5 Things You Didn't Know Your Smartphone Could Do

As the saying goes, ‘Old is Gold’; when you upgrade to new versions of current available gadgets in the market, don’t throw away your old smartphones. Instead it can be a helping hand in doing some of the works with ease and without much spending on it. Read on further to know some of the ways you can make your old smartphones useful.

1. Use it as a Wireless Router:  You can use your smartphone as a router if it has a setup called tethering or internet sharing. Most smartphones like iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android phones provide such setup. You can turn your phone into a wifi hotspot by using a 3G sim that has a good data plan. In this way u can carry your phone in your pocket and use wifi on other devices.

It is advised that you have a password to protect the hotspot from other people using it.

2. Media Player on Your TV: You can also connect your smartphone to your TV if it has the option of connecting with HDMI cable. All you have to do is plug in one side of the cable to your phone and the other end to your TV. Once you are connected, then what appears on your phone will appear on your TV, whether it is pictures, games, videos or surfing the web. It is more efficient to use an SD card of 32 GB or 64 GB so that you can copy as many movies and songs as you like.

3. Test Bed for Apps: An easy way to check if an app is necessary for your phone is to try it on your old smartphone first. Test for custom ROMs can also be done on your old phone because custom ROM allows you to install the latest version of operating systems. It can also remove unnecessary bloatware and improve the battery life of your phone.

4. Wireless Security Camera: One simple way to turn your old smartphone into a security camera is to download and install the “Free Internet Cam” app that is available for Android, iOS and Symbian devices. This app streams live videos that can be seen on another tablet or smartphone that supports streaming. All you have to do is to set up the smartphone in your preferred location, install the app and make sure that it is connected to your wifi network.

5. Standalone GPS navigator: Your old smartphone can also be used as a navigation devise that can help you travel through known or unknown streets. All you have to do is download an app that saves maps and locations when you are offline. Having a generic micro USB 12V car battery to keep the battery from draining out will be efficient to have in your car. The app Car Dashboard gives you a better view of the locations as it shows large icons, useful shortcuts and voice commands.