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Whether you like it or not, as long as you have a mobile phone, a computer, or gadgets that receive and process data, there are times when you need to move your data between devices. While it could be data like music, movies, or books that fuel entertainment for some, it could be important files and documents for others. Moving digital data between devices might not always be a straightforward process, but in this age, nothing is impossible.
Factors to first consider
Before proceeding to choose a medium of transfer, there are a few things to consider to move your data seamlessly. Without putting these into consideration, there is a chance you might run into issues while trying to move your data around.
Available connection
To effect a data transfer, a connection between the sender and recipient has to be first established. Before moving your data between gadgets, you have to consider the connection type available for use. For instance, it makes no sense to attempt to move data over USB when one of the gadgets has no USB support. Making sure both points can make a connection over the chosen transfer protocol tops the list.
Size of data
How big is the file you’re trying to move? Are you moving a few pictures just over 3MB or large movies that run into 300GB in size? The size of the data you are trying to move plays a big role in choosing your mode of transfer. Even if both devices can connect over Bluetooth, you wouldn’t dare move 300GB worth of data over Bluetooth. This will take days to complete.
Cost
Although this might sound out of place, it is actually a valid factor to consider. However, it relates only to cloud transfer. We live in the digital age, and the cost of Internet connectivity is now cheaper than it was a few years ago. Sending huge data through cloud storage is no longer a problem but it still is for people with limited internet bandwidth. How does a person with only 25GB data allocation in a month move data worth over 50GB to a gadget through cloud storage?
Methods to move your data to any gadget
There are different ways to move your data to any gadget and whichever you use largely depends on any of the factors mentioned. Listed below are the more popular methods.
USB transfer
Although Universal Serial Bus (USB) was initially designed to connect peripherals to computers and gadgets, it quickly became the most popular mode of file transfer. Of course, a compatible USB cable is required to make this work and this might pose certain problems. Different iterations of the USB port have necessitated the production of all sorts of different cables. Basically, a micro-USB cable will not work for a USB Type-C port. However, Once there is a compatible cable to connect the two gadgets, data transfer is quite fast and hassle-free.
File conversion
During file transfer, one issue that usually comes up is file format compatibility. For instance, you will be unable to simply copy the content of a DVD movie to an iPad without first converting the DVD to a compatible file format. You can learn how to rip a DVD here. Apart from multimedia content, there are also tools such as PDF converter that helps with document conversion and transfer processes.
Cloud storage
This is also an easy way to move your data to any device. It’s as easy as uploading the data to your cloud storage and accessing it from any gadget. The great thing about this is that you don’t have to pay for cloud storage as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Dropbox, and several other cloud storage providers offer some storage space for free. However, this is usually limited.
WiFi transfer
Although this can be tricky to set up, WiFi file transfer is actually one of the fastest ways to move data from one gadget to another. Recently, developers have created apps and software programs to make this easier. Some of these include AirDroid, ShareIT, Xender, and more. WiFi lets you transfer files across different platforms with ease.
Bluetooth
Although it used to be one of the most popular methods of wireless data transfer, this is no longer the case for one specific reason: Data is getting bigger and the speed offered by Bluetooth is no longer adequate. This is why it’s no longer a preferred solution for file transfer. However, if all you need to do is move data worth just a megabyte or two, it works great
NFC
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a relatively new method compared with others on this list. NFC is basically a set of communication protocols for communication between two electronic gadgets that only work when the devices are less than 4cm apart.
Conclusion
No matter where the data is or how big it is, there is always a way to move it to any gadget. However, different situations call for different actions. Your preferred method is ultimately decided by the connection method available and the size of what you intend to transfer.