Sound is the eternal thorn in the side of portable gaming. Handheld consoles and phone handsets are too small to fit decent speakers too, there's not enough battery life to power them for more than a few hours and besides, everyone uses the included earphones anyway.
To be honest, the speakers on the N-Gage QD aren't bad. Certainly not so quiet that they'd need this bulky speaker to replace them, which, frustratingly takes the stereo sound output you get from the QD and converts it into a mono signal. Fair enough, it's a loud mono signal, but it still can't compete with the N-Gage earphones when you're on a busy train, for instance.
By itself, the Snap-on Speaker is a funky bit of kit. It's got a built-in amplifier powered by a single AAA battery to boost the sound and there's a volume dial on the side to make controlling the amount of noise your games produce nice and easy. Sitting on top of your QD (it's not compatible with the old, first-generation N-Gage), the Snap-on Speaker connects to the headphone socket, and the little rubber tab that protects it can slide into a cavity in the base of the speaker, ensuring a snug and secure fit. For when you're not using the speaker there's a removable cover to protect the plug from dirt and dust.
If you enjoy playing multiplayer games with your friends on a single N-Gage, the Snap-on Speaker makes more sense than swapping earphones over each turn, but at the end of the day it's still largely pointless. It looks a little bit daft, it's too bulky for you to want to carry it anywhere, and it's expensive, too (it costs €20, which is around £13).
N-Gage QD Snap-On Speaker
Great for hot-seat multiplayer games, but little else. Stick with the QD's free earphones
