Customized ring tones for mobile phones based on context information

A method in one embodiment includes receiving, by a mobile client device, an incoming call sent by a caller, a caller ID being associated with the incoming call. A node connected to a packet-based network is accessed to obtain information about the caller. Information about the caller is then received from the node by the mobile client device. This information is applied to a set of client rules that selects a specific ring tone from a plurality of ring tones stored on the mobile client device. Finally, the specific ring tone is generated on the mobile client device to announce the incoming call.