Nokia's utility app, Transfer my Data, which makes it easy to copy contacts and other data from almost any recent phone to a new Windows Phone device using Bluetooth, recently received an update, adding support for the transfer of pictures from most recent Nokia devices. The update also extends the number of soure devices supported by the app.

Transfer my Data is the Windows Phone 8 version of the Contracts Transfer app that is available for Nokia's Windows Phone 7.5 devices. Transfer my Data is best be described as an evolution of the original app because it supports a wider range of content types and a larger number of source devices.

Transfer my Data supports the copying of data from devices that support the PBAP Bluetooth profile (Phone Book Access Profile) and/or SyncML. In practise this translates into support for almost all recent smartphones and many recent features phones (e.g. Symbian, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Series 40 and more). Older devices (5+ years) are generally not supported (e.g. no support for Nokia S60 3.1 devices, such as the E71 and N95, or for older Series 40 devices). In some cases, depending on the implementation of PBAP on the source device, certain data fields will not be transferred (e.g. more unusual contact fields such as fax).

The types of data that can be transferred varies from device to device. All supported devices allow for the copying of contacts to some extent, but support for the copying of text messages and images is more limited. We've summarised the support for each content type, for the major platforms, in the table below. The basic summary is that most Nokia devices support all three content types, while most non-Nokia devices will only support the copying of contacts. 

When copying contacts Transfer my Data copies entries into the Windows Phone People Hub. Text messages and pictures, where supported, are copied into the Messaging app and the Photos Hub (saved pictures album) respectively. The app is intended for one time use (i.e. it cannot be used to sync data back and forth).

When copying contacts and/or text messages the transfer process should take just a few minutes. When copying images the amount of time taken will depend on the number and the size of the images being copied, with an estimate provided by the app (e.g. 1684 images from a Nokia 808 PureView was given an estimated time of 462 minutes).

Transfer my Data is pre-loaded on most Lumia devices running on Windows Phone 8 (Lumia 920, 820, 720, 620, 520 and variants). However, Nokia has updated the app a number of times since the release of Windows Phone 8, adding support for more source devices and wider content support for already supported devices, so it is always worth checking that you have the latest version. At the time of writing the current version is 3.0.3.3.

It's worth pointing out that if you're already syncing data to an account in the cloud (e.g. social or email), then you may not need to use the app as you can set up the same accounts on Windows Phone (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Exchange, SkyDrive) and sync your data that way. It is also possible to sync data via a PC. However, for many the Transfer my Data app will be the easiest way to get their valuable contact data on to their new phone.