Monday, July 25, 2011

Back it up! Even on your phone

I see it everyday, someone's phone dies and there's no way to get back the pictures they have taken. It's sad especially when some really important pictures are gone forever. That's why it's important to back up everything, even your cell phone.

There many services that back up your phone's information wirelessly. Verizon Wireless now provides Backup Assistant for free but it only backs up your contact list. For Android, iPhone and Blackberry, users can turn to an app or platform specific software to backup all of their phone's data.

For your average flip phone though it take a little more work to make sure your data is safely backed up. You should make yourself aware of your phone's features, such as if it has a place for a memory card or not.
As you're setting up a process to back up your phone's it will be necessary to know it's limitations.

A good rule of thumb to follow in backing up data is "3, 2, 1." There should be 3 total copies and that includes the original. 2 of those copies need to be on different forms of media and 1 copy should be off site (ie a wireless backup service).

Due to the limitations of your phone you may not be able to complete all aspects of these strategies. But the closer you can get to it the better.

If your camera phone does not have a place for a microSD memory card you can send your pictures to your email address through text messaging. Double check your cell phone plan as certain charges apply.

Most carriers offer data transfer and you can have your contacts and pictures saved to a USB thumb drive. They may charge for the service but it's a quick and simple process.

Data backup is important, especially now that phones take place of our address books and photo albums. Don't think backing up, do it before it's too late.

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