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Five ways to reuse your old phone instead of throwing it away (Promoted)

Guest Blogger
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Upgrading your phone can be very exciting. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and the prospect of having a new device, that we completely neglect the old one.

Too often, many of us either end up throwing the old phone away, or leave it in a drawer never to be touched again. We are living in a time where technology is constantly developing, which leads us to believe that the moment we get a new handset, the old one is simply outdated and defunct.

There are a number of things that you can do instead of throwing the phone away, here are five of them:

Use it as a Sat Nav

Most smartphones are still very capable when it comes to satellite navigation, regardless of how old they are. Some phones can even work as a navigation device without a data connection simply by using the phone’s built in GPS.

Some built in navigation apps do require an internet connection, there are however, several out there that can be used offline. This makes using your old handset as a GPS system a great solution when your main device has low signal.

Turn it Into a Security Camera

There are a number of apps available that allow you to use your device as a security camera or a baby monitor. All you need to do is plug in your old handset with the app running in the location that you want to monitor and you will be able to see a live feed on another device.

Some apps will also allow two way audio between the two devices, which is great if you want to use it as a baby monitor. If you want to turn the old handset into a full home security system, then there are apps that work with motion sensors that will alert you if your property is breached.

Recycle Your Phone For Cash

If you just want to get rid of your old device and are not looking to reuse it for another purpose, you can recycle it instead of throwing it away. Selling your phone to a company that recycles components from old devices is not only a more environmentally friendly option, but it also pays.

Most phone recycling companies will pay you a fair amount for your old device, which usually beats throwing it away or leaving it in a drawer forever. There are many companies out there like Sell My Mobile that will give you cash in exchange for your old device. Selling your old phone to a recycling company is often more hassle free than listing it on online auction sites, or classifieds that usually charge you to sell your items.

Use it as a Hub for Your Home Entertainment and Smart Products

Many home devices now use mobile apps to control them, for example smart TVs or music systems. Having many apps to control your devices while also using your phone for other purposes can be difficult, so having a device dedicated to controlling all of your smart devices can be pretty useful.

Many home appliances can now be controlled using app technology, some people even have smart heating and lighting systems for their home. By using your old device as a hub for all of your smart devices, your main handset is freed up for you to perform other tasks with. You could even mount the old device to a wall and use it as a touchpad controller.

Turn Your Old Phone Into A Dedicated Camera

Although most people use their handset to take photos, most don’t use it to its full potential. There are lots of additional accessories and apps available that can help transform your phone into a camera that is similar to a digital SLR.

Digital SLR cameras are very expensive, but you can replicate one with your old phone. There are even adapters that will allow you to attach SLR lenses to your device. Carrying all of these accessories around with you can be a pain, so having your old phone set up with everything attached is a good idea.

Gear Up: Skinit offers another great skin and case option for the Galaxy Note 8

AG Deals Team
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In a world of shiny glass phones and scratches galore, there are a few different options to consider to keep your device protected. While most everyone has already heard of dbrand and SlickWraps, some folks may not have heard of a company called Skinit.

This company has been around for some time, but isn’t the first to be suggested, despite some pretty awesome offerings. Today, we’re going to take a look at two options from Skinit, including a skin and one of the company’s standard two-piece cases.

Carbon Fiber Skin

First up, we’re going to take a look at the Carbon Fiber skin that I received to review for my Galaxy Note 8. I am a huge fan of skins for protecting my devices from being scratched, but hands-down, the biggest pain with these is the installation.

Unfortunately, Skinit didn’t reinvent the wheel here, as the installation process is pretty much the same as any other skin. The problem that I ended up finding lied within trying to ensure that the camera holes were properly lineup.

I ran into an issue when it came to lifting and reapplying the skin, as the top portion of the skin became a bit stretched out. Once I was finally able to get everything lined up and applied, then the skin worked just as advertised.

Considering the fact that I’m a bit bigger of a guy, I have a tendency of sweating a bit here and there. This is important to note because the Carbon Fiber skin became a bit more slippery if my hands were even a little bit moist.

There was enough grip to help keep the sometimes-unwieldy Galaxy Note 8 in my hands, but I did have to worry about. I felt the need to wipe down the skin often enough that it became annoying.

Nonetheless, the Carbon Fiber skin from Skinit did the job, and did it well enough to keep it on my phone for awhile.

Skinit Pro Case

Not everyone wants to use a skin as it offers no more than just protection from scratches. If you’re looking for something with a bit more protection, then we’re here to show off the Skinit Pro Case for the Galaxy Note 8.

First of all, the Pro Case comes in two different pieces, with a soft, inner shell, and a hard exterior. As you would expect, the inner shell should be placed on the phone first, and then you can fit the outer shell to lock everything into place.

If you were worried about whether Skinit provided access to all of the necessary ports, then there’s no concern here. The Pro Case gives you easy access to all of your ports and buttons, and leaves more than enough space around the camera cutout to keep getting those awesome pictures.

As was the case with my Galaxy S8 Case Roundup, the Skinit Pro Case also makes life a bit easier for those who use the fingerprint scanner. Being able to find the edge of the rear cutout makes finding the scanner faster than if you didn’t have a case at all.

Since the buttons are covered by the soft inner shell, this makes it easy to find them when you aren’t looking, even for those who use the Bixby button. There’s a nice tactile feel to the buttons, so that everything is accessible with ease.

When it comes to protection, there’s not much to worry about here with the Pro Case. The case will definitely keep your Galaxy Note 8 protected in the event of an accidental drop. However, due to the curved display, I would still recommend picking up a screen protector to help keep your Note 8 in pristine condition.

Conclusion

While Skinit doesn’t have the same brand recognition as dbrand or SlickWraps, the company offers more than a few different options, putting it ahead of the pack. We’ll have how well the skin holds up over time, but I’m sure it will perform quite nicely.

If you want to check out more of Skinit’s offerings, hit the button below where skins start at just $14.99 and include options for your favorite sports teams, comics (Batman FTW!), and other designs. Let us know what you think about these offerings from Skinit and if they are something you’ll be considering for your device of choice.

Buy the Galaxy Note 8 Skinit!

What the hell is Files Go and what does it do?

AndroidGuys
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Google recently introduced an app in the Play Store called Files Go which is designed to help you free up space on your handset. Officially it’s in “beta” and unreleased status which means it can be buggy or have a few issues here and there.

A lot of smartphones come with some form of file manager, giving users the ability to quickly find images, videos, and other files. Strangely enough, Google hasn’t given us one of those in its Nexus and Pixel phones. Locating pictures, documents, and email attachments isn’t done in one central location. Users must open Google Photos, for instance, to find a specific pic; head to Google Drive to locate your important spreadsheet.

A better solution finally arrives

Now, with Google Files Go, we have an app that lets us go through our devices so we can organize files. At around 6MB, it’s a lightweight app that helps quickly pull up files so that we can manage or share them.

Additionally, the app can help you keep your phone lean and clean, freeing up space along the way. Should you have duplicate files floating around Google will identify things to you can trim the fat.

Another option that some might find handy is the ability to share files offline other users. The app essentially creates a local and temporary hotspot which lets two Files Go users send or receive files to and from.

Perhaps the coolest feature, Files Go will help you can recognize rarely used apps and games. In the event you’re running low on storage, the app can signal which titles you might want to uninstall first.

Upon opening Files Go you will be presented with a number of cards, splitting up the various functions of the storage side. You’ll have an at-a-glance view of app cache, unused apps, duplicate files, and more. It’s not unlike how Google Now looks on a phone.

At the bottom you’ll have the option to tap “Files” which basically provides a clean interface to locate downloads, apps, images, videos, audio, documents, and received files. It’s also here where you would set up the local transfer of files to another user.

Is Files Go necessary?

Chances are good that if you have a non-Nexus or non-Pixel device, you might already have a file manager. This may be all you need or want if you’re looking to locate docs and media. Moreover, there are a bunch of quality apps in the Play Store which do a great job of handling these sort of tasks.

If you have a Google phone and run the stock software, you probably don’t have a file manager. Should that be the case, we definitely recommend giving the app a shot. You might not use it all that often, but it’s a great all-in-one tool for keeping your phone in optimal shape.

To us, this app is a long time coming for Google devices. As we see it, once Files Go is out of beta and fully ready, this is one that should be baked into the standard suite of apps. We like what we see so far and feel it will be among the first titles we’ll download on future phones.

Note that while Files Go is in beta it may not be available in your country or for your device. We found it is compatible with the Pixelbook but not for tablets. This should change as Google further develops and iterates the app.

Frame – Wallpapers (Review)

AG Deals Team
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Customizing our devices can include a lot of different facets, but everything starts with the wallpaper. This is the quickest and easiest way to express your personality, while also attempting to find something that fits in with the theme you’re attempting to achieve.

One such application which has been on the Play Store for a bit is called ‘Frame – Wallpapers‘. This app offers a bit of a different feel and interface compared to something like Backdrops or Wallpapers HD.

Interface

When you download Frame for the first time, you’ll be greeted with a few screens to scroll through before being able to access the various sections. Once you’re in, you’ll be able to scroll through five different sections:

  • Photo of the Day
  • Latest
  • Popular
  • Featured
  • Settings

The application pulls its resources from Unsplash and mostly includes nature and building wallpapers, but there are some other goodies thrown in the midst. At the bottom of the app, there are three buttons to check out: Home, Search, Favourites. This provides a little bit of a better way to find the best wallpapers and to ensure that you don’t forget which wallpapers are your favorites.

Downloading an image is rather easy, as you can just tap on the picture of your choice, and then select from the pop-up toolbar at the bottom. From here, you can either download the picture, share it with your friends, or automatically set the picture as your wallpaper.

Extra goodies

The other problems with wallpapers is that they may not be perfectly optimized for your specific device. Frame helps with this thanks to a settings feature which allows you to adjust the Download Quality.

The ‘Full’ option offers a high-quality image, and an “average file size”, while the ‘Raw’ option offers the “highest quality” and a “larger file size”. This will help make sure that you are getting the best image possible for whatever device you may be using at the time.

Not everything is rosy

While Frame is a great app and offers an excellent experience and interface, we ran into some issues in our time with the app. The first was a rather major problem, as the ‘Popular’ and ‘Featured’ sections were completely blacked out.

‘Popular’ Problems

We’ve tried using the app on multiple devices and from different Play Store accounts, and the issue continued to be present. We also could not find exactly how to easily favorite images to download later.

The problems don’t stop here as it seems that the ads that appear when you download wallpapers can cause the app to crash. This means that if you’re bored and have been scrolling for a while, you’ll likely lose your place on the list and will have to start from the beginning.

Is it for you?

We still would recommend for everyone to check out Frame, but there are definitely some reservations about the app. Currently, the last update to the app came back in February of 2017, so we’re hoping this hasn’t turned into abandonware.

Nonetheless, Frame is free to download and has a 4.5-star rating based on almost 3,500 reviews. If you want to give it a shot, hit the button below and let us know what you think about it.

Download Frame – Wallpapers!

 

Olie is a lamp that’s also a wireless charger and a smart assistant

Alexandra Arici
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The world has fallen in love with smart virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, and as a result, new AI-infused products are being launched every day. We’ve seen everything from speakers and thermostats to refrigerators and video doorbells get the AI assistant treatment.

Well, today we bring you a lamp which aims to do a bit more than just provide you with lighting. It’s called Olie and takes advantage of a beautiful minimalist design. Available for tables and floors, Olie also comes perfectly integrated with a virtual assistant of your choice (which lives in the lights) – either the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa. So users can ask the lamp to do things like set an alarm, play a song or make a phone call.

But that’s not all Olie has to offer. Created with the aim to minimize clutter in your home, the lamp also doubles as a wireless charger for your iPhone or Android handset.

Don’t have a Qi-compatible phone? No problem, just snap the adapter offered by Olie’s creators on the back of your phone. Then simply place the device on the lamp’s base to get it to charge wirelessly.

If you like what you’ve heard about Olie so far, let us tell you lamp is currently up on Indiegogo gathering funds to start mass production. As long as Super Early Birds are still available, backers can get an Olie lamp (the table version) with wireless charging and your voice assistant of choice for only $89. Add an extra $12 to get the wireless charger adapter. Olie – which has already exceeded its funding goal – should start shipping out starting June 2018.

5 things that could have made the OnePlus 5T even better

Alexandra Arici
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The OnePlus 5T went official merely hours ago and as expected it made a debut with a brand new design which brings that highly sought after bezel-less look.

Critics have pinpointed that outdated design was one of the major faults of OnePlus 5. Well the Chinese company has obviously been listening to the feedback and managed to solve this problem with the OnePlus 5T. Yet, the new flagships is still far from being perfect. Below you’ll find 5 things that, we believe, would have made the OnePlus 5T an even more attractive device.

Water-proofing

Yes, the new OnePlus 5T is still not waterproof. While the majority of Android OEMs launching flagships this year have treated waterproofing as a standard, OnePlus is yet to align itself to the norm, which is a bit disappointing. But this is probably due to the fact that OnePlus is trying to keep pricing low.

Optical image stabilization

Bring back optical image stabilization, we can hear some of you say! The OnePlus 3 had OIS – which helps reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera – but for some reason the company decided to remove it from the OnePlus 5. Unfortunately, it hasn’t made a comeback with the OnePlus 5T either.

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers on board the Pixel 2 XL

Stereo speakers are slowly but surely making their way to the majority of Android flagships, so it would have been nice to see the OnePlus 5T include a pair. Guess we’ll have to keep our finger crossed for the OnePlus 6 (or whatever next year’s flagship ends up begin called) to bring this feature.

More colors

This might not apply to everyone, but here at Android Guys we love being given the option to choose from multiple color options including more atypical ones. At launch, the OnePlus 5T will be available only in Midnight Black – which looks sleek and all – but can we please have more color alternatives soon, OnePlus? The red Star Wars Edition OnePlus 5T which leaked a few days ago looked very promising, but OnePlus remained mum on the subject during the launch event.

Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box

Given that there are already phones like the Sony Xperia XZ1 shipping out with Android 8.0 out of the box, it’s a bit disappointing the OnePlus 5T didn’t launch with the latest version of Android on board.

The good news is that the company said the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T will get Oreo in beta by the end of the year.

Anything else you would have liked to see on board the OnePlus 5T? Let us know in the comment section below.

Nokia 2 (version for AT&T/T-Mobile) coming to the US soon for $99

Alexandra Arici
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Introduced last month on the Indian market, the affordable Nokia 2 will soon make a debut in the US. Amazon has already listed the AT&T/T-Mobile model on its website, although it’s currently listed as “Temporary Out of Stock”.

The phone will be made available in its unlocked form and won’t work on Verizon or Sprint networks. Interested customers will be able to purchase the phone for $99 in Black, Copper or White.

For those who have missed the announcement, let us remind you that the Nokia 2 is an entry-level device which carries an impressive 4,100 mAh battery said to be able to sustain up to 2-days of use.

Apart from this standout feature, the Nokia 2 includes a 5-inch display with low 1280 x 720 resolution and equally modest Snapdragon 212 processor aided by just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

The phone also includes a 5MP/8MP camera combo and although it launched with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, HMD promised the budget handset will get Android 8.0 Oreo update soon.

For the time being, there’s no info about when exactly the Nokia 2 is going to be available for purchase, but we’ll have to assume it will be very soon.

YEVO 1 truly wireless earbuds – the best you can buy, but at a steep price

Donovan Jeska
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Unboxing Yevo’s first foray into the truly wireless market – aptly if rather unoriginally dubbed the 1 – is a bit of an adventure.The box is black, textured – almost (but not quite) leather-feeling – with silver foil lettering and a folding flap concealing the goods. Under said flap is a plastic covering (which by the way, is an absolute pain to put back in place), under which sits the Yevo 1, encased in foam. It seems like an awful lot of packaging for such a little thing. The whole package does have a premium feel to it, though it almost feels like faux premium. It’s tough to explain. Anyway! Packaging isn’t terribly important, as it almost always ends up in the trash about five minutes after the product is removed from it, but hey – why not mention it.

Build

The YEVO 1 is built well. The semi-gloss finish is classy, reflecting a sense of class without picking up fingerprints the way full-gloss does. YEVO has conveniently included three different sizes of tips to fit all ear canals, which is more or less standard for earphones these days. The earbuds themselves are extremely smooth, utilizing a buttonless design and rounded pentagon aesthetic that differentiates it a bit from the standard bulbous earphones. The touch-based interface gives it a very sleek appearance, unbothered by buttons and charging ports.

As solid as the design of the ear buds is, though, the case seems to lack that polish. It’s a simple design; a two-piece casing with an aluminum ring to cap it, and a sliding rack – inside which sit the earpieces. The casing is made of the same semi-glass plastic as the earpieces, but the seam between the two pieces of the case is very obvious. I feel like it would have been better suited as a single piece aluminum casing, rather than the two-piece plastic one, especially for the price tag.

The rack slides out of the case very smoothly – almost too easily, really – and the magnetic closure holds it closed admirably. Each earpiece fits snugly in the rack, held in place by the six charging pins that snap into the chassis when you insert them. The cap at the end of the rack – made of the same plastic as the rest of the case – also houses a rather-oddly shaped Micro-USB port and five small LEDs. These LEDs are clever in their implementations, displaying the battery life of the case when closed and that of the headset when open.

Check out that weird, squared off MicroUSB port.

While I personally would have preferred to see a USB-C port – which would have allowed the case to serve as an external battery for a phone as well as for the YEVO 1 – and perhaps a more recent Bluetooth standard than 4.1 – the YEVO 1 nonetheless offers strong build quality and aesthetic anyone would be proud to be caught dead wearing.

Performance

I’ll get the bad stuff out of the way first; YEVO 1 utilizes NFMI technology, which while exciting in its own right is still a technology that’s very-much in development. It’s excellent when it works, but even when it doesn’t the drops and stutters are only occasional and never long. The touch controls, while creating a sleek, crisp aesthetic, are a bit unwieldy at times – the lack of tactile or audio feedback makes it tough to tell what’s going on, and clumsy to manipulate.

Now for the good. The sound quality is probably the best I’ve heard in a pair of truly wireless earbuds, with exceedingly crisp audio and high volume. As with all earbuds, the YEVO 1 struggles a bit with bass, but again – it’s probably the best of the ones I’ve tested personally.

There are a number of great features packed into the little guys but my favorite is Audio Transparency, an adjustable setting that either allows sound from the outside world in, or blocks it altogether. This setting, like all others contained in the 1s, is configurable from the companion app – and it works really well. I was able to hold a conversation while listening to music with no problem whatsoever. It’s a little startling at first, but very clever once you get used to it.

The YEVO 1s are also compatible with Siri/Google Assistant/Cortana – a single, long press on the right earpiece pulls up voice commands for your favorite assistant. I wasn’t able to get Alexa to work on my V30, but I’m sure it’ll become available in time – one of the nice things about the YEVO 1s is that since it has built-in memory settings, it can likely be patched via software.

Value

I’m just going to get this out of the way – $249.99 is a lot of money for a pair of Bluetooth earbuds – truly wireless or not. The Rowkin Bit Stereo is $129.99, Apple’s AirPods are $159, and even the Samsung Gear IconX runs $199.99. While I firmly believe that the Yevo 1 is better than both of those products, I still have a bit of trouble recommending them at that price. If you have $250 laying around, and if you want to get the cream of the wireless earbuds crop, the Yevo 1 is for you. If $250 is just too much, though, you can easily settle for one of the options listed above and probably sleep just fine at night with the decision.

Buy the Yevo 1 on Amazon

ASUS ZenFone V Live and Samsung Galaxy Tab E are now available at Verizon

Alexandra Arici
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Looking for purchase a budget smartphone? Why don’t you check out Verizon’s latest offering in the category? The carrier this week introduced the ASUS ZenFone V Live, a low-end handset which is available exclusively from Big Red.

The smartphone comes equipped with a 5-inch display with 2.5D glass and 720 x 1280 resolution and relies on a Snapdragon 425 processor for power, as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of native storage.

The ASUS ZenFone V Live includes the standard 13MP/5MP camera package, although Verizon notes that the main camera is said to be able to offer “class-leading low light performance”. Big Red also says that thanks to the 3,000 mAh battery inside, the phone will be able to offer up to 17 hours of talk time.

You can grab the Android Nougat-running phone for $168 outright, or for $7/month for 24 months.

On top of the entry-level ASUS ZenFone V Live, Verizon also introduced an affordable tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab E. The device features an 8-inch display with 800 x 1280 resolution, 1.5GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB).

The tablet ships out with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box and a 5,000 mAh battery under the hood.

Interested parties can grab the Samsung Galaxy Tab E for $249.99 in full. Jump on board with a 2-year contract and the price drops to $149.99. Or you can choose to pay $10.41/month for the next 24 months.

YEVO Companion App Review

Donovan Jeska
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Yevo’s app – companion to the newly released Yevo 1 truly wireless earbuds – is a bit of a conundrum. It’s a simple app, with singular purpose, that’s plagued by over-design and needly complexity.

Design

I’m going to keep this short; the seven (!) horizontal pages of functionality in the app – Yevo 1, Battery, Touch Settings, Balance, EQ, Bass Booster, and Audio Transparency – could easily be reduced to three tabs (Status, Settings, and Sound)or a vertical list of collapsible line items using the same categories. Beyond this easily-remedied-but-still-obnoxious design flaw, the Yevo Companion App looks fine; clean lines, high resolution images, and smooth performance throughout the app make it a well-crafted app – if poorly conceived. In sum; aesthetically pleasing, organizationally a mess.

Functionality

As mentioned above, there are a whoppin’ seven pages of settings to sift through in the Yevo app. They are as follows;

  • Yevo 1: Literally just a screen that says Yevo 1. Also tells you if the device is connected. Utterly, utterly superfluous.
  • Battery: Displays the current battery life, both as a percentage and as a numerical value. You can also turn the device off from this screen.
  • Touch Settings: This section of the app is actually pretty interesting; from here you can remap the gesture controls of the touch sensor on the earpieces. This is a particularly unique feature because not many headsets – and certainly not many wireless earbuds – allow you to manipulate the functionality of the inputs, let alone via software. This screen uses a drag-and-drop interface to allow you customize the functions. With 8 different functions and 8 different gestures, you should have no trouble finding a configuration that fits your taste.
  • Balance: Shift the intensity of the audio to the right or left earpiece. No other functions.
  • EQ: This is the equalizer screen, where you can choose from six presets – Default, Electronic, Hip Hop, Acoustic, Pop/Rock, and R&B. It’s handy, but a Custom setting with sliders to customize the sound of your audio would be even better.
  • Bass Booster: Enable or disable the Software Driven Bass Enhance. That’s it.
  • Audio Transparency: This is a nifty feature – toggle and adjust Audio Transparency, or the amount of sound from the outside world you want to hear. This allows you to listen to music while at the same time still maintaining awareness of the world around you – which, as someone that prefers to put on a headset to escape said world, confounds me. But I’m sure someone less…isolationist would find it to be very useful!

While all of this is neat, and it’s nice to be able to tweak the settings of the earphones, the companion app simply doesn’t offer any truly must-have functionality. That said, though, it’s a pretty cool feeling to be able to make a headset truly yours – especially one as tiny as a pair of earbuds.

Get It

Available for free on the Google Play Store, the Yevo companion app is currently sitting at a rather disappointing 1.8 rating, albeit with only 8 reviews. A few of those users have complained about missing or useless functionality, and one even complained that the app made his left earpiece stop working.

For what it’s worth, both my headset and the app have worked perfectly for me – despite the design issues above.

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