Getting the Most Out of Your Cell Phone Part 2: Required Hardware & Software

In Part 1 I went over some basic background information about synchronizing your cell phone with your PC. In this section I’ll go over what you’ll need in the way of software and hardware.But first a little more background. You may be wondering why on earth anyone would want to do what I’m going to show you in the next several posts. Actually if you’re reading this second post you probably already know or aren’t interested but I’m going to tell you anyway ;).

• Losing My Contacts. The thing that drove me mad about cell phones was that every time I lost one or replaced one or simply switched carriers I was forced to try to recall all of my contacts and re-enter them. Ridiculous. I know Verizon at least now has a way of backing up your contacts but I’m not interested in sharing my personal information with them. I know they can get it but I won’t be making it easy for them.
  
• Paying Extra for Media I Own. If I already own the media (either by purchasing the CD/DVD or buying it online) I will not pay the phone company to get it.


• Ringtones. These companies will kill you on ringtones. Make your own and you never have to think about it again.

Back to the topic: hardware and software. You will need the following…

1. PC Adapter. My phone has Bluetooth capability. If your phone has it great. You buy a Bluetooth USB adapter and you’re golden for years to come. If you don’t, you’re going have to pay each time you switch phones so make sure your next phone has Bluetooth. Not to mention that if your spouse or other family member have different phone models you’ll have to pay for their adapters too if you wish to work with their phone(s).
   
2. BitPim. BitPim is an open source free software application published under the GNU General Public License. It’s free for personal use. Download the latest version.


3. Media Format Converter. For ringtones, my phone requires all ringtones to be in MP3 format. However the software I use to edit my music, Windows Media File Editor, requires a WMA format. So when I’m finished editing the ringtone I need something to convert it from WMA to MP3 format. I have been using 4U WMA MP3 Converter.


4. Windows Media File Editor. As previously mentioned, for editing ringtones I have been using Microsoft’s Windows Media File Editor which is a free product available as part of the Windows Media Encoder 9 Series application.

You will likely also need to expand your phone’s available on-board memory with additional Flash memory. Flash memory is getting cheaper every day but a good place to start is DealRAM. You may also wish to rid yourself of messy wires and go with a set of Bluetooth headphones.