5 things you can do with your old mobile handset

Are you one of those people who can’t bear to throw things away and mostly when it’s some sort of tech? Well, if you are then it’s quite likely you’ll be stuck with a bunch of outdated mobile phone handsets. If you’ve not already erected a shrine to them or placed them in some sort of “collectibles” museum of your own, then we have a few ideas you might want to hear about.

Do keep in mind; although some of us here at Tech2 do or have actually used our old devices for alternative purposes, some of the technology could be quite outdated and obviously not ideal for some of these ideas. But for most part, old mobile handsets just lying around the house can be quite handy, even if they aren’t as ‘state of the art’, as they were when you bought them. Then again, that’s the trouble with technology, what’s new today will already be outdated tomorrow.

We know no one likes carrying more than one device around with them, but if you’re battery-conscious about your primary device (this holds true especially for business class users), than using an older handset purely for specific purposes makes perfect sense.

1 - Portable Entertainment Module
If your handset is anywhere between 4 years old to last year's model, there’s a good chance it’ll be perfectly usable as a stand alone music player. All you’ll need to invest in is possibly a better or updated set of earphones or a Bluetooth headset and a memory card. Load up your music on the card and you’re good to go. Your secondary device could also be used as a stand alone FM radio as well or Internet radio, if it’s Wi-Fi enabled.

As just a music player

In case you happen to have a touchscreen device with a decent sized screen (3 inches and up) and resolution (640 x 480 and up), you could also use the device as a video player. Convert your files, accordingly and once again your memory card will come in handy. Of course, if you’ve upgraded, then your handset will also be more than capable of doing better. But the idea is to try and avoid using the battery, except for calls, emails, messages and social networking etc., if you’re into that.

As a portable video player

If your handset is not too old, you could even pass it along to your kids (without a SIM Card, unless that’s how you want it) to use for playing games (Java, Symbian or Android etc.). This will give them something to do and get them out of your hair as well. Who says a mobile isn’t a toy. If it’s an older smartphone with Wi-Fi, you could use it to stream videos for them to watch, when you’re busy, although kids watching videos on a small screen isn’t really a great idea.
 
2 - Alarm clock/Mini Digital Photoframe
Your old phone can also be used as a bedside alarm clock and with additional features, like a World clock, calendar and a scheduler or task keeper, it makes the perfect bedside companion that you needn’t have to move ever. Again, if your older device is equipped with a large enough display, you could even set it to run a few of your pictures in a slideshow on your bedside table. For your kids that could be used as a night light.

While away the hours staring at your beau or keep an alarm handy for just before your boss gets in