Making the call as silly as the ring tone

PhoneBites, a San Francisco-based company, this week launched its Razz technology, which enables cell phone owners to interject witty--more often just silly--sound clips into their conversations, according to News.com.

The clips are packaged together and can be downloaded to a few advanced phones for about $2. During a call, a Razz user presses a button, and a clip is played.

The first group of clips is timely. It includes Halloween sounds and what the company calls Bushisms--clips of unflattering statements President Bush has said. PhoneBites is also working on clips from the crank-calling Jerky Boys.

For Razz to grow, it will also need to be available on more phones. Right now, the service can only be used with certain Nokia phones--the 3650, 6600 and N-Gage models. The sound clips and client application are loaded to the phones from a PC over a Bluetooth or infrared connection or over the air from the carrier.

"Frankly, this is a silly idea," Kirschner said, "but it takes advantage of the key feature of phones--conversations."

Related article: ”Bushisms” Become the Latest Cell Phone Craze as Consumers Get the “Presidential Razz”

emily | 4:12 PM | Razz Tones |
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