Using a 3rd-party (non-OEM) USB Cable with my Motorola V400 Worked for Me

This is more of an FYI for anyone curious. I've read numerous posts
saying you absolutely have to have the official (not to mention
pricier) Motorola USB data cable in order to transfer pics and
ringtones between your computer and your phone. Unfortunately, I read
these complaints after I had already purchased a cheaper one (for like
7 bucks) on eBay and was naturally worried. My cable finally came,
fiddled around a bit with the mobile PhoneTools application that I got
from the vstuff website, and was able to transfer pics and ringtones
just fine. There were some snags though. I only got v2.16 to work (at
the time of this post, v2.21b is the latest available when you use the
application's live update) and if I upgrade to the latest version,
windows no longer recognizes my phone. Also, I had to install an older
version of phoneTools (v1.23c) in order to install the newer v2.16.
There might be a chance too that I got lucky with the particular USB
cable I got and that maybe older non-OEM versions still don't work.
For all I know, maybe someone just PO'd about spending full price for
a motorolla cable starting spreading rumors that non-OEM cables are
trouble. Who knows, I don't have time to look into it. I have no idea
what brand it is since it came in just a plain plastic bag. I've yet
to try importing anything from outlook since all I wanted was to just
be able to send pics from my phone to computer and make my own
ringtones. But pics and ringtone transfers work like a charm thus far.