Price: $1.99   Score: 10/10   By M. Schusterman

In all honesty, I can’t remember the last time an app made me laugh so hard. In a good way.

After the Beep!, designed by Bome Software GmbH & Co. KG, is a clever concept; an app that allows you to record a voice message and add it to an audio clip to make it sound like you’re someplace interesting. Someplace like the airport, the beach, a concert, or the moon. When I first opened the app, I immediately set the scroll wheel to “Rockstar” and recorded a quick (and admittedly vulgar) message by tapping “Record.”

I guess I was in an immature mood, because I was in such a hurry to share my rude voice mail that I went straight to “Publish” at the bottom, skipping over “Tweak” because I assumed it allowed you to adjust the levels, and the message sounded fine to me. In “Publish,” you can share your message as a link in an email, Facebook update, tweet, or on the web. You can also send it to a contact as a real voice mail without actually calling their phone; for this, you have to purchase in-app credits (10 for $0.99, 40 for $2.99).

The options include:

• Airport
• Beach
• Canyon
• Happy Birthday
• On the Run
• One Small Step
• Rockstar
• Submarine
• Work

Like I said, I was already having fun just with these choices. Then I finally hit “Tweak” on my Rockstar message and realized how many soundbytes you can make with this thing. Just on this one audio clip, you can choose from rap, hip-hop, classical, hard rock, country – even Scottish music. Then you can change the venue – are you at a party, a club, an arena, or maybe in the shower? You can also adjust the feedback.

This app has a serious sense of humor. In “On the Run,” record a message while being chased by cops today…or in 1938…or in 1850. Leave someone a quick hello at a party during a rounding chorus of Happy Birthday sung by adults, or children, or chipmunks. Explain your absence at work with a message from the BKK airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Seriously – the level of customization is insane. Currently priced at $1.99, this app is a great deal.

After the Beep! [iTunes Link] is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Requires iOS 3.1 or later. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.