I have a Pantech Ease cellphone. I want to download pictures from my cellphone to my laptop. I have the USB 2.0 to Micro-B cable that connects the two devices. The phone brings up a message that I must insert an external memory card. The laptop doesn't recognize that the phone is connected. I don't have a data plan so I can't forward the pictures. (I know, I know I'm a cheap skate) Any suggestions?

I'm not familiar with that phone, but does it have Bluetooth? Many phones will allow you to connect via Bluetooth and send the pictures that way. Otherwise you might have to download special software from the manufacturer so that your computer can recognize the phone.

Another solution is to get a memory card for your phone and save the pictures on that instead of the internal memory. Then you can take the memory card out of the phone and plug it into a memory card reader on your computer.