Winferno plans to break into the already crowded compression utility market by targeting SnapZip at novice dial-up users who want to streamline their pic-laden emails. The software is compatible with other file compression utilities, which means that you can use SnapZip to open other applications' compressed files (such as WinZip files). Other users can use their own applications to open files compressed with SnapZip, but they can't open the files without a compression utility; SnapZip doesn't create self-extracting files.
Unlike WinZip, which lets users choose between Classic and Wizard modes, SnapZip holds your hand from the beginning. You can use a manual mode and tweak settings, of course, but you'll need to seek out these features. A novice will never see (and probably won't need) the application's manual tools. Users who want to email pictures will find that SnapZip can easily reduce an unmanageable picture to a dial-up-friendly zip file, thanks to the application's enhanced photo-compressing capability. By selecting Yes at the Should SnapZip Reduce Images To Screen Size And Quality When Compressing? step, we reduced a 1.01MB JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file to a mere 24KB. Other compression utilities couldn't compress the file to less than 1MB. Of course, SnapZip's compression wizard isn't magic. It squashes your photo by reducing the image to 640 x 480. You'll want to use the original if you print the picture, but you can see the compressed image clearly on your monitor. SnapZip places Reduced in the zipped file's name so users can identify original and compressed files.
We were surprised to see that users must open SnapZip to compress a file, unlike WinZip, which offers a variety of compression options (including a Zip And Email option) when you right-click a file. That said, we can't blame Winferno for keeping things simple: Whether a user wants to compress, extract, or email a photo, she'll start the task by opening SnapZip. Advanced users will want to stick to their feature-heavy favorites, but novice users will enjoy the program's easy-to-use GUI (graphical user interface) and great photo compression capability. 
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