In fact, Zingy began using these same message centers to distribute ring tones to some AT&T Wireless subscribers about five or six months before AT&T Wireless launched its own ring tone download offerings. Both carriers and the recording industry took notice. Carriers acknowledged that giving away ring tones ate into their own ring-tone selling business plans. The recording industry began weeding out those ring tone sellers that were distributing the song snippets without paying royalties.

Zingy avoided litigation by reaching agreements with the major recording companies, It now claims to offer royalties whenever it sells any of power nap iphone case its 2,500 tones, It also began charging for ring tones in the second half of 2002, Nextel is Zingy's first carrier partnership, according to a Zingy representative, Zingy broke into the ring tone business in 2001 using an open door on carriers' networks to distribute free tones, Today, Zingy is selling ring tones to Nextel customers, New York-based Zingy began to offer its catalog of 2,500 tones to Nextel subscribers that own Motorola i95cl and i90c handsets, The tones sell for $2 each..

Most U.S. carriers now sell ring tones and are using companies like Zingy to usher in a new breed of better-sounding tones in the hope of prodding sales figures upward. Sales of ring tones, which are popular in Europe, generated between $500 million and $1 billion in revenue in 2002, according to research firm the Informa Group. The figures include a U.S. market that has been lackadaisical at best in downloading these 15-second snippets of well-known melodies, which include everything from the theme song to TV's "Bewitched" to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" to the Troggs' "Wild Thing.".

CNET también está disponible en español, Don't show this again, Shoreline Communications announced Wednesday it raised nearly $11 million in a sixth round of funding, Previous investors Crosspoint Venture Partners, Lehman Brothers, Foundation Capital, J.P, Morgan and Focus Ventures contributed to the latest round, The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has raised a total of $90 million, Shoreline Communications develops IP (Internet protocol) phone systems, Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic, We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read, Discussion threads can be closed at any power nap iphone case time at our discretion..

CNET también está disponible en español. Don't show this again. Taqua announced Tuesday it raised more than $20 million in a fifth round of funding, lead by RRE Ventures. Investcorp, Point Judith Capital Partners and previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital and Court Square Ventures also contributed to the round. Richardson, Texas-based Taqua has raised a total of more than $140 million. The telecommunications company develops Class 5 switching platforms for local exchange carriers and competitive local exchange carriers.