HTC Titan II review

As is standard on Windows Phones, music and videos are accessed through the Zune hub, which is modeled after Microsoft's own now-retired brand of portable media players. The Zune app holds not only your files transferred from a computer, but also your own photos and videos shot on the device.

It's an attractive app that includes easy access to recently used media, displaying album covers for local files and even songs heard on Spotify, as well as a listing of newly added content. Getting your content on the phone requires the use of the free Zune Music + Videos app on PC or Windows Phone 7 Connector on Mac, as simple drag-and-drop functionality isn't included.

Music playback is up to par via headphones on the standard settings, though the HTC Titan II includes SRS enhancement and equalizer options for customizing the sound. Expectedly, playback via the tiny speaker grate next to the camera lens isn't remarkable, but it does reach a decent enough volume for sharing a clip with a pal.

However, no matter the setting, we found that songs were consistently skipping the first half-second or so of playback. It's an odd quirk that provides some irritation when listening to albums, and something that needs to be fixed ASAP.

The Zune app also includes a built-in FM radio function, which is a nice touch, albeit one that only works via headphones (as they're reportedly used as an antenna). It's a dead-simple app, though the playback is stellar even indoors, and the screen lists the station and track info on the screen.