Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cameraphone

Can I remove or diable my camera from my cell phone?

btkuhn — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:08:30 -0800

Can I remove or disable my camera on my cell phone? I have a Verizon LG cell phone that I think is model LG VX5400 (I don't have the manual available at the moment, but it looks like that model on the website). My living situation is somewhat complicated, but without going into an extended explanation, I cannot have a phone with a working camera for security/privacy reasons. Before buying a new phone without a camera to replace this one, I'm wondering if it is possible to disable the camera on this phone, either by physically disabling the lens, or by some other means (could Verizon disable it)?

I already asked about simply covering the lens with permanent marker or nail polish, but this is unacceptable because nail polish can be rubbed away. It looks like I could take a knife (or a hammer) and try to pry away or smash the lens, enough to disturb functioning, but I am obviously worried about breaking the phone entirely.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or is my best bet to see if I can damage the lens without breaking the entire phone? I only use the phone for talk, and don't really care about any of the other functions.

Thanks!

I'd love to see my photos somewhere other than on my phone

foxy_hedgehog — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:44:35 -0800

How do I get photos on my cell phone media card onto my computer? I added a media card to my phone to be able to store more pictures on it, but now I can't download the photos when I sync my phone with my Mac. Every time I try, I get an error message reading, "iPhoto does not appear to be installed or has never been run and therefore photos cannot be imported from the device." (I'm using Missing Sync).

I use I photo all the time, and am sure to have it open during the sync. Is there anything else I can do to get those pictures? Is there another way to "mount" it on the computer? This is an eensy-weensy media card, so I can't pop it into my camera and import photos from there, but maybe there's something I haven't thought of. Oh, and I can't send email from my phone, so can't mail the pictures to myself.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Media net or internet settings for SE K800 on ATT in US?

antisocialiting — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:47:55 -0800

does anyone have and use a SE k800 in the US on AT&t network. I need the settings to get on the internet I know its a triband and all that, umts wont work in America etc. But I've had a SE W800 for years and was able to get on the internet and that is triband also so what gives. So if you can get on the internet with your SE K800 and live in the US and use ATT please give me the settings or link to them thanks. and Also I live in the Philadelphia area so The phone works fine and once again can get on att with another triband phone.

Point, Shoot, Talk, Text, E-mail, Listen?

jcwagner — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:22:01 -0800

Kind of long and detailed general questions about digital cameras, camera phones, Blackberries and cell phone providers... I've had various Blackberries for close to five years now, and I'm pretty happy with the 7290 I have now. I will probably switch to the newer slimmer black qwerty model in the next year or so, but I would not consider a primary device that doesn't do everything that the 7290 does. I can use the web pretty well, play some reasonably enjoyable games, have all my work and personal e-mail, contacts, calendar, etc. I can even check out the dirty pictures of herself my girlfriend sent me from vacation. The 7290 works well and has some other features I have definitely gotten used to. I'm also pretty happy with my provider (T-Mobile), and the service and dropped calls situations seem pretty good compared to other providers. I often have service in Chicago (where I live) and elsewhere when my friends do not.

My issue is that I am trying to decide whether or not to buy a nice new dSLR camera, or a smaller point and shoot digital which I could have with me more often. I also really like the idea of having a camera phone, since part of the fun is being able to take pictures of things, send them to your friends, set them up to show up when your friends call, etc. My decision process about the dSLR/smaller point and shoot is partially affected by my ability to get and use a camera phone on my current T-mobile plan without much additional charge or inconvenience. If I buy a relatively large camera, including any of the dSLRs, I am going to want something small to point and shoot with or carry with me when I don't want to carry a camera bag. I think that I might want that to be a camera phone, but maybe it's stupid to have a camera phone primarily for the camera function, since they pretty much suck as cameras except as a nice cute additional feature.

T-Mobile doesn't seem to offer any good "family plans" through which I could add another phone to my current plan and use the same minutes for $10 a month or so. The last time that I talked to them, they had nothing that worked well with my current plan, which is $50/month for 1000 minutes, with free nights and weekends and 100 texts ($6/month or so) and unlimited Blackberry/Enterprise e-mail/web ($30/month). In the past, I have moved my SIM card to another phone temporarily (like to my old T-Mobile phone when I just wanted to carry the phone), but I haven't done that in a while. Will I still be able to do that? Will an "unlocked" phone into which I can put my SIM card be absurdly expensive? Can I use any unlocked, say, RAZR, or will I need to make sure it can do the right network?

So, basically, my question is: what should I do to get a camera I can take with me and easily send the pictures to my friends? Is there any reason to switch to a different cell provider when I get a new Blackberry? Am I right that there will never been good camera or MP3 options with the Blackberries? Should I consider other devices (Treo, etc.)? Should I just pick out a decently small point and shoot camera and start carrying that around with me? Would it be worth it to move things over to a new provider if they offer better options for me? And how hard would it be to move all the stuff from my Blackberry (Password Vault, etc.) to a different device?

Thanks in advance - I know the question is kind of all over...

What websites are good for uploading photos from my cellphone to the Internet?

bamassippi — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 23:38:14 -0800

What websites are good for uploading photos from my cellphone to the Internet? I have a Treo 650 and would like suggestions on which site(s) is good for uploading photos so that others can view them.

I have a Flickr account but they don't support the Treo 650 (why? i dunno).

Something easy. Something fast. Something fun.

Suggestions?

Seeking instant photo upload from camera for moblogging

phildog — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 06:29:13 -0800

Seeking instant photo upload from camera for moblogging What I hate about my current phone (Motorola E815) is after I take a photo I am NINE clicks away from sending it to an email address, where it gets auto posted to a moblog.

Is this workflow dramatically reduced with any other phones? What I'm really looking for is one-touch upload (or send to email, whatever) after taking a shot. So my prompt would say "erase" or "upload", instead of my current "capture" then "store" then "send in message" then ... blah blah blah...

I was initially drawn to the Sony Ericsson K750 because it seems to take terrific pictures. But I hear that the K750 is still 3 or so clicks away from sending the photo somewhere. Is there another phone you can recommend? or 3rd party software that gets me closer to nirvana? Has anyone played with shozu and is that service a good fit for my needs? If so, what is the best phone for working with shozu?

This feature is important enough to me that I'm happy to switch phones and carriers for this. Quality pictures are icing on the cake, which is what led me to the K750 to begin with.

thanks!

What's this red cross ring?

timetoevolve — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 13:54:22 -0800

What's the meaning of this ring? I saw this ring on a distinguished-looking older man on the metro in Northern Virginia and can't identify it. I thought it might be a St. George's Cross, but it's not quite right (the cross doesn't reach the edge of the white area).

What is it? This has been driving us nuts.

Suggest a camera-phone that is compatible with Verizon wireless

punkrockrat — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 07:36:41 -0800

I want to buy a good camera-phone that is compatable with Verizon Wireless. Any suggestions?