Four ways to repurpose an old phone or tablet

The march of technology is relentless, which means that many of us end up with surplus gadgets in our homes as we upgrade to the next new thing.

Many have been faced with the question of what to do with a tablet and cellphone you no longer use; besides, of course, letting it gather dust in a drawer somewhere.

There are few interesting ways to repurpose a cellphone, other than gifting it to a friend or family member, or donating it. Here are a few ideas from Alcatel.

How to repurpose your old phone or tablet

Gadget on the move

Other than using the phone to navigate around town with Google Maps, you could also turn it into a WiFi hotspot and media centre for your car.

Simply mount the phone or tablet in a car dock and use it as your smart car command centre. Download the Android Auto app for an even better experience with a simplified interface, large buttons and powerful voice actions.

Android Auto is designed to make it easier to use apps from your mobile device while you’re on the road, including maps and media. To use Android Auto, you’ll need a device running Android 5.0 or higher.

Digital photo frame

A nifty way to reuse your Android tablet is to mount it and use it to display your most treasured photos and precious memories.

A simple way to get going is with the slideshow feature on Google Photos. Pixgram, Fotoo and PhotoCloud Frame Slideshow are alternatives to Google Photos.

Some of these apps have cool features like photo transition effects, the ability to add music, and support for retrieving photos from a variety of sources such as your tablet’s photo gallery and cloud storage.

Make into a baby monitor

If you’re expecting a new addition to your family or have an infant in the house, an old Android tablet can be a cost-effective and flexible baby monitor.

Simply put the old tablet in your baby’s room and then use your smartphone to watch and listen to your child remotely. Popular baby monitor apps include Baby Monitor 3G and Dormi.

Some baby monitor apps can do even more than a typical baby monitor, with features such as sleep pattern monitoring, alerts via call or message when the baby is crying, and the ability to talk to baby from your phone to soothe him or her.

Repurpose it as a home surveillance camera

Do you want a security camera to watch over your home, yet don’t want to go through the hassle of installing a full CCTV system? Then your old Android tablet could be the solution you are looking for.

Alfred is a DIY home security camera you can set up in under three minutes; you’ll get features like live streaming, instant intruder alert, night vision, walkie-talkie, and unlimited cloud storage.