another cell phone video question

[Monkeyleg]

Here I go again. I'm going to be copying a video from a cell phone over to my laptop. I know that the file format is 3GP. It's not an iPhone, as those use .mov file formats only.

Is there any non-Apple phone that would use anything other than the standard micro-USB connector for charging and for file transfers?

[Hawkmoon]

My Samsung S3 accepts micro SD memory cards. I have it set to store photos (and videos, I guess) on the card. It's easy to pull the card out, slip it into an adapter, and use an external (or internal) memory card reader to handle the transfers right on the computer.

[Regolith]

Just remember: Say No to Vertical Video.

[Monkeyleg]

Unless the operating system on the phone is somehow different from Androids, I don't think that removing the card is necessary. It's a simple drag-and-paste from the phone to the PC's desktop. I just don't know if there's any other widely used connectors out there for phones other  than the micro USB or the silly Mac Proprietary Ripoff.

Speaking of Mac, I ordered a Mac iPhone cable the other day just to be safe. I selected First Class Mail with tracking, which the seller had marked as 3-5 business days. I checked the tracking number yesterday and saw that the cable had just shipped from Hong Kong. I called customer service and asked how they planned to get the cable to me in 3-5 business days when it was coming from Hong Kong. He said that the "3-5 days" timeline starts when the package reaches the US. 

I now know I don't need the cable, so I have one coming. I don't think it's worth the hassle of doing a chargeback and sending the $1.50 cable back. I should have known better when they were charging the fair price of $1.50 for the cable while the Apple Store sells the exact same cable for $20.

[AJ Dual]

Unless the operating system on the phone is somehow different from Androids, I don't think that removing the card is necessary. It's a simple drag-and-paste from the phone to the PC's desktop. I just don't know if there's any other widely used connectors out there for phones other  than the micro USB or the silly Mac Proprietary Ripoff.

Speaking of Mac, I ordered a Mac iPhone cable the other day just to be safe. I selected First Class Mail with tracking, which the seller had marked as 3-5 business days. I checked the tracking number yesterday and saw that the cable had just shipped from Hong Kong. I called customer service and asked how they planned to get the cable to me in 3-5 business days when it was coming from Hong Kong. He said that the "3-5 days" timeline starts when the package reaches the US. 

I now know I don't need the cable, so I have one coming. I don't think it's worth the hassle of doing a chargeback and sending the $1.50 cable back. I should have known better when they were charging the fair price of $1.50 for the cable while the Apple Store sells the exact same cable for $20.

Still might not work.

Apple has been building a lot of digital signing and serialization (or maybe just something simpler like a proprietary voltage on one of the pins) into their USB wall-wart chargers and perhaps even the cables. They'll throw error messages and refuse to charge.

We've had a bunch of problems with this with the corporate supply of iPhones we support. Apple does not make a car charger, and the carriers Verizon, AT&T etc. will sell "Apple Certified" 12v cigarette to USB chargers, but then after the last iOS update, a bunch of them stopped working and the phones wouldn't charge with them. 

[Monkeyleg]

Interesting, but not surprising. Apple has a way of making sure you have to buy their products and not aftermarket.

Still, it's a 3GP file and not a .MOV file, so I'm certain it's not an iPhone.

[erictank]

Still might not work.

Apple has been building a lot of digital signing and serialization (or maybe just something simpler like a proprietary voltage on one of the pins) into their USB wall-wart chargers and perhaps even the cables. They'll throw error messages and refuse to charge.

We've had a bunch of problems with this with the corporate supply of iPhones we support. Apple does not make a car charger, and the carriers Verizon, AT&T etc. will sell "Apple Certified" 12v cigarette to USB chargers, but then after the last iOS update, a bunch of them stopped working and the phones wouldn't charge with them. 

Either Samsung or Motorola used to do that as well - apparently MicroUSB has room for one or more extra pins and lines. Used to have an issue with that. Probably Moto, as my current Samsung phone has no issue charging off of a knockoff no-name MicroUSB cord, must have been one of my older Moto Droids.

To the best of my knowledge, the only phone connectors these days are MicroUSB and Apple's proprietary cord. It's been years since I've seen a new-build phone with anything else (I used to have one that took a MiniUSB cord, years ago)

[Dannyboy]

Just remember: Say No to Vertical Video.

Holy crap, that was awesome! Vertical videos drive me nuts.