PhoneTalk

Sprint has joined up with Real Networks to offer a music service to customers where they can buy full tracks of music DRM-free (so you can play it in multiple places), ringback tones, ringtones or get a bundle of all three. You can also use the service to discover new music either from an artist you already like or find artists that inspired your favorite musician. Of course you can preview songs before you purchase. Songs range in price from $0.69 to $1.29 per song with albums also available for sale. Essentially, Sprint's Music Plus store has many of the features you'd expect to find in an online music store.

We just took it a for a test spin. First of all downloading the app is pretty easy: You can either go to the Sprint Zone app and launch it from there or click this link and use the camera on your Sprint smartphone to take a picture of the barcode. We did this and within a minute we got a prompt to launch the store to download the app, which it did easily. Once the Sprint Music Plus app was installed, we started searching for music. There seems to be a decent selection with many popular artists represented. We did find a song or two that we liked and it was easy enough to press purchase and the song automatically started to download it. A note on downloading the music, be sure to set your Sprint phone to 4G or WiFi - this will greatly speed up download time. If you buy a complete song it will appear both in the phone's music library (along with album art) as well as listed in the Music Plus application as a purchase.

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we talk about transferring contacts between Verizon cell phones and setting ringtones on the T-Mobile G2. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. You can also ask me on Twitter.

How do I transfer my contact list to a new Verizon phone? - Bets

Verizon has a service called Backup Assistant. You can download the app on your current cell phone and backup the contacts in your phonebook. When you get your new cell phone simply run the application on your phone and it will load your backed up contacts on the new phone. Additionally, depending on the cell phone you have and the cell phone you get, you can also transfer your contacts via (Read more)

Verizon Wireless is offering customers a way to make their holiday a little sweeter with a Green Day mashing contest. Simply click this link to start remixing songs from 21st Century Breakdown with the Green Day masher. If your tone gets the most votes at the end of the contest on December 31st you could win a Green Day Rock Set that includes a guitar signed by Green Day lead guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong, in addition to drummer Tré Cool’s box drum kit.

If you're a Verizon Wireless customer using a BlackBerry Tour or BlackBerry Storm you can text “GD” to 5509 or log onto www.vcastlive.com/gd on your smartphone’s browser to start accessing free Green Day music, which includes full-length, live performance tracks of “21 Guns,” “Last of the American Girls” and “21st Century Breakdown,” plus an “East Jesus Nowhere” ringtone and exclusive Green Day wallpaper.

Verizon Wireless fans of Pearl Jam can hear snippets of the band's new album Backspacer (available at the end of September) by downloading ringtones and ringback tones (the music that plays instead of a ring while waiting for the person to answer the phone) right to a Verizon Wireless cell phone. Here's a list of songs and availability dates.

· Available Now: “The Fixer” and “Got Some” 

· Aug. 6: “Amongst The Waves” 

· Aug. 13: “Just Breathe” 

· Aug. 20: “Gonna See My Friend” 

· Aug. 27: “Supersonic” 

· Sept. 3: “Force of Nature” 

· Sept. 10: “Speed of Sound” 

· Sept. 17: “Johnny Guitar” / “Unthought Known” / “The End”

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss ringtones for the Samsung Trance and streaming music on the Nokia E71x. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I just got a Samsung Trance and would like to install my OWN ringtones from a CD I have. How do I do that? – Thanks, Martha

Unfortunately, the Samsung Trance can only use ringtones downloaded from Verizon Wireless. You will not be able to use ringtones from your CD on this cell phone. However, if the CD is in MP3 format you can still transfer those MP3s to the cell phone and listen to them in the music player.

I have a Nokia E71x smartphone and want to know if when using AT&T music are you also using the Internet? – Zoo

If you have music stored on the Nokia E71x and want to play it back, you won't be using the Internet to play it back. However, you can stream music from a website on this smartphone and in that case you would be using the Internet. Additionally, you can access the Internet from the Nokie E71x as well by selecting Media Net from the main menu. We suggest getting an unlimited data plan if you're going to do a lot of web surfing.

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss syncing a BlackBerry with a Mac and changing ringtones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

How do I transfer my contacts on my Mac to my BlackBerry Bold? How do I get my photos from my BlackBerry to my Macbook Pro?– B

There is software from BlackBerry that should help with transferring contacts and synching other data. You can find that information by clicking here.

As for getting your photos from your BlackBerry to the MacBook Pro, you might want to try it via Bluetooth. You can connect your BlackBerry to your Mac via Bluetooth and you can then probably move photos from your BlackBerry to your Mac. However, if that doesn't work, I've always found the easiest way is to save the pictures to a microSD card on your BlackBerry and then take the card out of the smartphone and insert it into a memory card reader that connects to your Mac via USB. The card will appear as a drive on your Mac and from there it's as simple as drag-n-drop.

How do I change the ringback tones on my Samsung Flipshot U900? The built-in tones are lousy. –S

Unfortunately, you can't use any songs that you transfer from your computer to your cell phone as a dedicated ringtone. However, if you get tones from Verizon's Get It Now service, here are the steps to change the ringtone.

1. While in standby mode, press the OK button for Menu

2. Highlight Settings & Tools, using the navigation keys

3. Select Sound Settings (4)

4. Select Call Sounds (1)

5. Select Call Ringtone (1)

• Highlight the desired (Read more)

  Topics:	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Ringtones	BlackBerry
  	Bluetooth	Q&A

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss ringback tones and how Bluetooth works on cell phones. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

What does "discovery mode" mean on a Samsung SCH-u620? -Vivian

Discovery mode is the same on just about any cell phone. It means that the cell phone is available to start identifying other Bluetooth devices in order to make a connection. When a Bluetooth-enabled device appears that will work with your cell phone the name will appear on the screen and you will be prompted through the steps necessary to make a connection. You can learn more about Bluetooth in our Bluetooth Buying Guide.

How do you get a tone on your phone for people to hear while they wait for you to answer? – Lil

What you're referring to is called a ringback tone. You can get them directly through your cell phone. There is typically an application under ringtones or personalization that will allow you to download a ringback tone. There is usually a large selection of popular songs available. Once you pick a song that's what callers will hear instead of a traditional ring while they wait for you to answer the phone. Think of it as cool elevator music for your cell phone. Ringback tones are usually not free, so be sure you know how much it costs before you select one.

We know finding the perfect gift is no easy accomplishment. In our final installment of holiday gifts, we have picks for everyone else on your list. You can see a complete list of holiday picks in our Holiday Gift Guide.

What to get the City Chic: She’s got a sense of style that comes straight off the pages of Vogue and Elle. So why not give her the cell phone that compliments her fashion savvy? That’s right, the Samsung Behold. It’s a slick looking cell phone with a touch-screen, shiny exterior, and slim profile. Everyone will want to know what phone she’s using.

A Little Something Extra: Since she’s so stylish, she’s probably got a social life to match. Help her find the best places to dine with a year subscription to Zagat To Go that’s available right on her cell phone.

What to get for Cool College Kids: They went off to school with trunks of clothes and new dorm room bedding. The one thing not upgraded on their college list of must haves was probably a new cell phone. Why not give them one that will help them get to class on time and look good doing it, such as the Pantech Matrix? You might even get a few extra text messages next semester since their so quick to tap out on the sliding QWERTY keyboard.

A Little Something Extra:There’s nothing like releasing a little extra energy after weeks of studying for finals. Why not give them a way to funnel their creative juices by signing them up for an account at ToneMine where they can mix their own ringtones. Best part about this gift: It’s free to use and share new tones with other community members.

What to get the Stylish Stud: He looks like he walked right off the pages of GQ or Details. He’s got it all: good looks, his own style and a penchant for the good life. Give him the Samsung Instinct. After all, it’s a lot like him: easy on the eyes and super slick.

A Little Something Extra: Even hot guys use Bluetooth headsets, but they’re stylish enough to remove it once they’re done using it. That’s why the the latest Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset (Read more)

The political race is all over the news, but you shouldn't have to be tied to your computer, TV, newspaper, or radio to stay on top of it. We asked Bloggers around the Internet to discuss options for staying apprised of race details via cell phone. Our final post comes from David Cassel. To read more from him, check out his blog on Tech.Blorge.

It's the election of a lifetime -- and it doesn't have to end when you're mobile.

If you're rooting for Barack Obama, why not put him on your phone? His official campaign site offers 12 slick ringtones, including Obama himself saying "Are you fired up? Are you ready to go?" and a hip-hop mix that chants "Go go go -- Obama." Instead of just a ringing phone, you could be hearing the charismatic candidate shout...

And that's just the beginning. RingTones08 offers ringtones for all political persuasions, including "It's raining McCain," "the Ron Paul revolution," and JibJab's hilarious song parody about the entire 2008 primary season. (And, yes, several variations on Obama's "Yes We Can" speech.) Visitors to the site are even encouraged to create their own political ringtones and share them on the site. Elsewhere another enterprising entrepreneur has specifically registered the domain JohnMcCainRingtones.com. And of course, Barack Obama's site is also offering Obama-themed wallpaper for your cell phone's background.

But it doesn't have to end there. If your phone runs the SymbianOS or the Mobipocket eBook reader, you can even download books by the candidates onto your phone. eBooks.com is offering both Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope and John McCain's Why Courage Matters for downloading, along with other books by the candidates (and biographies about them.)

I've been following this campaign closely, and was fascinated by the anecdotes posted on Reuters new campaign blog, "Tales from the Trail." I was delighted to discover that it has an RSS feed -- but more importantly, Reuter's created a full web page collecting all of their mobile RSS feeds, including one for all of their political news. Most of the top political blogs have mobile-friendly feeds, including Time magazine's Swampland and the poll-watchers at Political Wire.

In fact, (Read more)

There's been a contest going on over at Tonemine.com that involves people releasing their inner DJ and mixing their own tones. At the end of the contest, DJs with the most votes will win one of these BlackBerry prizes. Without further delay, here are the top three contenders as of this post:

1st Place: Holding steady is The NoiZe by ControlTheNoize is in the lead with 50 votes.

2nd Place: Heaven in Bina by travis134 has 48 votes.

3rd Place: Spyjazz by mchlgv is gaining on 2nd with 47 votes.

It's not too late to enter the contest or participate by voting for your favorite tone and even download it for free from Tonemine. There are just 10 days left in the competition, so don't wait, get started now.

BlackBerry smartphones are well known for being great devices for e-mail and performing other office productivity applications, but the latest versions of the device offer multimedia applications such as video and music as well. Getting music on to a BlackBerry is easier than you might think with the Desktop Media Manager software powered by Roxio. Check out our How-To for details. But once you get the music on the BlackBerry what else can you do with it besides, of course, save tunes as ringtones? Well, with the BlackBerry Stereo Music Gateway, you can even stream tunes on your phone over your home stereo. So why not put those high-end stereo speakers to use with a BlackBerry. Check out how easy it is to get the music playing in the video below!

Like what you see? You can win a BlackBerry or BlackBerry Stereo Music Gateway by creating your own DJ mixed ringtone for Tonemine's DJ Tutor contest going on now.