Camera Phones 101

The ability to take pictures with your cellular phones is one of the hottest features on new cellular phones. Remember how much fun it was when you were a kid and got a new toy, camera phones are the same thing. Instead of using words to describe something it's much easier and clearer to take a picture and send it to another person. If you're meeting a friend at a new restaurant, why not send a picture to help them find it. Trying to show the salesperson at your local hardware store what the plumbing looks like under your sink, bring a picture on your cell phone with you.

On a serious note you should know that the camera that comes on your cell phone can't replace your stand alone digital camera. While some very new high end cellular phones have 3 or even 5 megapixel cameras, most cameras today are less than 1 megapixel. In addition the maximum size on them is considerably smaller, often times 200 x 200 pixels in size.

So if quality isn't that great what good are they? The quality is good enough for you to send it to another cell phone. If you have a personal webpage it will usually have sufficient quality for that application as well. A new trend among internet users is a Moblog. A moblog is similar to a blog however the primary focus is pictures taken from your mobile phone. One of the most popular moblogs is www.textamerica.com . If you think you will be taking a lot of pictures with your cellular phone you will need to consider how you are going to transfer the pictures to your computer. The easiest way is just to email the pictures to yourself or someone else. However this is usually the most expensive way as well. When you do this you will be charged at the data transmission rate, which is usually based on the amount of data transferred, and is usually at a higher rate. You can pay as you go which will be the most expensive, or buy block of data. The more you buy the cheaper it will be per MB but the higher the overall cost will be higher. Many newer phones have a data port. This enables you to move the data off of your phone and directly into your computer, and vice versa. Sometimes you will be able to use USB cable that came with your digital camera, but more likely you will need to buy a specialized cable. There is a wide range of prices from $10 - $60 but most are in the $30 range. To make sure you are getting the best deal compare the cost of the cable to that of sending yourself the pictures via email to see which is more cost effective for you over the long term.