Repurposing old smartphones?

[ultimatebob]

I'll bet that a bunch of us around here have old Android phones and iPhones laying around collecting dust.

I'm curious if anyone here has come up with creative ways of repurposing these old phones for another use. Here are some ideas I came up with:

iPhone 3G: I bought an iHome alarm clock with a 30 pin iPhone/iPod dock around the same time I bought this phone. I now leave the iPhone docked in the alarm clock, and use it to play Pandora and my MP3 collection from the radio.

Droid X: I can't think of any use for this phone. The battery on it is dead, and it won't power up without a battery plugged in even if it's connected to a USB charger. Likewise, the camera on the phone doesn't work without a MicroSD card installed. At this point, it doesn't even have a meaningful eBay resale value anymore. Grr.

Samsung Galaxy S3: I installed an app called IP Webcam on this phone, and I now use it as a nanny cam for my daughter's play room. It actually makes pretty impressive color HD webcam that's accessible from any web browser.

 

[TheStu]

I use an HTC Surround as my alarm clock. On airplane mode the battery lasts about 2 weeks or so, and the alarm noises are better than what's on my current phone.

 

[Oyeve]

I have 4 iPhone 4s and a note 3 collecting dust. I use spare phone to trade to carriers to get newer phones. That's how I got my note 4 and iPhone 6+.

 

[ultimatebob]

I have 4 iPhone 4s and a note 3 collecting dust. I use spare phone to trade to carriers to get newer phones. That's how I got my note 4 and iPhone 6+.

I'll bet that you could get a decent resale price on that Note 3 on eBay if it's in good shape.

My Galaxy S3 is scratched up, which kills it's resale value.

 

[Dulanic]

Swappa or eBay is where my old phones go.

 

[corkyg]

Consider recycling used phones by donating them to charity, e.g., Cellphones for Soldiers.

 

[Deeko]

If the phones are new enough to have a reasonable value I sell them. Some I repurpose - I keep an old Lumia in my car as a media player / GPS, another old phone attached to my receiver as a media player, etc. Otherwise they gather dust until the carriers run some sort of trade in promotion. Two years ago I swapped about 4 ancient phones (T-Mobile G1, first Gen iPhone) for a new HTC One. Worked out well.

 

[luv2liv]

samsung s3 as a remote for my squeezebox on raspberry pi. remote for xbmc too.
will serve as a baby monitor once i get a babysitter

 

[Midwayman]

I have an only samsung galaxy epic I keep around as a mp3 player for the shop. Not worth selling. Normally I sell them as soon as I buy a new one though.

 

[pyrolyser]

I set up an old Optimus 2X as in car entertainment/GPS for my brother. Keeping the number of apps installed to the bare minimum so that it can keep up in terms of performance.

 

[DefDC]

I have a Kyocera Hydro in my window acting as a live webcam on my bird feeders in the back yard. I don't have window at work, so I made my own.

My Droid 1 still lives as my alarm clock. It seems to be indestructible.