How Do I Download Pictures from My Cell Phone

Have you asked yourself, "How do I download pictures from my cell phone?" The phone contains pictures you've taken and you want to get them on your computer? Maybe you don't have the knowledge to remove the pictures or want to share the pictures in a different way besides your cell. Whatever your reasons, knowing how to download pictures from your cell phone lets you view pictures on a computer or email them to family and friends.

First, how do you save pictures taken with the cell phone camera? Go into the settings option in the menu and find something that takes you to the camera options. If your camera takes a memory card, you should be able to change the setting from "phone memory" or "memory card" and vice versa. A common selection is memory cards, given the added versatility they can provide.

Pictures on a memory card remove easily. Most cell phones use a MicroSD card, which probably came with an SD adapter that you can use in your computer if you have a memory card reader slot. Many computers have this reader installed on them. If your computer lacks this feature, then you can purchase an external card reader that plugs in via USB.

In either case, slide the MicroSD card into the SD adapter, then insert the card into the computer. After a few seconds, the computer will recognize the card and you can open the files just as you would on your computer or on a flash drive. The pictures probably aren't found on the first screen that pops up for the card; you may have to look in a folder. For example, Verizon phones save pictures in a "my_pix" folder. When you find the pictures, view or transfer them to the computer for further use.

Smartphones, like BlackBerry devices, that use a USB cord to sync to a computer allow you to transfer files as if it were a flash drive or an external hard drive. The first time you hooked the smartphone to a computer, you might have noticed the computer read the phone as an additional drive. While this charges the phone and syncs the phone with the proprietary software, you can use this technique to your advantage to answer the question, "How do I download pictures from my cell phone?"

Use the USB cord you normally use to connect the phone to the computer. Like the memory card, the computer recognizes your phone as a drive and assigns it a letter. Click on the drive and you'll be taken to the files on the phone. From there you may have to select the memory card if you save pictures to the card instead of the phone. Note that you can upload pictures to the smartphone in the same manner as downloading them, only in reverse.

One other method to download pictures from your cell phone involves a data plan. Can you surf the Internet or send and receive email (as well as attachments) through your phone? If so, then you can obtain those pictures in a lower-tech manner. Follow the instructions below:

1. Go to the picture and view it
2. Click "Menu" or find the option that allows you to "Send" the picture. Select that option and your messaging screen will appear.
3. In the "To:" field type in the email address you want to send it to.
4. Select "Send" and wait a few minutes before logging into your email to download the picture.

This method is not the most efficient way to download a picture from your cell phone, but it is a good way if you can't perform the first two methods. Do keep your wireless data plan in mind, as overages can get very pricey.

Some cell phone users have older phones that take pictures, but usually only for use on the cell phone itself. Maybe, you are replacing a broken phone with pictures you want downloaded. One last option you have is to take the phone to the provider's store. They have a machine that will either transfer pictures to your new phone or download them to a computer so you can save them to a CD/DVD or a flash drive.

• Timeline of Mobile Phone
• Cell Phone Picture Gallery

• Free Blackberry Curve Applications Downloads
• Retrieve Text Messages Online
• Free BlackBerry Pearl Downloads
• Track a Cell Phone Using GPS
• Free Java for Windows Mobile 5