Audio

The Snap has a five volume levels -- none of them ear-splitting. But the loudest setting will still work even for those with less-than-stellar hearing. Fortunately, the handset comes with an Audio Booster application to help crank out the jams on headphones.

The smartphone comes with 38 built-in ringtones, with several of those being more rings than tones. A wide selection of alert sounds is available, and most are refreshingly soft and calm, not like some of the more jarring alert sounds standard on other phones. Ringtones can also be created from music downloaded or uploaded to the phone.

With music downloading and ActiveSync for music uploads from a computer, there's no reason to leave music off the Snap, especially since a headset comes with the box.

Audio on videos is clear whether the video is streamed or recorded on the phone. If it's recorded, though, be prepared to hear the sound of rustling as the phone is turned in any direction to capture images.

The Snap has respectable volume and the potential for more on the headset. Sounds come out good too, but not great on video, where the audio is slightly faint.

Messaging

This is the Snap's selling point. It offers instant messaging through Windows Live, text, video and picture messaging and email.

Users can choose to use Outlook email and sync the account with a computer or exchange server, use a Web-based account like Hotmail, Gmail, AOL or Yahoo!, use a VPN connection to access work email accounts, or choose an account from an internet service provider. Essentially, there is no email account this phone can't connect to.

"Inner Circle" is the Snap's most talked-about feature. Users can pre-select a list of people they hear from the most (or want to hear from the most) and then emails from those individuals will rise to the top of the inbox.

With the press of the dedicated Inner Circle button, messages from favorite contacts will rise to the top of the inbox.

The feature is useful for anyone that receives numerous emails in a day -- especially spam. Having Inner Circle emails rise to the top lets people keep better track of emails they have been waiting to receive or get information quickly from the important people in their lives, not just whoever sends a message first.

The feature also buries emails from people not in the Inner Circle list. So users might not see an urgent email for hours or days if they get in the habit of pressing the Inner Circle button throughout the day.

Consumers with too many or too few people on their Inner Circle list may also find the option superfluous.

Staying connected to work through email is also made simpler with the benefit of mobile Windows Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote, as well as Adobe Reader LE.

When it comes to messaging, the Snap supports simple, enhanced, and multimedia messaging. It sends text messages up to 160 characters long, videos up to 30 seconds long, as well as pictures.

The phone's camera can even instantly size a video or picture to send in a message.

Instant messaging from Sprint or Windows Live offers bookmarked access to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Messaging on the Snap, is, well, a snap. Instead of deciding which device will accept a work, Web-based or Internet provider-based emails, users can rest easy that this smartphone will accept them all.

Instant messaging, social networking sites, text and multimedia messages are never far away with the Snap. Although menu screens are bland, they provide more room for typing. Also, access to AOL or Yahoo! messengers would be a great addition.

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