Phone.

It's obvious I'm no expert on phones, but since my now old one allowed this - and I used that facility while ignoring perhaps most of the others

- it would be weird not to have it on all half decent ones.

My N95 will read the bar codes. In theory. ;-)

Could well be. This was in 2009, if that makes any difference. I can't remember what brand of 'phone it was, but I do know that a colleague had a similar complaint about his one, that it too could only transfer photos via e-mail, so I wasn't the only one. It is possible that it could have been done with the correct special cable, but there was no mention in the user manual about this.

It seems to have mostly been a problem in the USA with some service providers modifying and locking the firmware. I've heard a few Americans complaining about this problem on varied phone types.

I've not heard of anything similar in the UK, and all the mobiles that I and others I know have had will transfer their pictures either by transferring the SD card or via USB.

In message , Tim Streater writes

Who said anything about indispensable? Of course not, but it's useful to have a camera on a device that I have with me much of the time

The 'I don't have one so why on earth would anyone else' argument is a pretty stupid one TBH.

Things I have recently used my phone camera for (in the order of the photos on the phone):

Recording the mileage on a car (to save getting a pen and piece of paper and then losing the paper)

Taking some snaps ( a few little bits of video) when out and about with the kids and their cousins.

Photos of diy work, for the record

photos whilst doing diy to record position of some things

Some photos of a few things to list on ebay (I can take photos and list from my phone, which makes me more likely to actually do it)

Some more photos of kids and their friends

Photos of things seen whilst out shopping to show SWMBO for consideration/to record the item and price.

Photos of barcodes to do an on the hoof price comparison with Amazon

As taken on a convenient camera equipped phone.

G.Harman

I've heard some phones contain an FM radio chip which is locked out to force you to use the data side for radio. But dunno if it's true.

FWIW, the N95 appears to have a tiny HD - no SD card. You can hear and feel it spin up when you switch on.

Thanks for the confirmation that it is a known phenomenon in the USA. Also that it should not be a problem here. I went to ask what what would be a 'phone similar to mine, which is just a 'phone, but with at least a camera as well, and was offered a Nokia 108. But that is all I would gain, a camera, which is not worth paying £30 for, with nothing else added. I will look further. I have a SIM, I just want (not need) a more capable unlocked 'phone for not much money! All suggestions in this thread are looked at. I do not need this enough to pay anywhere near £100. Yes, I know, but it's a matter of priorities and funds. I found some frustrating anomalies: for example, Tesco the shop advertised the said Nokia 108, unlocked, but did not have any in stock; but their website shows the same 'phone, but it is not listed in the Unlocked section. Most confusing.

Movin' on....

But even so, you would still need to know what each shop charged for each code, to compare them. As mentioned elsewhere, 'bar codes don't lie', but the programmed price might differ.

Here, I've fixed it for you:

Being in a similar situation recently I made a somewhat left field choice a nd bought a used Nokia N8 for 42 quid. Plenty on eBay, cex.co.uk etc, a bit more expensive if youwant one in pristine condition. Does what I want in a smartphone - voice, text, email, satnav, (relatively)decent camera. Certa inly not one for app addicts - Symbian being pretty much dead - but suits my purposes fine. Battery last 2-3 days which is pretty good for a smartpho ne IMX.

Sounds good, thanks. Better value than the Nokia 108 I was offered.

Do you speak from experience?

So we can add 'voyeur' to your list. Clearly, 'Average Speller' is not in there, so 'voyeur' will have to substitute.

I don't like it, and I will continue to correct your failures when I see fit. Lump it, or learn to spell correctly.

It beats me why anyone bothers to engage with that faeces gargling pile of s***ma encrusted slime, Speed. What's the point? Nothing he says is of any interest, has any content or is of any use. He's just an argumentative arsewipe, crouched over a flying fist in his mother's basement, cackling through his moss-encrusted teeth as he imagines he's "got one over on another Pom".

Right. Can I assume you don't like him?

Oh, I agree 100% with your assessment of him. It was just fun provoking him, the responses are so childish it's laughable. But like all such things, eventually they get boring, and even though I could keep it up for ages, I have better things to do, so I won't bother to read him from now on. Killfile time. I might correct his terrible spelling in future, though, if I see it in a reply to some other post. Unless he gains enough intelligence to learn how to spell for himself. Seen any flying pigs recently?

I don't care enough about him to dislike him. He's like a dog turd on the pavement. Disgusting and unsanitary, but like or dislike doesn't come into it.