Startup Sets Out to End the Age of Annoying Ringtones

[news 28]

Startup Sets Out to End the Age of Annoying Ringtones - Published on 10/20/08

 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Aiming to rid the world of a seemingly endless proliferation of annoying ringtones, Hladecek, llc today introduced a new ringtone category called "Luxury Ringers" with the launch of its new webstore, iRingPro. Company founder, Joel Hladecek, hopes that availability of his unique brand of ringers will spark a trend towards more socially conscious handset use.

 

San Rafael, California - Aimed at reducing what has become a seemingly ubiquitous proliferation of annoying sounds that blare from virtually every cell phone across the globe, startup company Hladecek, llc today introduced a new ringtone category called "Luxury Ringers" with the unveiling of its new webstore, iRingPro.

 

Company founder, Joel Hladecek, hopes that availability of his unique brand of ringers (he doesn't like to call them 'ringtones') will spark a trend towards more socially conscious handset use, or as he refers to it: "handset etiquette," something he feels the ringtone industry has yet to enable.

 

"All this care goes into each new phone design to make it an attractive, fashionable object. But until now, ringtones have been the elephant in the room, these shrieking, annoying, embarrassing things that interrupt and don't shut up; I just don't believe that's how most people want to present themselves to the world. They just haven't had any choice."

 

Like many others, Hladecek has searched exhaustively for a ring sound for his phone that wouldn't "annoy, startle or embarrass in public or meetings." Hladecek said, "I wanted a simple, sophisticated ring, something that didn't raise my blood pressure with each incoming call. But it didn't exist; I was literally forced to create it myself."

 

Hladecek ultimately created over 250 discrete ringer sounds over several months as he searched for the right combination of what he calls: "alertive, yet ignorable." In the end, only 21 sounds made the cut.

 

Peter H. Diamandis, MD, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, uses the iRingPro Zen Collection. "Hladecek has created the coolest, most civilized ringtones I've ever heard, fusing function, art, and more importantly, social etiquette into a must-have product for any high-tech professional."

 

According to Hladecek, a number of attributes are required for a sound to qualify as a Luxury Ringer. First, the audible portion must be short, averaging one second or less. "That disqualifies 90% of the ringtones out there." said Hladecek.

 

Second, the silent delay between ring repeats must be at least four seconds. This is far in excess of factory ringtone timing. He added, "I found that most people, especially business professionals, actually hear their phone ringing the moment it starts, so all the rest of that noise is unnecessary."

 

Third, the sound cannot be a song, or a real-world sound effect. This rules out musical instruments, old telephones and voices.

 

iRingPro Ringers further fall into one of two categories. Sounds intended for quiet settings are labeled with "MG" which stands for Meeting-Grade. Those intended for noisier settings are labeled with an "AG" or Active-Grade.

 

"Having a range of ringer grades for specific settings is an entirely new way of interacting with your phone," said Hladecek, "where previously your only option was to silence the ring completely, only to be startled when the phone vibrates on a conference table."

 

"My greatest hope with regard to the subject is that the ringing of cell phones becomes a universally subtle - ignorable - event."

 

Pricing and Availability:

iRingPro ringers are available for purchase and download at iRingpro. All 21 ringtones come bundled as a collection for the single price of $9.95 (USD). Customers may choose from versions formatted for Apple iPhone (Mac or PC) or phones that allow custom MP3 files to be loaded from a PC and assigned as a ringer by the user. For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, contact Joel Hladecek, or for demos visit iRingPro.

 

Hladecek: http://www.hladecek.com

iRingPro Zen Collection: http://www.iringpro.com

iRIngPro Product Artwork: http://www.prweb.com/prfiles/2008/10/16/899384/iRingProZenPoster12a.jpg

Hladecek LLC Company Logo: http://www.prweb.com/prfiles/2008/10/16/899384/HLAfinalLOGO.jpg

iRingPro Advertisement: http://www.prweb.com/prfiles/2008/10/16/899384/iRingProLaunchAd9b.png

 

 

Joel Hladecek, veteran of interactive media and technology companies, founded Hladecek LLC. Previously co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Red Sky Interactive, Modstream Inc, and Harmony Digital Media Consortium, LLC. Recently Managing Partner of Innovation at PHD, a media firm. He maintains a blog, The Interactivist. Hladecek, llc was founded with the intent of building the world's first luxury software company. Its initial line of Luxury Mobile Ringers, launched under the brand iRingPro, has established a new level of sophistication and etiquette in cellular phone call reporting.

 

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Joel Hladecek

Founder

415-869-3722

 

contact ( -at -) hladecek.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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