Donate it to a charity. There are a number of charities ready to help you pass on your old mobile phone to help others in need. HopePhones will recycle phones to be used by healthcare workers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cell Phones for Soldiers collects used mobile devices to help provide free talk time to serving troops. Secure the Call accepts donated mobile phones to provide 911-emergency only devices to senior citizens and domestic violence shelters.
Set up a home surveillance system. As long as your mobile device still has a working, rear-facing camera, you can put it to work helping protect your home. To start, you’ll need to keep this phone on your cellphone account and download a camera security app, such as Manything or IP Webcam to your old phone or tablet. Then, you can use it to stream video to your new device to help you keep an eye on your place while you’re away.
Use it as a USB drive. Even if you no longer want to be seen carrying around last year’s phone model, it can still serve as a useful storage device for your computer. Gadget Review has instructions for tapping into the storage space on your Android™ device, and CIO takes you through the steps for an iPhone®.
Turn it into cash. If you need a few extra bucks, sell your old mobile device to a service that will buy it for a few dollars. USell, Gazelle and ecoATM are just a few companies that will take unwanted devices off your hands.
Display your digital photos. If your outdated tablet or phone still powers up, you can give it a second life as a digital photo frame. Apps such as Dayframe or Picmatic allow you to run photo slide shows so you can relive your favorite memories anytime you want.
REMEMBER: Wipe your device clean before giving it away to protect your identity and information.
Do you have another idea for repurposing an old mobile device? Share it here!
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