't a Ringtones tab in any of the iPhone how-to guides unlike the slide presented at WWDC? Don't know, but let's hope they'll sit next little MP3/AAC ringtones we create ourselves for free and not just the ones we download from the iTunes store for a fee, eh?

See that picture on the right? It comes straight from the iPhone's Q&A page. Go ahead, count the iTunes tabs... we'll wait. Right, 8 tabs. Up until now, Apple's only been showing the iPhone's iTunes sync with 6 tabs: Summary, Info, Music, Photos, Podcasts, and Video. So what can we expect on the other two (assuming this isn't another graphics screw-up)? Well, MacRumors is speculating Ringtones on one of them, and we think they're right. After all, we photographed a Ringtones tab during the iPhone's MacWorld debut. They're reporting that the unreleased iTunes version 7.3 -- listed as a requirement on the iPhone specs page -- will introduce a steep, $0.99 ringtones service to create your own 30 second ringtone from available iTunes (store) tracks. No word on whether it will work with tracks you already own. Whatever the case, Apple certainly seems poised to make good on their promise to "surprise and delight" iPhone owners with software updates. $0.99, though? If true, well, it would definitely be surprising since that's the cost to purchase a full single. Now, what could that other tab be for?

Update: And sure enough, Apple's dropped the image back down to six tabs. (Shown above.) Why fight it, Cupertino? You know we're all watching. Thanks, Duvi.

Forget personalized ringtones and ringbacks, the next tween obsession has arrived in the form of Push Ringer, which "enables a caller to push an outgoing ringtone to the receiving phone -- allowing the caller, not the called person -- to set the tone." We're assuming you're either elated or sighing mightily after reading that, but there's 7.7 million reasons why you wish you would've implemented it first. A group of deep-pocketed investors have sunk $7.7 million into Emotive Communications' flagship idea, which temporarily overrides the phone's preset ringer, and moreover, allows the recipient of the surprise sound-byte to "instantly buy a copy" if they so desire. Notably, this very service has already taken the VoIP world over, as Skype users are probably more familiar with the RingJacker concept. Now, who's down for inventing the Push Ringer Reverser to send a "you got punk'd" clip back at the egotistical sender?

[Via The Raw Feed]

Forgetting to put your phone into silent mode can often have embarrassing consequences, the scale of which depends on your setting and the quality of your ringtone. Say, for example, your Rocky theme ringtone goes off in the middle of an anti-boxing lobby group meeting. That's at least a 9 on the ringtone embarrassment scale, but as this video from WillItBlend.com shows, it's definitely not the worst combo that you could encounter. The host of the show, Tom Dickinson, really doesn't like it when phones go off during a shoot: especially when he's trying to blend something as unlikely as a crowbar. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what comes next, so peep the video after the break and ogle as Tom turns some bricks into dust.

We think this is a joke, but we're actually more afraid that it's not. San Francisco-based "conceptual artist" Jonathon Keats has generously offered his latest composition, "My Cage," free of charge as a ringtone through mobile multimedia vendor Start Mobile. But wait, there's a catch, it's four minutes and thirty three seconds of pure silence. And it's not the kind of silence teens can hear, either -- it's actually pure silence. So pure, in fact, that Start Mobile keenly points out that "the silence may take place without the listener being aware of it." While we think it really doesn't serve the intended function of a ringtone in the purest sense of the word, we can't argue with the price: free. Let us know in comments what percentage of calls you manage to answer, mkay?

It seems that Verizon Wireless is in the holiday spirit this year and are going to give away one free ringtone to every customer on December 31st. Customers will be able to take advantage of this by texting the word "tone" to "2007." In return, they will receive a message with the instructions on how to download their free ringtone. With this being a promotion, we're thinking that your choice of content might be limited (What, no B.I.G.?). If anyone decides to take advantage of this, drop us a line and tell us about the ringtone choices.

We admit, the vibrating alerts in some phones are extraordinarily loud, often too loud to be discreet. And if the phone is sitting on a hard surface? Forget it. Motorola's BUZR could be years away, if we ever see it at all, so what's a mischievous, cellphone-toting student to do when phones are banned from class? Rumors are flying that students in the UK have recorded the sound produced by a device called the Mosquito, designed to disperse roving gangs of teenagers by emitting a sound that can only be heard by youngsters. By using the recording as their ringtone, they hear it (along with their friends and any nearby canines) while the poor headmaster is left in the dark. It's debatable whether your average cellphone is capable of producing sounds in the range necessary to elicit this effect, so this may be nothing more than a rumor, but if you see packs of dogs belting out some tunes near the local high school, you know what's probably going on.

[Via Ringtonia and BoingBoing]

We're not sure if this signals the end or further resurrection of her career but the Glitter girl herself, Ms. Mariah Carey has inked a deal to write and record original ringtones in a Pepsi/Motorola exclusive offering. No doubt, it’s nice to see artists and corporations alike embracing new technologies as a means of getting their ware out. Still, we just hope she can avoid the temptation of warbling about in her trademark whistle register pitch -- a ringtone sure to make Crazy Frog sound like a soft baby coo dipped in whispers.