Top 10 Music Accessories for the HTC Touch 2

The HTC Touch 2 is a massive improvement over the original HTC Touch. It runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 so it’s a lot easier to navigate without the need for a stylus and the Touch FLO interface makes accessing your photos, videos and music easier than ever. Because of this, the HTC Touch 2 is a great choice if you’re looking to consolidate your mobile phone and MP3 player into one device.

You can use it as your new MP3 player straight out of the box, but there are a number of accessories you can get to really enhance the music capabilities of the Touch 2 – so much so that it can take on most high end MP3 players such as the iPod touch. Instead of doing the usual top 10 accessory guide that covers cases, holders and chargers, I thought I’d concentrate more on the music features of the Touch 2, so here are my top 10 music accessories for the HTC Touch 2.

1. 16 GB Micro SDHC Memory Card

If you want to store your music library on your Touch 2 you’ll need to increase its memory. Despite the Touch 2 being a true Multimedia handset, it only has a tiny amount of internal storage – just 256MB. As a result, one of the first purchases you will need to make is a memory card. The Touch 2 supports Micro SDHC memory cards of up to 16GB in size. 16GB is enough to store up to 14000 high quality photos, 3000 songs and 18 hours of video. Memory Cards are currently available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB sizes, with a 32GB card expected next year.

2. 3.5mm to 3.5mm Audio Cable

The easiest way to enjoy music from your phone through speakers in your car or home stereo is to use a 3.5mm audio cable. Simply plug this cable into the headphone socket on your Touch 2 and the line in port on your stereo and press play.

3. HTC AC-A130 EXT USB to RCA Audio Cable

If the line in port on your stereo is the RCA type (white and red connectors) then you’ll need to use an RCA Audio cable to connect your phone to it. If you want to charge your  phone or sync it with your computer while you’re listening to your music you’ll need to connect the AC-A130 to the  HTC YC-A300 Adapter or the CR-G300 Cradle. Both of these allow you to charge, sync and play music at the same time. The AC-A130 is also compatible with car stereos with an RCA Aux input and can be used as a simple way to connect your phone to your car stereo.

4. HTC Touch 2 CR G300 Sync, Charge & Audio Cradle

The CR-G300 Cradle allows you to charge, synchronise your contacts, music & photo’s as well as play music from your Touch 2 simply by placing it in the stand. The desktop cradle has connections for a YC-A300 Audio Cable, Mini USB Data Cable and a 3.5mm audio cable, so connecting it to your PC and stereo or speakers won’t be a problem. You just need to check to make sure that your stereo system or speakers have a line in or AUX connector.

5. Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

The Jabra BT3030 is a Stereo Bluetooth headset that will work for both calls and music. It comes with some standard wired in-ear headphones, but as it has a standard 3.5mm headphone socket, you can use any 3.5mm headphones. The BT3030 supports the AVRCP Bluetooth Profile, which means you’ll be able to control your music playback from the headset and won’t have to touch your phone. The BT3030 will let you play/pause your music, answer/end calls and adjust the volume as well as skip tracks. The ‘Dog Tag’ style controls can be worn either around your neck or can clip on to your belt or clothes. The BT3030 is a mix of Bluetooth and Wired headphones. If you want to do without wires completely you’ll probably prefer the Jabra Halo.

6. Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headphones

The Jabra Halo Stereo Bluetooth Headset is their latest stereo headset, and to be honest its probably the best one yet. It has incredibly simple controls – a touch sensitive slider on the right ear lets you adjust the volume by sliding your finger up or down, where as a double tap will skip the track. One multi use button lets you play/pause your music as well as answer/end calls and activate voice dialling. When they’re not in use, the headphones fold away so as not to take up too much space and to reduce the chance of them getting damaged. If you want to know more, take a look at my Jabra Halo hands on review.

7. Skullcandy Hesh Headphones

If you’re not quite ready to sever the cables from your phone to your headphones, then you won’t go wrong with the Hesh from Skullcandy. The Hesh headphones are all about sound quality and are built for power. This is shown by the fact that they have the biggest power drivers you can get in a set of headphones (50mm high explosive power drivers) and with the leather design of the headphones they look pretty good too. They have a standard 3.5mm plug, so if you decide to go wireless in the future, these will work perfectly with the Jabra BT3030.

8. Intempo Bluetooth Speakers

If you want to fill the room with your music you can either use the cables mentioned above to connect your phone to your stereo, or you can invest in a set of Bluetooth Speakers. The Intempo Bluetooth Speaker system is a compact, powerful speaker unit that can connect to your HTC Touch 2 over Bluetooth or using a 3.5mm cable. Once you’re connected by bluetooth, you just need to launch the music app on your Touch 2, press play and your music will start to play through the speakers immediately. The speakers come with a 3.5mm audio cable too, so if you wanted to connect it to other MP3 players or phones, you can.

9. Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth FM Car Kit

For a lot of people, the only chance you get to sit back and listen to your music is when you’re in the car. If you’re fed up of listening to the same CD over and over or can’t stand the adverts on the radio, there are now a number of ways that you can enjoy your music in the car. The Jabra Cruiser is one of the best, most affordable options out there. It’s a Bluetooth car kit that simply clips onto your sun visor, but in addition to taking calls, it allows you to play your music through it too. Unlike most car kits, the Cruiser doesn’t rely on a ‘tinny’ internal speaker, it has a built in FM transmitter that broadcasts your music to your car stereo.

All you need to do is tune your radio to the same frequency as the Cruiser and press play on either the Touch 2 or on the Cruiser and your music will start to play through your existing car speakers. No expensive installation, no wires, no messing around. The Cruiser has noise canceling microphones and built in playback controls that allow you to play/pause, track skip, increase volume and answer and end calls. Any calls that you receive can also be played through the stereo and can be played through a high quality built in speaker if you prefer. You might also want to consider the Jabra SP700 it’s a similar device, but doesn’t have the noise cancelling microphones or the music control keys.

10. Parrot MKi 9200 Bluetooth Music Car Kit

If you want all singing, all dancing in the car then look no further than the Parrot MKi9200.  Parrot have always made fantastic car kits and the MKi range are no exception. There are three options available, the MKi9000, MKi9100 and the MKi9200. The main differences between them being the display screen that comes with them. I’ve chosen the MKi9200 as the best one for the Touch 2 as the external screen makes it easier to navigate the car kit menu system and to see who’s calling and what’s playing without having to look at your phone.

You can play music from your phone through the MKi9200 using Bluetooth or 3.5mm line in. The MKi9200 will synchronise with your phone book automatically and supports phone independent voice dialling. The MKi9200 comes with a small remote that you can attach to your dash or steering wheel to control your music playback and calls. If you’ve got stereo controls built into the steering wheel of your car you can use the optional Parrot Unika to control the MKi9200 car kit with your existing controls instead of the remote. Regular software updates that improve compatibility with Windows smartphones are available free of charge from the Parrot website.

If you’ve not seen the music accessory here that does what you’re looking for, why not take a look at our full range of HTC Touch 2 Accessories, or leave us a comment below.