The 411: Transferring from a Razr

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Hi, I currently have a Samsung Glyde through Verizon Wireless. As with many owners I have had my share of problems with it, I'm on my third replacement. I have been looking for a new phone for some time and also considering a switch possibly to Sprint for the Palm Pre. The problem I have is deciding to switch or wait for a better phone on Verizon, the Storm2 and Omnia i8910 (HD) come to mind. I mainly use my phone for the internet, email, and messenging. Any suggestions? --Derek, via e-mail

I'm sorry to hear you've had so much trouble with the Samsung Glyde, though you did not specify what went wrong. As for possible replacements, the Palm Pre is certainly an attractive device, but do note that you might not have to switch to Sprint to get it. Verizon has already mentioned that it hopes to get its own version of the Palm Pre next year. Or, as you mentioned, you could also wait for the BlackBerry Storm 2.

Also, I think you confused the Samsung Omnia 2 with the Omnia i8910 HD---as far as we know, the Samsung i8910 HD is a GSM product and will not be going to Verizon. It sounds like you want a phone with a keyboard, which the Samsung Omnia 2 would not have. Since it seems like you're willing to wait for a new phone, I would suggest waiting around until the Palm Pre gets approved for Verizon and take a look at that.

Update: After some thought, you might want to consider theLG enV Touch as well. It is similar to the Samsung Glyde in that it has a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. You'll also be able to keep your current data plan without additional charges. It's definitely not as advanced as the Pre, the Storm, or the Omnia though, so it depends on your priorities.

I have to upgrade my ancient original Razr V3. I love the Razr's tiny form factor, but I need a new phone with a QWERTY keyboard. 1. What would be the smallest (thinnest?) QWERTY phone available now for existing AT&T customers? I guess some other priorities would be good voice quality and a good camera. The BlackBerry Pearl comes to mind, but I'm not sure that I could get used to its odd keyboard. 2. Also, quite honestly, one reason that I haven't upgraded before is that I don't understand how to get my contacts, calendar, and photos to a new phone. I have very extensive amounts of each of these on my old Razr, and no one at any of the AT&T retail stores has indicated to be that these can be transferred to a new phone. If it is true that I can't just transfer these to a new phone, is there a way that I can get them onto my computer and then take them from the computer to the new phone? Obviously I'm a bit of an idiot regarding phones, I hate change, and I want it to be as painless as possible. Many thanks. -- Kevin, via e-mail

I would say the thinnest QWERTY phone available on AT&T would be the Samsung Magnet. It only has a VGA camera though, which isn't very good. If you don't mind a bit more bulk, the Samsung Propel has a slightly better 1.3-megapixel camera.

Your second question is a bit more complicated. For contacts, you can transfer them to the SIM card on your old phone, which you can then load onto your new phone without any problems. I'm surprised that no one at the AT&T store told you that you could do that. For photos and calendar data, I would suggest downloading Motorola's own Motorola Phone Tools software that will help you transfer that information from your phone to your computer. If your Razr V3 has Bluetooth file transfer, you can use that, but if not, you'll have to get a USB cable to connect the phone to the computer. If this doesn't work out, there are a few third-party programs that can help with picture transfer--I found this step-by-step tutorial with a program called P2K Commander, for example. I haven't had the opportunity to try this though, so proceed with caution. Good luck!

Here's a silly little problem i can't seem to figure out: I have one jawbone, an iPhone personal, and a Blackberry for work. Is there any easy way to quickly pair and unpair? It seems very cumbersome and so much at times; I just defer to taking work calls on personal phone and vice versa, as its impossibly dangerous to do this when driving, for instance. Any pointer for this not so techy-gal, please let me know. Thanks! -- Leanne, via e-mail

Before I tackle your question, I think you may be confusing "pairing" with "connecting" when it comes to Bluetooth. Pairing is the initial process of getting the phone to recognize the headset and vice versa. After that, you can simply connect or disconnect the headset with the phone. The older Jawbones should be able to pair with more than one device at a time, though you still have to reconnect whenever you want to use a particular phone with the headset.

Since you seem to really want to do this quickly, in the car especially, I would recommend getting another Bluetooth headset with multipoint connectivity. Multipoint simply means the headset is able to connect with up to two devices at a time. The new Jawbone Prime has this ability, as does the Plantronics Voyager Pro and the BlueAnt Q1. After you pair the Prime with these two phones, there is no need to disconnect and reconnect every time you want to switch; it will do so automatically.