Best uses for your old Android phoneText: Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj, ET BureauJust bought a shiny new phone?Don’t be in a rush to give away or sell your old Android phone.Here's how you can give it a new lease of life.A Time Lapse CameraTime lapse is a mesmerising photo technique that compresses large amounts of time into shorter sequences.You can show time moving much faster than usual – so you can make a video of a sunset that lasts just a few seconds or show the progression of an entire day in a minute or two.Just get an app called Lapse It and a tripod mount for your phone.The phone should be plugged into a power source and kept untouched for the duration of the time lapse.For Desktop ControlYour Android device can be used as a wireless controller for your desktop computer – they need to be connected to the same network and you can get Roccat’s Power Grid (one of the best free apps we’ve seen) to get started.You’ll need the app and the host software for your Windows PC.Digital Halloween CostumeThis can make for a creepy and unique costume.Digital Dudz makes special T-shirts with scary face graphics – the faces have holes where the eyes are and you’re supposed to place your phone into a special pocket in the T-shirt.Get the free app and the eyes on the graphic will be animated, thanks to your phone screen.The Velcro pocket inside the T-shirt is compatible with a variety of phones.As for the T-shirts themselves, you can buy them online and get them shipped for about $30 apiece.Donate Phone PowerYour phone can contribute a little bit towards important research projects using the power of distributed computing (splitting up large amounts of processing processing power into smaller pockets).The idea is that when your phone is idle and plugged in, it can download a little bit of data, perform the calculations and send it back.BOINC (by U.C.

Berkeley) is the app you can get for this.There’s nothing in it for you except knowing that you’re contributed in some way to space exploration, elimination of diseases or other noble scientific causes.Some brands have their own app; HTC’s Power to Give and Samsung’s Power Sleep for instance.Bitcoin MinerBitcoin is virtual currency that can be either purchased or mined.Mining Bitcoins requires complex calculations from your device and that is why it is recommended to use powerful computers.However, you can also mine Bitcoins on your Android device.Free apps like Easy Miner and LTC Miner use your phone to calculate algorithms and earn Bitcoins.You should know that it will probably take a few days before you even earn a single Bitcoin.As a Kid-Safe ToyAn older phone can be a great educational tool for a young child.All you need to do is load up a ‘kid zone’ app like Zoodles, Kidoz or Kid’s Shell.You can choose exactly what your child will have access to and password protection ensures that he/she will not be able to use the other functions of the phone.Media PlayerMany phones are capable of HD video playback and HDMI output.You’ll need the MHL HDMI cable and preferably a media player like MX Player (compatible with different formats).On the TV, the display is shown in full HD resolution — play the media file on the app and you can view it on the connected television.Wireless Media StreamingIf you have one of the newer internet-connected smart TVs, chances are that it is DLNA compatible.DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) allows you to stream content between different multimedia devices.You can use a free app to stream content using DLNA technology — just make sure that the TV and your smartphone/tablet are connected to the same network.Try Apps like PlayTo and Skifta to enable DLNA.Efficient Download MachineInstead of having a desktop to download torrents, you can be more efficient and use an old smartphone.Plug in a microSD card for storage and connect the phone to power.Install the free uTorrent app and you’re good to start downloading torrent and magnet files.uTorrent for Android has most of the features you’ll find in the desktop client.As a Vehicle AidUsing the free Ulysse Speedometer app, a spare smartphone can be turned into a powerful car trip computer.You can record GPS data of your travel along with details regarding speed, direction, time and acceleration time.You can also set speed limit warning so that the app can notify when you are over speeding.To see more, you can tap into your car’s computer using the OBD II (on-board diagnostics) port.Install DashCommand & get PLX Devices’ Kiwi 2 ($70 to 130).The Kiwi 2 will pull real-time information about your car from the OBD II port and display it on your smartphone.A Spare Skype ClientWith the free Skype app, you can use your old smartphone as an always-on Skype client.Set up Skype, connect to WiFi and mount it somewhere in the room – you don’t even need to have an active SIM card in the phone.If available, you can output to a larger display via HDMI while still using the front camera of the Android.

Long gone are the days when cryptographic currencies and public blockchain-based distributed computing platforms were synonymous with the criminal underground.Today, we use blockchain, a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of records called blocks and forms the backbone of both Bitcoin and Ethereum, to move from central record keeping systems to decentralized systems, eliminating the need for costly middlemen in financial transactions, explains Business Insider.bitcoin gocoinThe very nature of technologies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum matches the spirit of the Android operating system, so it should come as no surprise to you that the Play Store is full of useful apps that serve as great examples of real-world applications for blockchain technology.bitcoin financial services

We have selected our top 5 favorite Bitcoin and Ethereum apps for Android, splitting them into two categories for your convenience.ContentsBitcoin WalletsCoinbaseMyceliumXapoBitcoin GamesBlockchain GameBitcoin Billionaire A Bitcoin wallet is a software- or hardware-based tool that allows you to start making payments with merchants and users using Bitcoin, the infamous cryptographic currency that once powered Silk Road, an online black market owned by Ross Ulbricht and the first modern darknet market.bitcoin gewinnBack in 2011, when Silk Road launched, there weren’t that many Bitcoin wallets for Android to choose from.bitcoin huf chartA lot has changed since then, and current Bitcoin users have a lot more options.guestlogix bitcoinWe encourage you to spend some time on Bitcoin’s official website and learn as much as you can about the technology, so you can make your own educated decisions.bitcoin gtk client

But to help you get started, these are our top 3 favorite Bitcoin wallets for Android.Headquartered in San Fransisco, Coinbase is a digital asset exchange company that operates exchanges of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets with fiat currencies in 32 countries, and Bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide.In other words, they are huge.The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and they grew to one million users by 2014.Coinbase has recently added Ether, the value token of Ethereum, as only the second digital currency offered to their retail customers, which is not something many other exchanges can brag about.Coinbase’ Android app has a great rating of 4.5 stars and is often recommended as the best Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet for Android.The wallet allows users to buy and sell digital currency using various payment methods, has real-time and historical charts, price alerts, support for NFC and QR codes, and plenty of other useful features.

The app frequently receives updates, ensuring maximum security of all transactions and leveraging the latest version of the Android operating system to its maximum potential.Developed openly on GitHub, the Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet allows you to send and receive Bitcoins using your mobile phone.Compared to Coinbase, Mycelium is certainly geared toward seasoned Bitcoin users and blockchain enthusiasts.On the official website, the app proudly lists some of its advanced features, such as the support for Hierarchical Deterministic wallets, single address accounts, watch only accounts, and secure authentication using Bit ID.If none of these technologies ring any bells, then you are probably better off sticking with Coinbase.That being said, Mycelium is a fantastic option for more advanced Bitcoin users, as it empowers them to precisely manage their transactions and has been confirmed by thousands of users to be incredibly reliable.Xapo, a Switzerland-based company founded in 2013 by Wences Casares and COO Federico Murrone, stands out with a cold storage vault and a Bitcoin-based debit card.

The company also does its best to ensure complete security of their customers, using physical servers located around the globe that are protected by biometric scanner access, 24-7 video surveillance, and armed guards, according to Casares.Their Android App is a mobile bitcoin wallet and vault that combines convenience and industry-leading security, allowing users to send money to friends or family with ease.You can use it to manage your Bitcoin account just like a checking account, easily tip content creators via Twitter, check the price of bitcoin and other stats in real-time, buy bitcoin directly from Xapo, and more.Its polished user interface follows the latest Material Design guidelines, resulting in an intuitive and seamless user experience that makes you forget about the underlying technology by placing emphasis on its practical usage.If you feel like taking a small break from your real-life responsibilities, perhaps you wouldn’t mind earning a few Bitcoins at the same time, would you?