Uses for an Old Phone

The new iPhone 5 was just revealed yesterday, and it's 18 percent thinner and just 1/5 the weight of its 4S predecessor. It's also taller with a larger screen, which gives you a fifth row for apps now. As far as speed is concerned, it has a speedy A6 chip and can tap into wire ...more

"Ahoy-hoy." If telephone titan Alexander Graham Bell had his way, we'd all be answering phones like Mr. Burns. Thankfully, frienemy Thomas Edison had enough sense to realize we weren't always on the briny. He preferred "hello" as our standard telephone greeting, which he is c ...more

When shooting video on your phone, you have two cameras at your disposal, the rear camera and the selfie camera, and you can switch freely between the two. As for microphones, you may have more than one but, unlike with the cameras, it's not easy to switch between them. Filmic ...more

Considering how much smartphones cost in the first place, we're understandably reluctant to throw them out when we've bought a newer model. And this is probably the best practice, too, as there are many great uses for an old Android device. Don't Miss: Turn Your Old Android i ...more

The cell phone has come a long way. The very first "mobile devices" were made and used by the military in the late 1930s, with the first commercial mobile telephone service introduced by Bell in 1946. These devices were hardly what we'd call mobile today—some took up the whole ...more

Google Play has no shortage of Nintendo emulators: SuperGNES (Super Nintendo) Gameboy Color A.D. (Game Boy Color) My Boy! (Game Boy Advance) nds4droid (Nintendo DS) DroidEmu (SNES, NES, GBA, GBC, etc.) Those are just a few of what's available out there. The only problem with ...more

As a former English major, I have a love/hate relationship with many books. And when I saw that this NFC-enabled charging dock project included a little book mutilation, I was suddenly more interested. Now, for those of you who have nothing against books, this is still a great ...more

A huge chunk of my life revolves around my computer, and whenever I'm on my laptop and get a text message notification on my phone, I find it extremely distracting to stop whatever I'm doing to hunt it down. That's why I'm a big fan of text messaging via my computer. While we ...more

My standard text greeting to friends is something along the lines of "Wazzup biznitch?"—but apparently the auto-correct function on my Samsung Galaxy S3 has a problem with that. Time after time I have to retype it or just add all my made-up words to the word list—and I use a l ...more

Every once in a while, we find ourselves in a predicament where we need an inexpensive smartphone. Whether we're finally upgrading from that feature phone we held onto too long or we dropped our current smartphone, sometimes we need a quick replacement to get back on track. Th ...more

MAC addresses (not to be confused with Macs) are unique identifiers assigned to network devices in order to access the internet. Hotels use these Mac addresses in order to check if a registered patron has agreed to their terms and conditions, how much bandwidth is being consum ...more

Smartphones are almost completely controlled through touchscreens now, but most of them still rely on physical buttons to turn it on or adjust volume. When those buttons stop working, you've got trouble (especially if it's your Home button). Dujo, a user on Sugru's website, h ...more

I've seen my fair share of heartbreaks when it comes to used phones. As a repair tech, I often had to try and help out customers who bought used handsets which turned out to be useless, either because it was stolen or not working on their carrier's network. More often than not ...more

Text messaging is a core component of the mobile experience, and Google has added several AI-fueled features to help you text better, such as Smart Reply for quick response suggestions. But Messages by Google's newest AI-powered tool is possibly the best one yet, giving you im ...more

What to do with the canisters of tennis balls gathering dust in your garage? If playing tennis is no longer your passion and you don't have any dogs to play catch with, don't give away your tennis balls just yet—tennis balls happen to have many practical, non-sport uses that c ...more

Our phones have evolved past a simple pocket computer. They have become more like Swiss Army Knives, opening up possibilities that were previously considered Sci-Fi material. Thanks to the recent push into augmented reality, a new world of tools is becoming available to mobile ...more

Add a little extra life to old books you'll probably never read again by transforming them into a sneaky secret book safe, an e-book reader case, a picture frame, or even a book planter for your indoor succulents. Depending on the size and type of books, they can even be used ...more

We all know to should swap out our toothbrushes one every three to four months, but did you know your used Toothbrush still has a number of handy uses once its time in your bathroom is done? You can use an old toothbrush indefinitely to remove silk from corn, exfoliate your li ...more

A Garden Grove, California, jewelry store owner thwarted an armed robbery with a handgun on Sunday and sent masked robbers scurrying for their lives. A surveillance video shows the gutsy 65-year-old woman with gun in hand chasing the would-be robbers outside. » 65 year old wom ...more

Oatmeal may not be the most exciting breakfast option in the world, but in uncooked form the oats can be used to neutralize odors in your refrigerator, relieve your dog's itchy skin, soak up kitchen oil spills and treat your poison ivy or chicken pox itch. Sick of cooking oat ...more

After a few years, your cinnamon, paprika, and saffron begin to lose their vibrant hues, and the aromas that once filled your kitchen are barely distinguishable when you open their jars. These are telltale signs that your spices need to be replaced sooner rather than later. D ...more

You may have noticed improved photo quality in the Android Snapchat app in recent months. Believe it or not, this is because Snapchat only just recently started using a decade-old camera API that predates every Android phone in existence. The basic premise of APIs is simple — ...more

One of the main reasons Authy was able to top our list of the best two-factor authentications apps was its ability to transfer access to a new device. This feature ensures that whenever you get a new phone, you don't lose all your tokens. However, if the process is done incorr ...more

Setting up a new Android phone can be a pain. Although Google has some automated features, it does not restore everything. When it comes to transferring certain types of data like files and SMS logs, it's even trickier. By following our steps, you can be sure that you all your ...more

I've been an Android user almost as long as the operating system has existed, so when I received my first iPhone in April, I felt like I was in a foreign land. Sure, it runs most of the apps I'm used to, and the phone itself feels about the same in my hand as any similarly-siz ...more

Switching phones has never been easier. Google backs up most of your app data on the cloud, which can then be restored onto your new phone. Sadly, Signal doesn't use this feature since it could compromise your security. Instead, Signal stores encrypted backups locally, requiri ...more

Smartphone manufacturers do their best to keep you tied down to their ecosystem, but the reality is that there's not much keeping you from switching. Transfer some files, install a few apps here and there, and all of a sudden, you're knee-deep in a new operating system. Don't ...more

In photography, using filters over lenses is a common practice and provides a great way to set the mood or to create an artistic image. The only problem is that they can be quite costly and there currently aren't many available for cell phones specifially. Fortunately, there i ...more

Your childhood "social networking" may have been to go outdoors to the neighbor's — and outdoors is a great place for kids to be. But these days, the terms educational, digital media, entertainment, and toddlers don't have to be mutually exclusive. Like most things in life, it ...more

With a price that undercuts flagship devices like the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S7 by hundreds of dollars and a smaller size, new tests show that the iPhone SE incredibly packs just as much power as its bigger brother. That being said, there are many other differences between the ...more

Since early March, iOS users have been able to enjoy the most popular video game sweeping the rounds. Android users have been left envious as they wait for a "few months," the only vague release date given by Epic Games. In the meantime, there are a few ways we can still satis ...more

Many of our online accounts now come with an added two-factor authentication (2FA) functionality to help keep our data safe. This essentially means no one would be able to access the account until a specific set of requirements were met. It could be a combination of a password ...more

Samsung Experience (better known as TouchWiz) can take some time to get used to when you switch to a Galaxy from another Android device. It's a bit heavy-handed with the features, and many consider the UI theme to be a little over the top. Thankfully, there are several stock s ...more

If there's been one signature design element for Apple's iPhones, it was the circular Home button. It served as the "everything" button for each iPhone model until last year's iPhone X, but now, it's completely absent from the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. Should you be worried? ...more

When it comes to playing videos from your personal media library, VLC is hard to beat. But let's say you want to play videos from an Android device by connecting it to your TV — what app should you use then? VLC is still the answer, particularly once you've enabled its TV-frie ...more

Every time you make a call or send a text, you're giving the recipient your phone number. This can be quite the security vulnerability, opening yourself up to scammers, spammers, and the feds. In this how-to, we'll look at what a burner phone is, why you might want one, and ho ...more

Phones these days are expensive. The iPhone 11 Pro is presumed to start at $999, following the iPhone XS and iPhone X's leads. One way to bring down that cost is to trade in your old iPhone, but there isn't one clear-cut way to do that. You could trade your iPhone into a parti ...more

Looking past the obvious visual similarities between the iPhone 7 and Google's new Pixel phones, there are several indications that the search giant had Apple in its sights as they released their latest flagships. For once, this isn't an Android phone we're talking about, it's ...more

Fish is delicious, and as the Harvard School of Public Health points out, incredibly good for you. There are many studies that show regularly consuming a couple of servings of fish per week can help prevent heart disease and may well reduce your chances of stroke, depression, ...more

While restaurants and classrooms have enacted policies banning cell phones, one father has had enough of his kids' obsessive phone habits. Dr. Tim Farnum is now seeking to ban the sale of smartphones to children under 13. Yes, you read that right. Farnum was inspired to propo ...more

Starting February 21, you can preorder your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra. Samsung includes everything you need to get started in the box, but probably not everything you'll want. Let's go ahead and bridge that gap. No matter which phone you pick up, as with all Samsung's fl ...more

If you've just upgraded to an HTC One M8, chances are you've got some media files you want transferred over from your computer or previous phone. Even after you've done that, there will be times when you want to transfer content back to your computer for safe keeping. The old ...more

In a study attempting to observe virality in real time, two Microsoft engineers, Corom Thompson and Santosh Balasubramanian, used Microsoft's recently released Face detection API to create How-Old.net and track its usage in real time. Suffice it to say the study went well, an ...more

Previously, if you missed a call or text on your old Samsung Galaxy S3, there was a white LED notification to let you know. It's a nice feature that most smartphones have, but wouldn't it have be nice to know what kind of notification it was before picking up the phone? Your ...more

Your beloved Samsung Galaxy S3 is nearing the end of its life cycle. Sure, it can do most of what newer devices can, especially if you were lucky enough to receive the KitKat update, but your diminishing battery and scratched up screen have seen better days. When you upgrade ...more

Silence spreads over these mountains like nothing I've ever felt. If I didn't have Moby blasting in my earphones, there'd probably be no other sounds around. Well, except for someone, Phil probably, murmuring in a nearby tent just low enough to make his words indiscernible. W ...more

Google's got a hit on its hands with this one. Android 5.0—AKA "Lollipop"—will be making its official debut next month, but a new preview build has given us a glimpse into the future, which looks brighter than ever. New accents, beautiful animations, and a lighter overall col ...more

If you own a Samsung phone and enjoy rooting or modding your device, flashing official firmware can be very useful. Odin is Samsung's own internal program for loading such updates for testing purposes, and it's quite easy to use for your own custom modification needs. Though ...more

The big day has finally come—the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been officially unveiled. Apple debuted their new flagship devices at a keynote event in San Francisco on September 7, and as we've grown to expect, there are tons of changes in store for the world's top-sell ...more

Developers have created many tools for testing the strength of passwords (1, 2); there are also plenty of tips for coming up with a strong password in the first place. But why do the grunt work when an app could generate a perfectly secure one for you? There are plenty of pas ...more

Smartphones are impressive devices, to say the least. A smartphone user can consume TV, music & movies; communicate via streaming video; check the weather; record audio; take professional quality video footage; snap high quality photos… The list just continues to grow and grow ...more