Sounds and Ringtones

One disappointment for me with my Pre is the lack of customization in ringtones. I doubt that I'm the only person who's boundaries between work and personal life have become increasingly blurred... especially when it comes to communication.

The Sounds and Ringtones options allows you to select a ringtone, set it's volume, whether it vibrates when it rings and whether you want it to make a noise with system sounds.

The 'ringer' is fairly standard in terms of functionality. You can select one of a few predefined ringers, or add your own ringer. You can also set a ringtone for individual contacts. There's also a convenient 'ringer switch' on the top of the phone which you can use to quickly switch the ringers/sounds off, especially handy for meetings. In the Sounds and Ringtones menu, you can choose whether you want the phone to vibrate when the switch is in the 'off' position. Alternatively, if you just turn the volume down to '0', notification sounds are still made.

This is where the 'features' of the phones Sounds and Ringtones stop. All 'system notifications' sound the same. It's a couple of bells (which incidentally always kick off a Depeche Mode song in my head!). I haven't found a way to change the default system sounds for the phone, and disappointingly, they seem to apply to every noise that is not a ringer.

Additionally, this one standard notification sound applies to all email and appointments. So, when I hear this noise, I don't know if I have an appointment going off, a personal email or a work email. In todays connected world, there is some event ALWAYS taking place. On my past 2 phones (a G1 [Android OS] and Motorola Q [Windows Mobile]), I was able to configure my alerts so I could audibly know what was taking place - did I have a work email, an appointment or personal email coming in. That way I would know do I need to get my phone out, or can it wait. But