I’m not a person who has a ton of money, so therefore any devices I buy tend to be well thought out. For that reason I usually don’t find myself with extra things like smartphones, tablets, or computers. The first smartphone I bought almost two years ago is still the phone I am using today. Before my HTC EVO 4G I used nothing but cheap flip-phones. So when it was time for a new one I had no problem turning them in to Sprint to recycle for a few bucks, or like my last one, hand over to my three-year-old niece to use as a toy phone. But as I talked about a few weeks ago, it’s time for me to get a new phone.
Once I get a new smartphone, the question becomes, what do I do with my old one? I have thought about this for the last few weeks, and haven’t come up with a definitive answer. Here are some of the options that I have thought of so far.
Recycle with Sprint
My brother-in-law just upgrade his EVO for an iPhone and Sprint gave him all of $39 for his EVO. He was perfectly OK with that because for the last year he had been using it with a severely cracked screen. I’m not OK with getting $39 for a device that can do so many things, even without cell service. For some people however this is a perfectly viable choice.
Media Device
An EVO without a service plan could be compared to an iPod Touch. WiFi access, apps, camera, and a lot more. I’ve seen some ROMs that, smartly, are being advertised as media center ROMs for people to put on decommissioned EVOs. Anything to do with the phone dialer has been removed from the ROM. The problem with this idea by itself is that I will have a new smartphone that can do all of that, so I will not want to be carrying around a second device. I could see possibly using it for something specialized, like my next choice.
In-Car Media Device
Last week I showed you someone that installed an iPad Mini in a car dash. I talked about how I loved playing with my car stereo, and always thought it would be cool to have a touch screen in my car. It would be pretty simple to install my EVO into my car as a permanent media device. I could load it up with all my music always have it available in my car. I would have to figure out how to mount it securely in such a way that looks nice, but couldn’t be easily stolen. I’d also want to do it in such a way that you wouldn’t be able to see the cables coming out of the phone. This would be a little trickier because you’ve got the headphone jack on the top of the phone, and the charging port on the bottom to worry about, but it could be done with a little creativity.
Sell it Online
There are quite a few different sites that could help you sell your old smartphone. Ebay is probably the first one that comes to mind. A quick search on Ebay shows me a bunch of auctions for EVOs in good condition selling anywhere from $40 to $100, depending on condition and accessories included. I would describe my EVO as in mint condition and it would come with an Otterbox Commuter case, also in great shape. I could see my phone going for close to that $100 mark, but I don’t know if this is the best option for me.
Donate it
There are a lot of charities and programs that collect old cell phones and recycle them. Pick your favorite charity and there is a good chance you can donate your cell phone to them to help that charity out.
Something Else?
Is there something I’m missing? What did you do with your old smartphone? I included a poll for you to either tell me what you think I should do, or what you did with your old smartphone. I’d love to hear what creative things you did with your old phones.
I use my old evo to monitor my security cameras. It sits on my coffee table with a live view open of all my cameras, and gets charged at night.
I trade my old one in when I bought a new one. I think best buy gave me $100 for it. I also have insurance through them and they said when it is time to turn in my current one, I will get something like $200 (don’t quote me on that price). All I know is that when I saw it in writing, it was actually worth going through best buy. But then again, I am a contract whore so I like to be locked down for 2 years at a time.
Yeah my wife has the buy-back program on her phone, but I don’t think they had started it when I bought mine.
Use it as a dynamic name tag by attaching some pins that can secure it to your shirt or jacket and display “Hi, My Name is Bryan.”
Seriously, though, I like the in-car media device idea. It sounds like a good DIY project. A custom fitting would be needed for the car to cover the headphone jacks and usb port, with both needing room and 90 degree plugs if you can find them, along with some nice engineering for volume up and down and power buttons. You would most likely need a small amplifier and custom power converter to get the power cable for a car stereo to work with the USB port, but I am only guessing at that. Unfortunately, it can’t double as a GPS navigating device unless you could get it working with a service that you need to sign up for.
Haha, love the name tag idea!
I setup my original Evo for the kids. While at the house they have a little game pad. It has all of their music and games. It kept me from having to go out and buy a DS.
I sold back my Evo 3D when I got my Evo LTE. But I keep my original Evo as a backup in case I lose the current one. That way I have a phone while I wait for insurance to replace the lost/broken one.
Another way I’ve used it is strictly WiFi calling, especially when it off the country. There’s no chance of accidentally roaming. And if I lose it while on vacation, no big deal.
Old android phone + wifi + google voice + groove ip = free home phone # without the need for a landline bill.
I also use it to control my media PC (xmbc(ubuntu linux) connected to my 42″ TV).
I currently use my OG EVO as a media device, as well as for internet calling. I have a Magic Jack account, an my phone syncs with it. So, its basically my home phone, that has all of my current contacts already in and ready to go.
I still have all of my old phones. Even the broken ones.
I combined broken phones to make a spare for the kids, we call it the Frankenphone.
I have an insurance replacement sitting on the shelf to be a new primary device when one of the kids primary device gets killed again.
I paid too much for my smart phones to “give them away”
My Dell Streak is in good condition, and will probably go on eBay when it gets replaced.
Peace
I usually gift out to my mom, and since I take care of my HTC mobile phones (hero,og evo 4g ), and as soon as lte hits OC,Calif I’ll pass my evo 3d (I just grant give up Wimax just yet)
Smart TV. With some media apps, and HDMI mirroring… combined with a Bluetooth mouse you have a smart TV that can also do video calling.
when i upgraded to the new evo lte, i kept my old evo as a back-up phone just in case. sprint was going to give me $65 for buy back. i think the old evo is still relevent, it still does everything the new phones do. oh by the way this is still my original evo 28 months old with the original screen and still charges like new and still works. love my evo
I have my Evo online right now!
I keep mine as a backup. If something were to happen to my current EVO and some other event requires money and I’m left unable to pay the insurance fee then I still have a phone. Keep in mind I’m a poor college kid so a backup is sometimes necessary.
I was going to keep mine as a replacement/media thing for the kids. But
One of my friends needed a new phone so I sold it for $75 with otter case and extra batteries.
My OG EVO is now my Google Voice device on Wifi…
Servers Ultimate. Make your old phone a server.
I’ve been considering the same idea of what to do. I may keep it and then use it as a testing center on rooting it easier (HTC EVO 3D) and also media on the go
I used my Evo 3d in my car as a car media device and it worked perfect. I found a mount from Seido that has a single charge wire that is invisible when installed the right way. The audio is connected with bluetooth. Turn-by-turn nav audio also worked thru bluetooth.
I bought a vehicle mount from kuda mounts and it looked factory. I ditched Sprint and got an HTC Vivid and found another Vivid specific mount from proclip that offers the same factory look and is very nice. This was done in an E90 3 Series so there is nothing aftermarket about my stereo and the mounting system is completely reversible.
media device:
play music in the shower/bathroom
play music while walking the dog
play games while in the bathroom
rarely use it to read my books via google books
I love my EVO 4 G, I will keep it active and I’m very comfortable using my EVO @ work, had the phone almost two years.
I want another phone and it will be another HTC because I like the sense in HTC. HTC is coming out with 3 new phones I will do my homework studying these new phones before I comit to one.
When I do turn off the phone service I will keep my EVO to do what all others do. The calendar on this phone goes on no end to it and have my music on the mp3
I can’t believe how fast the phones have advanced in less than 2 years
I have never had one to get rid of, however I tend to buy or be given them by other people to use without cell service. This way since I have wifi at home and work, I don’t need my own smart phone and contract…. So if you have a friend or nephew/niece it is a cheaper way to give someone a media device. And keeps my money out of apple’s hands….
Oh I forgot to mention, when i get a new phone, i always keep my old one. just in case…. Batteries are cheaper than insurance or buying a new one if something happens. If I were to start getting smart phones, I would definately do this with large touch screens and what not that are easier to break.
Give all my old phones to my family to use
I gave my I old HTC to my sister for her kids to play with…she loved it so much that she won’t give it to them. This it’s for you sis…
Buahahaha
http://kegbot.org/
Haha, that’s a pretty ingenious setup they have.