Then this morning I need to transfer some MP3s to the phone but alas the cable is in the car.
It was then an idea flashed my mind. The mobile and laptop are connected to the same router. Why not try installing a light ftp server on the laptop. I already have an ftp client (AndFTP) installed on the mobile.
Did exactly the same. A Googling for "download simple ftp server" brought me this download link. Installed and configured. I had setup portion of my RAM (512 MB) as a virtual disk. Copied the mp3s to this folder and from there downloaded to the android.
The speed was not very good but was enough to complete the copying in a reasonable time.