Why do PDA phones have such sucky ringtones?

I used to host a weekly TV segment on technology, which is making a triumphant return this coming spring (please try and contain your enthusiasm). I've been given a ton of gadgets and gizmos to play with, evnluate and objectively review. One conclusion I've made after years of such testing is that for some inexplicable reason, all PDA phones have really lousy ringtones.

Go ahead and check yourself - Audiovox's Thera, some of the newer product lines running Windows Mobile 2003, even the almightly Treo's available ringtones just don't do it. Most use the obligatory cultural themes (samba, rhumba, polka), the expected classical pieces (Canon in D, Ode To Joy), and then various sound effects (old style phone ringing, a manufacturer's unique theme).

Go by your local mall sometime. There's always at least ten goofballs in the food court who irritatingly decides to listen to all of his ringtones sequentially, disrupting your meal.

I've come to the conclusion that the reason for the ringer impotence is a combination of unattractive tones themselves, packaged as outdated MIDIs, coupled with the fact that most PDA phones don't project their audio that loudly. So not only are the tones themselves unappealing, you largely have a hard time hearing them.

I'm not saying you have to ship units with AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" (currently my ringtone on my Motorola V710), just something more appealing. I guess this is what gives the booming ringtone market its traction. If anyone out there knows of any PDA phones with decent tones, drop me a line.

It's about time we had some.