despite my carrier's (t-mobile) weak/non-existent/pathetic marketing of ringback tones (they call it Caller Tunes?) i have subscribed to the service and started using it.

the default ringback was terrible. some hip-hop tune by some unknown group with very questionable quality. this was a smart move by t-mobile, because i immediately went online to replace it.

a few observations:

• the pricing is too high, but unlike ringtones which i can download any MP3 i want without paying, for this service to work i must buy the ringback from the carrier
• the interface to change ringback tones is terrible on a consistent basis across their web, wap and ivr. the ivr is the worst, and is impossible to navigate. the wap is ok, but you can't preview the ringback.. the web is ok, but could be greatly improved
• the feature of customizing the ringback based on caller-id, time of day, holidays and more is extensive, but probably will not be used by most users unless they improve the user interface
• the selection of ringbacks is very limited

i think they should be a bit less greedy and offer an option for users to upload their own MP3 files. i would be willing to pay a higher subscription fee if they let me upload my own content (there is probably no chance they will adopt this idea..). they can actually make more money this way, since one the problems of ringback tones is that people forget to change them, so charging a higher subscription fee and letting the user upload may actually increase their revenues (still there is no chance they are going to do it..)