Screen

Just like the Snap and Dash 3G, the Ozone has a 2.4-inch screen that supports 65K-colors. And once again, the handset's all-black (except for some color on the keys) face helps images pop on what is a decent-sized screen for a non-touch screen smartphone.

But also, the 65K-color display is at the bottom end of the color availability spectrum, and a 262K-color screen or higher would really set the Ozone apart.

The Ozone's screen smudges easily, goes dim a bit too fast when not in use, and has a mediocre color range. But the LCD shows album photos well and streams video with high quality. Unfortunately, its camera doesn't take pictures as vivid as what's preinstalled for the smartphone.

Audio

The Ozone can double a personal music device but it doesn't come with a headset (sold separately) for personal listening. Consumers who invest in a stereo headset will be pleased with the audio boost option.

Its speaker is awkwardly located on the back, which means it's easy to accidentally cover up the port with a hand. But at full volume, music come through loud and clear.

Customers can also purchase songs through the Internet via Verizon's VCAST Music with Rhapsody. They can even save data usage costs by using Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet, download songs from VCAST and upload them to the handset.

Once on the phone, travelers can listen to songs on the road. However it can't organize music into categories, shuffle tracks or set playlists.

The Ozone has an MP3 trimmer function to cut songs into ringtones.

Messaging

Running on Windows Mobile 6.1, users can read and edit attached Microsoft Excel and Word documents and view PDF and PowerPoint slides.

The messaging key opens a connection to the real-time email via Microsoft Direct Push technology. Users can also syncs the phone with tasks, calendar items and contacts on Microsoft Outlook.

Text, picture and video messaging are all available of the Ozone and users can start a text by pressing the keypad's messaging button.

Videos have to be recorded first before being sent instead of streaming live to another user.

The Ozone also supports Verizon's visual voicemail, which allows a person to scroll through and delete or save voicemail messages rather than listening to each one before deciding whether to delete or not.

AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo instant messaging clients are also available.

The Ozone's various messaging and email services make connecting to friends and family easier. Users can access their computer desktop to check on an item before sending an email and connect with Wi-Fi or a computer's modem when they don't want to use 3G Internet.

Although it would be handy if users could edit PowerPoint documents as well, the Ozone's ability to read and edit Excel and Word documents and read PDF files is superb. The support for email services is excellent too, with multiple options for text, multimedia and instant messaging.

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