My old Samsung phone used to do this and new SGH-A257 that I got does this as well and its annoying. The phone receives a call and the ringer starts to ring at a low volume and gradually gets louder to whatever you have set to. Basically, even if you have set to the loudest, you might not hear it for the first 3-4 seconds when the phone receives the call. My previous phone had the ascending ringtone setting, but this new SGH-A257 does not and it still does it.