A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question...

Question:

My stepdaughter has a panasonic cell phone with camera. They want 60 dollars for a cord to download to her pc. I was wondering if this phone uses an SD card for memory that is removeable? If it is would it be plugable into a 8 in 1 card reader through a usb port and be able to transfer the pictures that way in and out of the phone?

(I responded asking the make and model of the phone)

GSM Sim chip in Panasonic phone. She thinks the model number is under the battery. She is afraid to remove battery because she thinks that will cause her to lose the pictures stored in the camera part of the phone (baby pictures) She has just moved and does not have a regular phone yet. It looked like a small SD to me but I didn't want to try to remove it. Looks to me like a typical Panasonic engineering designed to make you buy a 6 dollar item for about 60 because they engineered a (special) plug on the end. They are officially on my list of products not to buy. If I had the design I am sure I could put together a plug and wire for a lot less. I'll get back to you on this when I get a chance to look at it more closely with a magnifying glass possibly Monday. I Hope she gets a regular phone soon. Thanks for your help.

-submitted by lordbasil

Answer:

Unfortunately, images are not generally stored on the SIM card itself. The SIM card holds information like system settings, account information, and sometimes a backup of your contacts list. The images are most likely stored in flash chip somewhere in the phone. It's okay if you remove the battery, the pictures will not be erased.

If the phone is disconnected from the provider, the only way that I'm familiar with extracting images would be to use the overpriced data connect cable and software that they provide, or by using Bluetooth if the phone is so equipped.

According to some user's experiences, even using the cable will not allow images to be extracted from the phone (since the provider wants to make money by making you e-mail them through their network), so ask what the return policy is before you buy the cable.

Follow up with us and let us know what happens. If anyone knows another way to do this, use the discussion page below and help out a community member.

Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com