iPhone ringtones will cost you

MacRumors has confirmed that the forthcoming version of iTunes will contain a built-in ringtone creation utility for songs purchased via the iTunes Music Store. Users will be able to right-click on purchased songs and select "Make into Ringtone," which will give them a small audio workspace to select the 30 seconds they want to use as a new ringtone. According to MacRumors, the use of this feature will cost $.99 per track--a fee which goes toward licensing the music for your mobile phone. That means the total fee for a ringtone is $1.98.

There's no confirmation of whether users will be able to use this feature on music ripped from CDs or other DRM-free tracks.

All things considered, this isn't a bad price for a ringtone. However, for many mobile phone users, iTunes has long been a fairly simple way to convert music tracks into mobile ringtones using its importing tool. It's been confirmed that the iPhone won't play your full music tracks as ringtones.

iTunes 7.3 will be required for both activation and sync of the iPhone. Apple is expected to release the updated software Friday morning.