Sync Your Smartphone With Your Computer's Music

So you've just picked up your shiny new smartphone with a built-in music player and you're ready to ditch your old iPod for this all-in-one device.  But where are all your songs?  On your computer!  I'll walk you through how to sync your new smartphone with existing music on your computer.  For this walk-through, I'll be using my Motorola Droid and Windows Media Player on Windows 7.

Step 1:  Getting Connected

Rescue your smartphone from your overprotective rubber sleeve and plug it in to your computer with your phone's USB cable.  Your phone should recognize it is connected and may prompt you before mounting to your computer.  Next, open up Windows Media Player and head to the Library.  You should see your device in the Sync tab!

Step 2:  Choosing Your Music
Now that your phone is synced, you simply drag and drop items from your library into your sync list.  It's that easy!  You can do several songs at a time, a whole album, or even a whole playlist!  Keep going until you're happy or run out of music, whichever comes first.  (Running low?  Try a little Stairway To Heaven!)

Step 3:  Sync It!
You've connected your device, selected your music, and set up your sync list.  All that's left to do is sync it!  Click Start Sync above your sync list and you'll see the syncing progress begin.  Once it's done, you're done!

Just keep in mind that your phone is still mounted to your computer.  You have to unmount it for the data to be written to your phone... until then, it's in limbo.  Once it's disconnected, you'll have music galore right in the palm of your hand, ready to fight back against that one co-worker that refuses to wear headphones while listening to weekly webinars on "How to Get Rich Quick!"


Try it out, mess with the settings, play around to see what options do what... that's how you learn and get familiar with it.  I hope this helped make your music listening a little bit easier!