I couldn’t agree more with the self-titled “unsuccessful writer” Jeff Harrell, when he rambles on the true reason behind Apple’s decision of not allowing custom ringtones on their new & shiny iPhones. Of course, they kind of backed on that decision by allowing those debatable “double paid” ringtones through iTunes Music Store (not on every music though…).

Make sure to read his full post, but basically he says:

Apple is, far beyond anything else, a brand. It’s not a computer company; it’s not a consumer electronics company. It’s a brand. And everything Apple does serves that brand, which is by far the company’s most valuable asset.

Apple, therefore, has a strong vested interest in making sure that people who see other people using iPhones aren’t immediately annoyed by them. So there would be no ringtones that are creepy-as-hell covers of bad 80s synth-pop jingles as interpreted by computer-simulated frog sounds.

Oh my… I think he got it right on spot!