How to Upload Music on Your Mobile Phone

How to Upload Music on Your Mobile Phone

Here are four of the most common ways to upload music on your cell phone:

Card Reader

Most cell phones that come with integrated media players make use of some sort of memory card expansion. For Motorola Cell Phones, like the RAZR V3m and SLVR L7, you'll be looking for your microSD card, also known as TransFlash memory. For your Sony Ericsson Walkman phone, chances are you'll need to load your music onto Memory Stick Pro Duo. In any case, many computers purchased today come with multi-card readers, and if they don't, picking up a 4-in-1, 8-in-1, or even 15-in-1 external memory card reader can be very cheap (typically less than $30 for a generic unit). This is the same method that you could use with the average digital camera.

This is one rather important step that you may need to take before you scurry over to your computer to transfer the music via USB, though. Some phones need to have a certain file or folder structure in order for the music files to be properly read (and played). For example, with the Samsung A950 from Telus Mobility, you need to get the cell phone to properly format the card first before you load the songs into the "music" folder. By making use of a high-speed USB 2.0 connection, utilizing a memory card reader can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to upload music on your mobile phone.

Data Cable

Using a data cable can be very similar to using a memory card reader. The major difference is that there are propriety connections involved: a Motorola data cable will not work with a Nokia for example. There are even different data cables within a particular manufacturer. Once you overcome this obstacle, either using an OEM cable or an aftermarket one, your cell phone's memory (or that on the external media card) should show up in your computer in some form or another. Sometimes it will appear as an external drive, other times you will need to make use of some kind of special software to access your mobile phone: Motorola phones use something called "Mobile Phone Tools", or MPT for short. Uploading and downloading music is much the same practice, in essence, as transferring pictures you took on your camera phone.

Bluetooth

Your cell phone is wireless, so why not go for a cable-less solution when it comes time to upload music on there? Bluetooth is a hot little innovation that lets you transmit data without messing with wires. However, it can be a little finicky, especially if you happen to have a Telus or Verizon handset as those two providers have a notorious reputation for "crippling" the Bluetooth capabilities on their phones, restricting them for use with Bluetooth headsets only. Some Bluetooth dongles (the other half of the equation; the part that plugs into your computer's USB port if your PC does not already sport wireless Bluetooth capabilities) come with software (e.g., BlueSoleil), others don't. Getting your devices to "pair" or "mate" properly can be a bit of a challenge as well. Add to that the slower transfer speed (compared with USB 2.0), and Bluetooth can be a bit of a pain, but that's the price you pay to have the convenience of eschewing ugly wires.

Network Download

If you're rocking the new LG Chocolate Phone from Verizon Wireless, or any of their music-centric V CAST phones for that matter, you can easily download music "through the air" by using the provider's high-speed EV-DO network. Of course, there are data charges involved and typically it will cost you $1.99 a song. You'll get a 64kbps version (to keep the file size down) for your cell phone and a fuller 160kbps version for listening on your home PC. They also offer deals if you purchase complete albums, including music from artists like Chris Brown, Linkin Park, Nelly Furtado, Yellowcard, and Shakira. Other service providers offer similar services with similar pricing: Sprint has the Sprint Music Store, Telus Mobility has SPARK Mobile Music, etc.