I gotcha, I like that feature as well stock on iPhone. One thing you can do if you don't feel the need to root is download WidgetLocker. It's a couple of bucks, but lets you customize your homescreen however you wish. It has almost endless things you can do to it. One nice feature is that it lets you pull down the notification bar from the lock screen without unlocking it to see who texted, mailed, or called you. Plus, if you don't like that, WidgetLocker allows you to add widgets to your lock screen as well. Which means you can download a widget that shows missed calls or texts and place that on the lock screen.
Hey Ben,
Thanks for the tip. I did download it but can't seem to find were to download widgets for it. Can you point me in the right direction?