Use your old Android devices with the help of a few free apps
Do you have a few old Android smartphone lying in your closet? Don’t know what to do with them? While there are options like selling the smartphone or gifting it to someone, etc., you will be surprised to know that you could put your old Android device to a host of useful tasks that will not save your money but also extend its life simultaneously.
While there are many ways in which you can reuse your old Android smartphone, but in this article, we have compiled a list of 7 methods, which according to us is the best use.
DASHBOARD CAM
In recent years, Dash cams have grown in popularity as they offer the chance to settle driving disputes by providing recorded video of any accidents, while also lowering insurance premiums. Most have the ability to record HD video, alongside GPS tracking, and with the apps you can even check live video feeds of roads on your journey to see if the weather or traffic should be avoided. Grab a car phone holder, a double-port car charger, and fix your device in place permanently.
CamOnRoad by Smart Labs LLC is a free car cam app that records your drives and provides navigation at the same time. The app uses the rear camera of your smartphone to record videos at 480p resolution and stores your video not only into SD-card of your smartphone but also into secure cloud storage. It also provides 2GB of cloud space absolutely free to every registered user forever. It records more than 3 hours of your road video. Once the ride is over, you can view statistics on the distance travelled and average speed. Since, these functions are battery intensive, we recommend you keep the handset plugged in to the car’s charger.
COMPUTER REMOTE
Several people have PC-connected TVs, while many may have a Media Center remote control. However, all these are horribly limited. Install the free and easy Unified Remote (http:www.unifiedremote.com) which supports mouse and keyboard control on your Windows PC, Mac, Linux machine over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Install the app on your handset. Ensure that the computer and the device are on the same Wi-Fi network. The moment the app discovers the computer, you can start controlling it remotely. It includes dedicated remotes for WMC, WMP, NetFlix, Spotify and pretty much anything else you can mention. This app supports over 90 programs and gives you access to 14 remotes for free. Subscribe for the full version and you can download over 40 remotes and even create your own to suit your needs.
MUSIC PLAYER
If your old smartphone is equipped with a built in DAC or audio signal processor, then one of the best use of it would be to use it as a music player. There are many great material design music player apps that will display your tunes in glorious detail while you’re at the gym, all while conserving the battery on your everyday carry. The best part is you can fill your old phone full of music and use it in your car, or while you’re working out, or walking home.
To use the smartphone as a music player, all you need to do is reset the device and then install Equalizer Music Player Booster by DJiT. You can use this app to play the music (including lossless FLAC files) that you have stored on your device.
It comes with a five-band equaliser which you can customise, or use with 10 presets based on music genres (acoustic, classical, dance, electro, flat, hip-hop, etc). The free version is supported by ads, but comes with all features. Since smartphones support Bluetooth, they can also be used with wireless headphones.
SURVEILLANCE OR SECURITY CAMERA
Keep an eye on your home, office or kids by transforming your device into a Web-connected security camera. All you need is unobstructed view of the room you want to monitor, a stand, a working Wi-Fi internet connection and Alfred: Home Security Camera.
Alfred is an app that transforms old smartphones into home security system, pet cam, baby monitor, as well as senior care cam! It is a video monitor that allows you to check on your home from your smartphone or tablet, wherever you are, thanks to a Wi-Fi or 3G/4G connection.
This app allows you to view live feeds; it sends alerts when it detects movement, and allows you to switch between rear and front cameras remotely. It stores a short footage of these alerts on its servers for seven days.
It allows you to communicate directly with whoever in front of the Camera via the microphone of their device. This functionality sends your voice across. You can sing to your baby, talk to your baby, or deter an intruder.
To set up Alfred, you need at least two handsets, of which one will function as the “viewer” while the old device will work in “camera” mode. Next, in order to link both the smartphones, log in with the same Google ID. You can now check in on the video feed at any time of the day. You can also set up multiple “cameras” linked to the same Google ID and view all the feeds from the “viewer” phone. Alternatively, you can use the web browser to do the same.
The app will even help you figure what stand to use. Its 100 Poses section has a collection of user-submitted photos where anything from a standard tripod to a toilet roll and duct tape has been used to prop the old phone up.
GAMING CONSOLE
You can cast your old Android smartphone to your TV using Google Chromecast and convert it to a gaming console. Just buy a Bluetooth-enabled games controller, and your old device will turn into an old-school gaming console! Simply download one of the apps listed below on your old smartphone, connect it to the Bluetooth controller, and then cast its screen to your TV via Chromecast to play your games on large screen.
You can make gaming console with apps such as PPSSPP – PSP emulator, or My Boy! Free, or MegaN64, or DraStic DS Emulator.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
While your old smartphone may be useless for you, it could help scientists search for stars and for researching new treatments for AIDS. An Androip app called BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) has been developed by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory that allows them to tap unused processing power to scientific, environmental and medical research projects around the world, which would otherwise be too expensive and costly.
All you need to do is download the free BOINC app, and select the research projects that you would like to support. Then, you need to choose how and when your device’s computing power can be used. You need to ensure that your smartphone is plugged and connected to a Wi-Fi network so that scientists from various institutes can tap into its processing power to help conduct their data investigation. It will automatically receive small pieces of big research to become a part of a global supercomputer.
KID’S TOY
Want to keep your toddler or child away from your expensive touchscreen phone? Then, grab your old device, and set up a Restricted Profile to limit their access. Install a set of kid-suitable app, for instance, “Angry Birds” and remain worry free.
[“Source-techworm”]
