Even an old phone with a cracked screen can be repurposed, says Josh Smith, editor of GottaBeMobile.com. “You’re only really limited by your imagination,” Smith says.
Here are 10 smart — and cheap — uses for old iPhones.
CLOCK
Set your old phone on a dock or a stand and use a clock app. With Standard Time ($3.99), you will have a timepiece unlike any other.
With this app, your clock is a non-stop time lapse video of construction workers switching out pieces of lumber to shape the actual time. “It’s mesmerizing,” says Shawn Roberts, 47, an Oakland, California, marketing executive.
You can also set up flexible alarms and get the phone to play soothing white noise as you go to sleep. Set it close enough to the bed, and it can be a sleep tracker, too, with an app like SleepBot (free).
MUSIC FOR YOUR CAR
Take your music library on the road. Some cars come equipped with docking ports for iPhones and have dashboard screens so you can navigate your musical options hands-free. Or you can just use the cigarette lighter for power.
REMOTE CONTROL
Televisions, speakers and other devices now have apps that allow users to make their iPhones into sleek remotes.
Carm Lyman, 42, of Napa, California, converted his iPhone 4 into a remote for his household sound system after his iPhone 5 arrived. Lyman can control the audio levels and activate speakers in various parts of his home as well as access different music services.
SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
Apps can convert an old iPhone that has access to WiFi into a surveillance camera and motion detector. Presence, which is a free app, provides a live stream from the area you want to monitor. You can set it up to record video clips when it detects motion, too.
If you buy a robotic viewing stand for about $100, you can move the camera 360 degrees rather than stick with a stationary view.
COOKBOOK
No need to go through recipe books or hunt around for other devices when you have a kitchen iPhone. Download a cookbook app, such as My Recipe Book (99 cents) or Big Oven (free), and just leave the device on the kitchen counter. It takes up almost no space and will hold far more recipes than any book.
EXTRA STORAGE
Need a place to store old photos and music or other files? Turn your old phone into a storage drive using a free app like USB & Wi-Fi Flash Drive.
VOICE RECORDER
Why buy a digital voice recorder when you have a retired iPhone? Using any of several free apps, including Voice Recorder and Voice Record Pro, you will have a designated memo recorder or a device to record interviews and speeches.
DOCUMENT SCANNER
Genius Scan and Doc Scan are two apps that will turn an iPhone into a handy portable scanner that you can use for work, school reports, genealogical research, or recording receipts. And they will not cost you a penny.
For $20 and up, you can buy a stand that makes your iPhone into a stationary scanner.
BABY MONITOR
Sure, you can spend $100 or more on a baby monitor, or you can just set your old iPhone up to watch streaming video of your baby as well as hear and even talk to him or her.
Cloud Baby Monitor ($3.99) also allows parents to receive the signal on a wireless network or on WiFi so they do not have to be within a certain number of feet of the monitor.
VEHICLE TRACKER
Whether you need to find your car if it is stolen, record where you have traveled, or spy on your teenage driver, the built-in GPS in your phone can be used as a tracking device. An app like InstaMapper ($2.99) lets you watch the vehicle in real-time and have a record of it.
Of course, you may end up taking the simple path of letting a child use your old iPhone as an iPod Touch. Keep in mind that the phone can still dial 911, even if it does not have cellular service, Smith said.
You can also use your old phone as a back-up in case your new model suffers irreparable harm. That said, the battery of a phone that sits in a drawer unused could drain to the point where it is no longer viable.
|
就算是裂屏的舊手機也可以別有他用。網(wǎng)站GottaBeMobile.com的編輯約翰·史密斯(Josh Smith)說:“對于舊手機只有你想不到,沒有它做不到?!?/p>
10款小妙招教你巧用舊手機,經(jīng)濟又實惠。
時鐘
把舊手機設(shè)在一個接口塢或支架上,并使用一款時鐘應(yīng)用程序。借助這款《標準時間》應(yīng)用程序,你就會擁有一款與眾不同的時鐘。
使用這款應(yīng)用程序后,你的時鐘就會變成一部不間斷的延時視頻,畫面顯示建筑工人不斷地把幾段木材擺成表示實際時間的形狀。加州奧克蘭的一位營銷主管、現(xiàn)年47歲的肖恩?羅伯茨說:“這很有吸引力?!?/p>
你還可以靈活設(shè)置鬧鐘,并且在你睡覺時讓手機播放舒緩的白噪音。此外,如果把它放在離床邊盡可能近的地方,它還可以被用作睡眠追蹤器,當然這要利用像SleepBot(免費)這樣的一款應(yīng)用程序。
你的汽車音樂播放器
帶上你的音樂庫一起上路吧。部分汽車配備了用于iPhone的對接口,而且還有儀表屏,所以你可以以免提方式瀏覽音樂選擇?;蛘?,你也可以用汽車里的點煙器來給手機提供電力。
遙控器
電視機、揚聲器及其他設(shè)備現(xiàn)在都有相應(yīng)的應(yīng)用程序,讓用戶能夠把iPhone變成時尚遙控器。
加州納帕的卡姆?萊曼(Carm Lyman)現(xiàn)年42歲,他在收到iPhone 5之后,便把自己的iPhone 4改成遙控器,來控制他的家用音響系統(tǒng)。萊曼可以在家里的各個角落控制音響系統(tǒng)的音頻水平,并且使用不同的音樂服務(wù)。
監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)
應(yīng)用程序可以把一部可接入WiFi的舊iPhone變成一個監(jiān)控攝像頭兼動作檢測器。作為一款免費應(yīng)用程序,Presence提供你想要監(jiān)視地區(qū)的實時監(jiān)控視頻。此外,你還可以把它設(shè)置成檢測到動作的同時開始錄制視頻剪輯。
只要購置一款價格大約為100美元的機械觀測支架,你就可以讓這個監(jiān)控攝像頭轉(zhuǎn)動360度,而不需要一直保持固定視域。
菜譜
有了一款廚房iPhone后,你就不需要到處查閱菜譜書籍或?qū)ふ移渌b置設(shè)備。下載一款食譜軟件吧,比如《我的烹飪書》(My Recipe Book 99美分)或者《大烤爐》(Big Oven免費),把它放在廚房柜臺上,不占空間還能為你提供應(yīng)有盡有的食譜書籍。
額外的儲存空間
需要額外的空間存儲老照片,音樂或者其他文件么?那么就通過像《USB》和《Wi-Fi閃存驅(qū)動器》這樣的免費軟件把你的舊手機轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐慌_存儲驅(qū)動器吧。
錄音器
如果已經(jīng)有了一款閑置的iPhone為什么還要購買一款數(shù)碼錄音器呢?任意使用幾款免費的應(yīng)用程序,比如《聲音錄音器》(Voice Recorder)和《聲音錄音程序》(Voice Record Pro),這樣你就擁有一部專用的語音備忘錄或者說一部可以記錄采訪和演講的錄音設(shè)備。
文件掃描儀
《天才掃描儀》(Genius Scan)和《文件掃描儀》(Doc Scan)是兩款可以把iPhone變成一部便攜式掃描儀的應(yīng)用程序,你可以用于工作、學校報告、家譜研究或者記錄菜譜上。而且這兩款應(yīng)用程序不會花你一分錢。
你可以花20多美元購買一個支架,讓你的iPhone變成一臺固定掃描儀。
嬰兒監(jiān)視器
當然,你可以花費100多美元購買一部嬰兒監(jiān)視器,或者你可以把舊iPhone設(shè)置成觀看寶寶的實時監(jiān)視視頻,并且監(jiān)聽寶寶動靜,甚至和寶寶說話。
《云嬰兒監(jiān)視器》(Cloud Baby Monitor,3.99美元)也可以讓家長在無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)或WiFi上收到視頻信號,這樣他們就不必局限在距離監(jiān)視器幾英尺的范圍之內(nèi)了。
車輛追蹤器
無論你是需要在車子被盜后找回汽車,還是記錄下你的行車路徑,或者是暗中監(jiān)視你十幾歲小孩的駕車情況,你手機的內(nèi)置GPS(全球定位系統(tǒng))均可被用來當作一部追蹤裝置。像InstaMapper(2.99美元)這樣的一款應(yīng)用程序讓你能夠?qū)崟r監(jiān)視車輛,并且把情況錄制下來。
當然,你可能最終采取簡單的辦法,那就是讓小孩把你的舊iPhone當作觸屏平板來使用。史密斯說,記住,即便沒有移動服務(wù),舊iPhone仍然可以撥打911。
此外,在你的新手機遭到極度損壞時,舊手機還可以作為備用手機來使用。但如果把手機電池放在抽屜里且一直不使用,過了一段時間,電池里的電量也會耗盡直至再也無法使用。
(譯者 losalina 編輯 丹妮)
掃一掃,關(guān)注微博微信
|