OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (Sprint/ www.sprint.com) - CTIA Wireless 2005 - Sprint (NYSE: FON) announced that its customers have purchased more than 500,000
Music Tones from Atlantic Records' platinum-selling hip-hop artist T.I. - the equivalent of another gold record for the artist. By purchasing more than 500k
Music Tones (master recording ringers) from T.I.'s chart-topping Grand Hustle/Atlantic album, Urban Legend, Sprint customers have clearly indicated their desire to take urban hip-hop content with them on the go and are expressing their loyalty to popular artists like T.I. through their mobile phone purchase decisions.
"No longer are artists just hitting gold and platinum sales milestones with songs and albums - now it's through wireless with master ringers," said John Burris, director - Wireless Data Services, Sprint. "Through our direct relationships with the record labels we can deliver new and popular Music Tones to customers every day."
Popular Music Tones from T.I.'s Urban Legend album, include:
-ASAP
-Bring Em Out
-Chillin With My B
-Countdown
-Freak Though
-Get Loose
-Motivation
-My Life
-Stand Up
-The Greatest
-U Don't Know Me (Instrumental)
-U Don't Know Me
-What They Do
According to an IDC report from August 2004 titled "U.S. Wireless Ring Tone 2004-2008 Forecast and Analysis: Customers Go 'Crazy in Love'" by Lewis Ward, "Part of the attraction of ring tones is their sheer simplicity: People just 'get' ring tones as an inexpensive way to personalize their phone - and make a statement about who they are to others in the process. Based on this and other key factors such as the availability and adoption of handsets with advanced audio features, IDC forecasts that in 2008 more than three-quarters of a billion ring tones will be downloaded and that revenue will top $1.4 billion."
Sprint offers thousands of Music Tones, real song ringers, from today's hottest hits like T.I.'s "Bring Em Out." Sprint also offers customers who are interested in urban-themed content Urban Stylez, a screen saver category that contains content one would see in the Urban hip-hop culture. Categories within Urban Stylez include BlingPix (Iced Out Letters, Names, Lingo), Homies, AND1, Kung Faux, Lugar Heights, Graffiti, Street Art and Latin Stylez.
In a separate announcement today, Sprint announced that several urban hip-hop screen savers have gone gold on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. Sprint refreshes content regularly to give customers more of the content they desire.
Sprint PCS Vision customers can purchase and download ringers and screen savers directly from their Sprint PCS Vision Phones or at https://www.sprintpcs.com . To access ringers and screen savers on the phone, select Menu/ Downloads/ Ringers or Screen Savers and Get New. From there, customers can browse the titles available from Sprint.
Sprint PCS Vision includes services that allow customers to take and receive pictures from select Sprint PCS Phones; browse the Internet at speeds faster than most dial-up connections; check personal and corporate email; watch clips and stream audio for news and music; and download Music Tones and full-color, graphically-rich games and screen savers, all on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network.
