I'm not sure anyone is saying the phone is rubbish because it doesnt have a customisable text alert (at least I dont think they were). Or that it is a priority when producing a feature list for the phone. But what is the rationale for leaving the feature off when every other phone I've owned since the iPhone was released has it? Is that not a little strange? I personally find it suprising.

My point was that there might not have been a rationale in leaving it off originally. Also there could be little for Apple to gain by spending resources implementing it in future versions.

Maybe.