SuzyQ wrote:
Iceman1906 wrote:We have Pix Place that you can send your pictures without losing quality and you can log into your account to access the pictures to download to your pc. Using Pix Place will require a data package of 9.99 or higher.
It will?!? I've used pix place and do NOT have data, have not ever had data on my phone. All it requires (as far as I know) is the ability to send picture messages. And you don't even need to have a texting package - (though it helps!) as it will charge you 25 cents per picture message without a texting plan. (The messages do not count as in-network messages and go against your allowance, I don't get that but it's the way it is).
Thanks, SuzyQ, for the information. I'm just guessing here, but could the situation be different for you because (as you have stated other places in the forum) you do not and have never had prepaid service? Either that or perhaps you were "grandfathered in" before the mandatory data plans went into effect for Verizon multimedia contract phones this past January.
It's funny -- I've seen the references/links to "Pix Place" around this website, but nothing about if there was a fee to use it or how much it cost (other than the 25¢ picture messaging fee which I was not otherwise adverse to paying). Guess I'm not surprised somehow. The phone advertises a 1.3 MP camera as one of it's amenable features; but makes no mention of added services and fees in order to *utilize* that camera to it's full capability. Same goes with the micro USB connection....Do I miss my guess, or is the Bluetooth feature similarly crippled? 
I've never used one, so have no reference for comparison; but the "not all OBEX profiles are supported" disclaimers probably cover that.
Either way, I will not be spending $10 more per month for a service that I would be using only occasionally or rarely. I have our 8 MP Canon which takes superior quality digital photos with no hidden strings attached.
"Caveat emptor," as they say.
cmauze wrote:I'm just guessing here, but could the situation be different for you because (as you have stated other places in the forum) you do not and have never had prepaid service? That should not have any effect on text messaging, or having access to Pix Place. It's still text messaging, and does not require a data plan. Either that or perhaps you were "grandfathered in" before the mandatory data plans went into effect for Verizon multimedia contract phones this past January. Yes, our family plan phones (only 2 of which are affected) are "grandfathered" in with no data plan; it still had nothing to do with Pix Place!
It's funny -- I've seen the references/links to "Pix Place" around this website, but nothing about if there was a fee to use it or how much it cost (other than the 25¢ picture messaging fee which I was not otherwise adverse to paying). That's because it IS free, unless you want to purchase more storage space than the default. I haven't uploaded a lot of pictures, and it says I have 55 left - but it doesn't say 55 WHAT - MB? pictures? files? Anyway, it's part of your myVerizon account access, and the FAQ implies that pre-paid and post-paid accounts work the same way - uploads count as a picture message, subtracted from your bundle or charged at 25 cents. Guess I'm not surprised somehow. The phone advertises a 1.3 MP camera as one of it's amenable features; but makes no mention of added services and fees in order to *utilize* that camera to it's full capability. Same goes with the micro USB connection....Do I miss my guess, or is the Bluetooth feature similarly crippled?
Either way, I will not be spending $10 more per month for a service that I would be using only occasionally or rarely. I have our 8 MP Canon which takes superior quality digital photos with no hidden strings attached. If it's worth the 25 cents to you to find out, go ahead upload a photo to pix place and see if it works for you. There should be an option when you are looking at the photo to "Send to Online album" or something similar.
"Caveat emptor," as they say.
SuzyQ wrote:
cmauze wrote:I'm just guessing here, but could the situation be different for you because (as you have stated other places in the forum) you do not and have never had prepaid service? That should not have any effect on text messaging, or having access to Pix Place. It's still text messaging, and does not require a data plan. According to Iceman1906 (aka Dameon, VZW representative) posting earlier in this thread, it does. Shouldn't he know, as a Verizon employee? I don't know. I'm not saying you're wrong; but since there's not a conscensus here, I hope it's understandable why I'm still confused. Either that or perhaps you were "grandfathered in" before the mandatory data plans went into effect for Verizon multimedia contract phones this past January. Yes, our family plan phones (only 2 of which are affected) are "grandfathered" in with no data plan; it still had nothing to do with Pix Place! It could possibly be, if you had Pix Place set up & running on your account before the mandatory data plan requirement went into effect.
It's funny -- I've seen the references/links to "Pix Place" around this website, but nothing about if there was a fee to use it or how much it cost (other than the 25¢ picture messaging fee which I was not otherwise adverse to paying). That's because it IS free, unless you want to purchase more storage space than the default. I haven't uploaded a lot of pictures, and it says I have 55 left - but it doesn't say 55 WHAT - MB? pictures? files? If this is confusing to those of you who have been with Verizon for YEARS, imagine what it is for those of us who are new to both Verizon *And* picture messaging phones!
Anyway, it's part of your myVerizon account access, and the FAQ implies that pre-paid and post-paid accounts work the same way - uploads count as a picture message, subtracted from your bundle or charged at 25 cents. Which I'm still not thrilled about; but I could live with that as I don't plan on taking phone pics every day. But a $10 per month "data plan" charge, for access to an "online album" that's (likely) little more than a cumbersome, unnecessary interface?....No. Guess I'm not surprised somehow. The phone advertises a 1.3 MP camera as one of it's amenable features; but makes no mention of added services and fees in order to *utilize* that camera to it's full capability. Same goes with the micro USB connection....Do I miss my guess, or is the Bluetooth feature similarly crippled?
Either way, I will not be spending $10 more per month for a service that I would be using only occasionally or rarely. I have our 8 MP Canon which takes superior quality digital photos with no hidden strings attached. If it's worth the 25 cents to you to find out, go ahead upload a photo to pix place and see if it works for you. There should be an option when you are looking at the photo to "Send to Online album" or something similar. I agree, it'd be worth the 25 cents. But wouldn't sending something online incur a web access fee? or perhaps activate some cryptic TOS agreement, possibly with hidden charges that one has to give consent to before testing it out? Why should it require QuickTime®-- a proprietary video viewing/editing software application developed by Apple? From a company that charges $6.99/month just to access email on a phone (and how much email besides short, simple text messages designed for WAP browsers can you access on a 2" screen?), nothing would surprise.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
From the Picture/Messaging FAQ:
"Can I send pictures/videos to an e-mail address?
Yes. All you have to do is type the email address on the addressing screen of your picture/video messaging phone. Please note that picture/video messages addressed to vtext.com email addresses (e.g., MTN@vtext.com) will display as standard text messages. The 160-character limit will apply and photos, sounds, other graphics or videos will not display. VERIZON WIRELESS DOES NOT RECOMMEND SENDING PICTURE/VIDEO MESSAGES TO VTEXT ADDRESSES." [emphasis added]-------Please note that no mention was made of automatic *downsizing* of these files, degrading the resolution and rendering them near useless for printing or other practical display.I'm not upset with you, SuzyQ. It's Verizon I'm disappointed with.
Pix Place is accessed via your computer. Photos are uploaded as a text message from your phone.
You can also send pictures to 10-digit#@VZWPIX.COM You quoted stuff about sending to VTEXT.COM, and that applies to TEXT MESSAGES ONLY (so it is true that it is recommended NOT to send pictures to that address), if you are sending pictures, send to VZWPIX.COM.
As far as the resizing goes, some of that occurs due to the capabilities (or lack of) on the receiving phone. Some is due to the size limitations inherent in text messages - any photo larger than 500 kb or so gets resized. So check your resolution - and if it routinely nets you pictures that are larger than 500-600kb, then use a lower resolution if you intend to send the photo via text message.
If you really really need the photos in full resolution, save them to your SD card and then use the CARD to transfer them to your computer in full resolution, either via USB cable with the card in the phone, or via an adapter with the card plugged directly into the computer.
HTH, and has clarified some of the confusion. 
SuzyQ wrote:Pix Place is accessed via your computer. Photos are uploaded as a text message from your phone.
You can also send pictures to 10-digit#@VZWPIX.COM You quoted stuff about sending to VTEXT.COM, and that applies to TEXT MESSAGES ONLY (so it is true that it is recommended NOT to send pictures to that address), That stuff about VTEXT.COM was emphasized in the original. It had nothing to do with what I was quoting, as my emphasis was on the first sentence (in red). Recheck my previous posts -- I did not send anything to VText.com, and in fact had no reason to as that was the first I'd ever heard about that address. In retrospect I suppose I should've deleted it off the end, as I see it has occasioned confusion; but at the time I decided to leave the entire official VZW FAQ answer intact for context purposes. if you are sending pictures, send to VZWPIX.COM. In the highly-kudoed topic, "Re: Sending Pics from Computer to Cell Phone" here on this forum, vzwpix.com is descibed as the domain used to send photos from the computer to the cell phone -- not the other way around. Or have I missed something?
As far as the resizing goes, some of that occurs due to the capabilities (or lack of) on the receiving phone. In this case, there was no "receiving phone". The destination was an email address at gmail.com -- not a wireless domain; so there was no need for the system to automatically downsize the file. Some is due to the size limitations inherent in text messages - any photo larger than 500 kb or so gets resized. So check your resolution - and if it routinely nets you pictures that are larger than 500-600kb, then use a lower resolution if you intend to send the photo via text message. I *Did* check the resolution -- of each and every shot the camera has recorded, in fact. The largest file the phone camera has produced thus far was less than 400 KB; and this was the one I'd attempted to send. I chose it because it appeared to have the best color saturation, exposure and focus overall (from what I could tell on the phone viewscreen); and I wanted to evaluate the capabilities of the phone camera in more detail. As pointed out earlier, that was a waste of both my time and the phone's available airtime, since the picture I *got* was not the original photo I had taken.
--> (@ Verizon)
If you really really need the photos in full resolution Why wouldn't anyone prefer this? The better the resolution, the better the viewing clarity, printing, editing options, etc. -- why else bother with larger than VGA camera in the *first* place? save them to your SD card and then use the CARD to transfer them to your computer in full resolution That would be GREAT, I agree!
*Except* that my phone is the LG Accolade (see the "Device" note on my avatar), and does not *Have* external memory.
Believe me, I thought of this while phone shopping. It was a feature I wanted, partly for this very reason (i.e., transferring of pictures and/or music). But to the best of my knowledge none of the phones presently compatible with Prepaid service offered one. In retrospect I suspect the 4GB micro SD card capability advertised for the (now discontinued) Nokia Mirage 2605 (at WirelessZone's website) was a misprint, as none of the other online reviews mentioned it in their specs. either via USB cable with the card in the phone, or via an adapter with the card plugged directly into the computer. Given all the abovementioned hassle with obtaining drivers for a *phone USB cable* (it's access to the memory, not the "modem" that's needed here), the adapter would be the easiest, most sensible way to go. But the bottom line is, if my phone *Had* an SD card slot (or if the USB cable worked the way it's supposed to), there would've been no need for this discussion thread.
cmauze -
I really got twisted up in responding, didn't I? 
I went back and read the entire thread, back to your original question - seems you've tried sending to pix place, and to your gmail account. The pix still came through resized? Pix place SHOULD allow you to download the original, or send the original to your email. And I really don't know why the pic gets resized sending it to gmail....I just took a pic with my 2.0 MP camera on my Voyager, it was 410.2kb at the max resolution of 1600x1200, and it did not get resized when I sent it to my gmail account.
And you are right, the Accolade does not use an SD card. Have you tried using BitPim?
>"the pic still came through resized?
Every single time. I even tried uploading pics from my PC to PIX Place -- ones that were taken with a dedicated digital camera, not a cellphone. Even they were resized! Maybe the problem was partly with inherent size limitations placed on the initial upload, because I got the "Resizing..." screen whenever sending them to PIX Place from my phone. The surprising thing was, I had one that I'd intentionally designed (sized) to be used as custom wallpaper (176 x 220 pixels), approx. 25KB (I used the best resolution, lol). When I downloaded it to my phone from PIX Place, however, it was reduced to just 7KB, even though there no apparent reason for Verizon to do so.
>Have you tried using BitPim?
I looked up BitPim and reviewed their website. Although I didn't understand everything they were talking about (sounds like it might be a bit technical to use), it appears it depends on your USB cable/phone being able to communicate with your PC properly in the first place (which problem I outlined in OP of this thread); plus they don't list my phone model. Just the LG VX-5200, 5300 and 6000. I'm guessing those are probably contract phones that might be set up differently by Verizon to allow more features to be accessed. I'm really beginning to ~hate~ the hidden limitations of this LG Accolade VX-5600PP.
