How To Upgrade Your Smartphone in 1 Minute or Less

[Ed Hardy]

In these tough economic times, many of use are stretching our budgets, and in some cases that means making your current smartphone last another year or so.

While this can be frustrating for those who like to have the latest and greatest, it's easier to take if you improve the device you have already in some way.

Unlike a desktop PC, you can't buy a better monitor for your phone, or swap out the processor. But there's one thing you can do that's amazingly easy, relatively cheap, and can really enhance your device: get a new memory card.

Like a New Hard Drive
With only a couple of exceptions, most smartphones have a memory card slot, and you can swap out cards as easy as swapping CDs.

A memory card basically acts like your phone's hard drive. You use it to store files, especially music and video, but also e-books, pictures, voice notes, you name it. The more capacity your memory card has, the more you can store.

Many smartphones come with the slot but no card. Or if they come with a card, it's a small one, like 256 MB. These days, that's a pittance. You can upgrade to gigabytes and gigabytes of storage.

Well, that's true unless you're one of the exceptions. A few well-known models have only built-in memory not a memory card slot. At the top of this list is all versions of the Apple iPhone, as well as the Palm Pre and most versions of the HTC Touch Diamond.

What this means is that all Android, BlackBerry, Palm OS, Symbian smartphones, and the vast majority of Windows Mobile devices let you swap out memory cards.

In the last few years, the microSDHC format became the standard, so that's what's in just about all these models.

A Tiny Giant
I recently got a SanDisk 16 GB microSD card, which can store a really amazing amount of stuff considering its size: more than 3,000 songs, 8,000 images from a 5 MPx cameraphone, or up to 16 hours of video. 

This card sells for around $50, more or less, depending on where you shop. That's a great price for this significant an upgrade.

I don't recommend you buy a bunch of lower capacity cards. microSD cards are tiny -- about the size of my pinky nail -- and they are easy to lose. You really don't want to try carrying several of them around with you. Just get one of the largest capacity you can afford and put it semi-permanently in your phone.

Swapping Your Files
When you get your new memory card, many of you are going to want to start by copying everything on your current card to the new one. The easiest way -- often the only way -- to do that is to get a memory card reader. You'll use this to copy your files to a PC, then copy them onto your new card.

My current favorite is the SanDisk MobileMate Micro Reader because it's small, very portable, and inexpensive.

These features are important because you may want to carry the reader around with you -- I put my on my keychain. That means I'm always ready to transfer data onto my memory card. For example, I like to be able to get copies of pictures from my friends, or copies of MP3s I enjoy. I also use my card to transfer files for work, even if I don't access them on my phone.

If you don't wan to carry your reader around, you're still might need one every time you want to transfer files from your PC to your phone.

A good memory card and reader can enhance your smartphone for a relatively low price, which is welcome no matter what the economic conditions are.

 

[Antoine Wright]

It should probasbly be noted that this works best when you are staying within the same kinds of data sources/OSes. Going from Nokia to WinMobile for example isn't this simple with a memory card and therefore other tranfser methods would need to be looked at.

[Gerard]

And then there's the issue of memory card slot access... at least with the HTC Touch I'm currently using. The side door which allows access to both the microSD and SIM cards is AMAZINGLY difficult to open. I've twice chipped a thumbnail struggling to get this thing open. A very thin knife blade can pry it open, but that's hard enough to deform the plastic of the case above the door. As I have upgraded to a number of dsixda's custom ROM versions, and removing both cards is essential during the upgrade process, I have had a fair bit of practice getting this door open. And it's still very difficult. What was HTC thinking? Sure, it's nice having the slot covered so as not to lose the card, but would it really be so difficult to make a little cut-out for a thumbnail?

So I use the miniUSB connection to transfer data to and from the card, connected to my PC as an external storage device rather than via Activesync. A bit slow compared to using a card reader, but far more convenient. And I carry a USB-to-miniUSB adapter, a tiny thing with no cable, so that's as small as most card readers.

[Ed Hardy]

Originally Posted by AWright

It should probasbly be noted that this works best when you are staying within the same kinds of data sources/OSes. Going from Nokia to WinMobile for example isn't this simple with a memory card and therefore other tranfser methods would need to be looked at.

Are you talking about the opposite situation that I am, when upgrading your phone but not your card?

Switching the same card between different types of smartphones isn't something I recommend making a habit of. As I mentioned in the article, microSD card slots are quite small, and therefore not always easy to work with. I prefer to move mine around only when I have a clear, flat surface to work on.

Still, as smartphones have become more advanced they have gained the ability to work with files in standard formats. You can load up a card with JPEG images, MP4 movies, DOC files, and MP3s and use all of these on just about any mobile platform around. So if you really wanted to share one card with multiple devices you could.
-

[jigwashere]

I agree that adding memory is a quick, easy, and excellent way to ugrade a smartphone. I have 2-8GB microSDHC cards and a Kingston mobile card reader on my keychain that was recommended in a review here on BH (I don't recall who did the review. I'm mobile and looking it up isn't convenient.) I try to keep consistent across devices so I can use the microSDHC/USB reader on our family's phones, cameras computers, photo frames, media players, etc. (I avoid Sony and Olympus in part because of this). It's fun to take a picture with my smartphone or Nikon and immediately show it off on my netbook or someone's digital photo frame.

Other quick and easy smartphone upgrades:

-A new application can do wonders for it by giving it new or improved functionality.
-RTFM again to discover existing features you weren't aware of or forgot about.
-A new battery.
-A new case.
-Upgrade to a better bluetooth headset, such as one that does stereo.
-add some other new accessory.
-Become a member of Brighthand.

Update: I purchased my 8GB microSD card with reader based on the excellent review, 'Kingston Multi-Kit with 8 GB microSDHC Card Review,' by Adama D. Brown.

[Dick Tracy]

Excellent suggestions everyone, especially jig's final one.

[DJ Rome]

I would also suggest for anyone who uses SD to purchase a Sandisk SD Plus USB combo. I believe the max is 8gb and that gives you usb access without needing any accessories. That goes for cameras, phones, netbooks, etc.

[Hook]

Originally Posted by DJ Rome

I would also suggest for anyone who uses SD to purchase a Sandisk SD Plus USB combo. I believe the max is 8gb and that gives you usb access without needing any accessories. That goes for cameras, phones, netbooks, etc.

My attitude on the USB combo is it gives you something complex and expensive-- if either part fails, you have to replace the whole thing. Card readers are cheap and not that much trouble to carry.

But to each their own. We all have our quirky likes and dislikes.

[ward.smith]

I would love to get a 16GB card for my Centro but I do not think that it will work. I currently use 2 8 GB cards and swapping is a pain so I rarely actually do it. I do have a 16 GB card living in my Tx with SDHC. Is there a way to use a 16 GB card in my Centro? I should bring up this question elsewhere but it does tie nicely into this thread.

[DJ Rome]

I thought it just showed up as an 8gb w/ 16gb functionality?