Ricky Says

Question: How do I transfer photos from my new LG Shine CU720 to my PC?

Answer: The user's guide for the Shine is really vague on how to do this. From page 85 is says: "You can transfer files from a compatible PC to the memory in your phone using the Mass Storage option. When you connect the phone to a PC using the USB cable, this will be displayed as a removable disk through Windows Explorer."

Not much help at all, and they fail to mention that you have to buy and insert a memory card into your phone before mass storage is even an option!

This article will explain in more detail how to transfer photos from your LG Shine to your PC computer.

What you'll need:

• MicroSD memory card (you can get one from Wireless Emporium for about $20)
• USB Data Cable (any standard usb cable will work)

Once you have the memory card and usb cable, here are the instructions you'll need to follow:

1. Insert the memory card into your phone.
2. Go to Settings, Connection, USB Connection Mode, and select Mass Storage.
3. Connect the phone to the computer with the data cable and your computer should recognize and install a driver.
4. Once the driver is installed, you can view the phone just as you would a removable hard drive. Simply drag and drop any mp3s or photos directly from the phone to your computer (or vice versa).

Question: I need to move some pictures from my phone to my PC. I have a usb cable, but I can't see the screen on my phone. AT&T sent me a new phone but need pictures off the old phone. Can you help me with this?

Answer: You can still transfer pictures from your cell phone to your computer if the screen is broken, by using your usb data cable and driver software to handle the transfer (which doesn't rely on your phone menus or screen).

The usb cable will connect your phone to your PC, and the driver software will show you a list of all the files on your phone. That includes photos, ring tones, contacts, and videos (if your phone plays videos).

Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Turn your cell phone on and connect it to your computer using the usb data cable.

Any data cable that fits the standard usb port on your phone and your computer will work, so there's no need to go buy an expensive cable. It will also charge your phone while it's connected.

2. Start up the driver software that came with the USB cable, which will find your phone and search through the files that are loaded on it.

If no software came with your USB data cable, then you'll need to purchase that separately, since Windows needs the right drivers in order to recognize your phone.

A couple programs I've tried and recommend are DataPilot and also the Ringtone Media program from Avanquest (handles picture transfers and ringtone creation/transfer).

Cell phone camera technology is changing rapidly, and manufacturers are starting to bundle higher resolution cameras with their cell phones.

Sanyo’s M1 and Apple’s iPhone both include 2.0-megapixel cameras that take decent quality photos, and Blackberry phones include a built-in flash with their 2.0-megapixel cameras.

More recently the Samsung Flipshot hit the market with a high quality 3.0-megapixel camera; putting it head and shoulders above typical camera phones like the Motorola RAZR V3 with it’s low-end 1.3-megapixel camera.

In fact, most cell phones still come with low resolution 1.3 megapixel VGA cameras that take low quality pictures; just enough to capture the moment, but nothing you’d want to show off in a photography contest.

You can still pull off a little magic though with your existing camera phone, provided you follow a few simple guidelines:

1. Stillshots are better than motion shots.

If you can get your subject to hold still, the picture will turn out sharper and more recognizable. Action shots - especially with the slight delay inherent to digital cameras - will turn out very blurry or bitmapped on a camera phone (that choppy look you get from a low-res camera).

2. Lighting is everything.

Question: I have some pictures I took with my Blackberry Curve that I'd like to copy over to my computer. How do I do this?

Answer: With Blackberry phones you have a few choices for copying photos to your computer, or for copying them from your computer to your Blackberry. These instructions also work for copying music files and videos.

1. Transfer via email. This is the easiest way, and doesn't cost any money because data transfer is included in the Blackberry service. With the picture open on your Blackberry (Media -- Pictures -- My Pictures -- and then find your picture), press the menu button and select "Send As Email" (you have to scroll down a ways on the menu to find this option).

The email will show up on your computer with a file attachment containing your picture in jpg format, which is compatible with any photo imaging programs and will even open in Microsoft Paint (although I recommend a program like Paint.NET which is free and awesome).

The only drawback with the email approach is that you can only send one picture at a time, which gets a little tedious if you have several pictures you'd like to copy to your computer. In that case I recommend the USB data cable approach described below.

2. Transfer using bluetooth.

Open the Media application on your Blackberry to view your pictures, and open the picture that you want to transfer. Press the menu button and select "Send Using Bluetooth" (you'll have to scroll down the menu towards the bottom to see this option).

You have to have Bluetooth enabled on your BB, otherwise you'll see a warning message:

Question: "It seems like the only way I can get pictures from my phone to my computer is to email them, which costs about 75 cents a picture depending on the picture size (at least with my Cingular wireless service plan). Is there another way to transfer them?"

Answer: Yes, there are two other ways to transfer photos from your Razr phone to your PC (or vice versa) without paying any wireless provider fees:

1. USB Data Cable
2. Bluetooth

I'll discuss each of these approaches in this article.

Transfer Pictures To Your PC with a USB Data Cable

Cell phone manufacturers want you to transfer photos from your cell phone using email, because that way they can charge your for the data transfer. However, if you have a USB data cable or a bluetooth connector (discussed below), then you can transfer pictures, video, and ringtones directly without recurring carrier service fees.

You'll need software to recognize your cell phone and handle the transfer with a USB data cable. There are several affordable programs that will let you transfer photos, videos, and ring tones from your cell phone to your PC. They also let you copy them from your PC to your cell phone.

Motorola PhoneTools

Motorola's PhoneTools software is built specifically for Motorola phones like the RAZR or the new KRAZR.

PhoneTools allows you to transfer photos and videos directly from your Razr phone to your PC (or from a PC to your Razr phone). The PhoneTools' Multimedia Studio and File Transfer Studio let you see all your photos, audio and video clips in the same window. You'll see your computer on the left and your phone on the right.