TV with DVR & Internet: $89.90/moTransfer pictures taken with camera phones to a computer
12/03/2004Show another tip
By John Frederick Moore, CNET Contributor
Level: Beginner
124 out of 124 users found this tip helpful
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POLICE! MY PICTURES ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE!
Buying that camera phone seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, you'll have your phone with you much of the time, and the camera will give you the opportunity to capture and share moments forever that you'd normally forget. But once you start taking photos with your phone, you may not know what to do with the pictures, which defeats the purpose of having a camera phone in the first place.
1. Use e-mail
The problem with Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and picture messaging is that, for the most part, they work only within your carrier. In other words, if you have an AT&T phone, you can't send a picture message to your buddy who's on Verizon. After much foot-dragging, the carriers have just agreed to an MMS interoperability standard, but that won't help you for quite some time. If it turns out that your picture recipient uses a different carrier, he or she should receive a text message explaining how to view the photo online. If your intended recipient doesn't receive such a message or the receiving phone isn't MMS-compatible, simply use your phone to send the picture to your friend's traditional e-mail address. (Keep in mind that sending pictures in any manner costs money, either per message or as part of a data plan.)
You can also use e-mail to move pictures from your phone to a PC. Again, you'll have to subscribe to a data plan or pay per-message fees in order to do this, so this can be an expensive solution, especially if you're dealing with several pictures at a time. That leads us to the next item...
2. Purchase a data cable and sync software
For moving pictures to your computer, there's nothing simpler or more cost effective than investing in a data cable and some synchronization software. It's a one-time fee, and it's much faster than e-mail. All of the software products we mentioned previously support photo sharing.
Your carrier or phone manufacturer also may offer cables and sync software as optional accessories.
3. Use a photo-messaging site
Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile all feature very good sites for storing and sharing your camera phone images. Once you get your pictures to one of these sites, you can send them to any e-mail address. You can also select albums or individual images to share with others by sending an e-mail invitation.
Another option is to use third-party providers, such as Kodak Mobile and Snapfish, that let you store and share your camera phone pictures.
4. Wireless connectivity
As with contact transfers, you may be able to transfer photos wirelessly as well. Memory-card transfers are also an option, depending on your phone.
Buying that camera phone seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, you'll have your phone with you much of the time, and the camera will give you the opportunity to capture and share moments forever that you'd normally forget. But once you start taking photos with your phone, you may not know what to do with the pictures, which defeats the purpose of having a camera phone in the first place.
1. Use e-mail
The problem with Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and picture messaging is that, for the most part, they work only within your carrier. In other words, if you have an AT&T phone, you can't send a picture message to your buddy who's on Verizon. After much foot-dragging, the carriers have just agreed to an MMS interoperability standard, but that won't help you for quite some time. If it turns out that your picture recipient uses a different carrier, he or she should receive a text message explaining how to view the photo online. If your intended recipient doesn't receive such a message or the receiving phone isn't MMS-compatible, simply use your phone to send the picture to your friend's traditional e-mail address. (Keep in mind that sending pictures in any manner costs money, either per message or as part of a data plan.)
You can also use e-mail to move pictures from your phone to a PC. Again, you'll have to subscribe to a data plan or pay per-message fees in order to do this, so this can be an expensive solution, especially if you're dealing with several pictures at a time. That leads us to the next item...
2. Purchase a data cable and sync software
For moving pictures to your computer, there's nothing simpler or more cost effective than investing in a data cable and some synchronization software. It's a one-time fee, and it's much faster than e-mail. All of the software products we mentioned previously support photo sharing.
Your carrier or phone manufacturer also may offer cables and sync software as optional accessories.
3. Use a photo-messaging site
 Some online services such as Kodak Mobile let you e-mail photos from your camera to the Web. |
Another option is to use third-party providers, such as Kodak Mobile and Snapfish, that let you store and share your camera phone pictures.
4. Wireless connectivity
As with contact transfers, you may be able to transfer photos wirelessly as well. Memory-card transfers are also an option, depending on your phone.
Tags: transfer pictures , camera phone , email pictures
