How To Transfer Pictures, Videos Or Sounds To Your PC Using A Memory Card

Good music or camera phones generally feature one kind of memory expansion card slot. Frequent memory card formats include: TransFlash MicroSD, MiniSD, Sony MemoryStick but, the most popular is MicroSD, a very small memory card that requires a larger adapter to insert in a computer memory card reader (see illustration).

These expansion cards increase the amount of pictures, recordings, videos or music files you can store on your phone. But since they are removeable, they can also be used to actually transfer those files to your computer. It's especially true that many laptop computers come already equipped with a multi-card reader compatible with the most frequent memory card technologies.

Obviously, the first step to transfering files to your PC using a memory card is to insert a memory card in your cell phone. If your phone didn't come with a complimentary memory card, you can purchase one at your local electronics and computer store. However, bricks and mortar stores tend to greatly overprice accessories and it's not uncommon to find the same memory card two to three times cheaper at online stores compared to real life stores, despite shipping fees. So plan ahead, order online and save. Also refer to your user manual to make sure you buy the right kind of memory card for your cell phone. For example, "MiniSD" and "MicroSD" are not the same kind of cards.

For this example, we will use a cell phone equipped with a MicroSD memory card slot. Menu items may vary from phone to pahone but the technique should be about the same for most other cell phones.

Before starting, make sure your cell phone accepts memory cards and that your laptop or desktop computer has a built-in or external memory card reader.

(Illustration: A Hama external Memory card reader, a few memory cards and adapters from Sandisk and, and the Nokia N80 cell phone.)