9 New Uses For Your Old iPhone

How-to
By James Pikover
published

Upgrading? Turn that brick iPhone or iPod Touch into a useful tool as iPhone 4 arrives. Here are nine mini-projects to help you do that.

Experiment

Disclaimer: Everything on this page should be your very last resort for what to do with an old iPhone or iPod Touch. We do not recommend doing any of these experiments because they can damage or break your i-device, and they will void your warranty.

Open It Up

Ever wonder what’s inside that iPhone and what makes it tick? We have many times, but opening up an iPhone or iPod Touch looks difficult, but it is not impossible. If you have the engineering spirit and want to see the insides of an iPhone up close and personal and don’t care about possibly breaking it, then why not? Open it up and see what’s inside! There are certainly enough online guides to explore.

Put Android on It

Ever want to tryout Google’s Android phone operating system? While only currently at 4% market share, Android is also the fastest growing mobile platform and is right behind Apple in downloadable apps at over 50,000 available for download and purchase. It’s also completely open, compared to Apple’s App Store, which has some limitations.

Now, with an iPhone 2G or 3G, you can try out Android. It’s far from perfect because the OS was not made with the iPhone hardware in mind, but it does work. It will be slow and buggy and may even crash, but it’s also 100% free and available for anyone willing to try their luck. For iPhone 3GS or iPod Touch owners, versions specifically for your devices will be available soon. You can read about how to put Android on your iPhone 2G or 3G here.

Jailbreak it

Jailbreaking, or unlocking your phone’s software capabilities and opening it up to third-party developers, originally started before there was an app store available on the original iPhone. It has allowed users to run multiple apps simultaneously, synchronize through iTunes over the air, tether to any computer for free, and do many more things that you can’t find at the iPhone App Store.

Today, jailbreaking is easier than ever. Just download the Spirit tool and follow the simple instructions, and you’re good to go. Remember, while jailbreaking your iPhone shouldn’t cause any harm to your device, some applications in the various stores may cause crashes, bugs, or even break it entirely. Reports of such incidents are rare, but it is always a risk.

A jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch has significantly more access to applications than the current App Store has, but if you’re going to jailbreak your iPhone, you’ll have to take that trip on your own. We don’t recommend jailbreaking your iPhone, and while there are clearly some benefits to it, there are other, better uses for your older hardware.

But don’t worry if you get lost. A quick Google search for good apps or help with what to do will get you wherever you need to go in this underground realm of iPhone software. Some of it is fine, some of it is illegal, and all of it will kill your warranty. That doesn’t mean you won’t have fun on the way, though.

James Pikover

James Pikover is the founder and CEO of More Voltage, a product development company helping deliver better products to consumers. He also teaches courses in user experience design and product management. Prior to that, he worked as a freelance tech journalist. His work has appeared on many sites, including Tom's Guide, Medium, IGN, Mashable, and more.

20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • icepick314
    what?

    no paper weight or door stop?
    Reply
  • abhifx
    or it can be given to someone like me who cant afford a smart phone. believe me its a good idea :)
    Reply
  • NuclearShadow
    Apple products have a perfect logo a Apple with a bite taken out of it. What do you do when you no longer want/need a apple that you took a bite of? Do you give it away? NO! Do you find some other purpose for it? NO! You throw it in the trash. And that is what Apple wants you to do. Buy the new and discard the old because the old is uncool and you want to be cool right?

    This is a paid advertisement from the Church of Steve Jobs and the Macintosh Saints.

    P.S. Expect your new hardware to be outdated in 6 months. Remember only those who stay true to Jobs and buy all the new products to be saved from eternal torment from the devil Bill Gates and his place of eternal anguish Microsoft.

    Praise Jobs! Macllelujah!
    Reply
  • dredg98
    NuclearShadowApple products have a perfect logo a Apple with a bite taken out of it. What do you do when you no longer want/need a apple that you took a bite of? Do you give it away? NO! Do you find some other purpose for it? NO! You throw it in the trash. And that is what Apple wants you to do. Buy the new and discard the old because the old is uncool and you want to be cool right? This is a paid advertisement from the Church of Steve Jobs and the Macintosh Saints.P.S. Expect your new hardware to be outdated in 6 months. Remember only those who stay true to Jobs and buy all the new products to be saved from eternal torment from the devil Bill Gates and his place of eternal anguish Microsoft.Praise Jobs! Macllelujah!

    Everything gets outdated in 6 months!
    Reply
  • brianmoz
    dredg98Everything gets outdated in 6 months!i dont get it. are you talking about technology in general or apple...my wife has 3g and is happy with it...that came out 2 years ago. Its not good to be a fanboy or a hater. the more you guys make these indignant claims as if your victims of apple or something the more you sound pathetic. Its a company that makes products. People buy them that want them and people who dont want them dont buy them. some people get angry about them for ...why?
    Reply
  • JimmiG
    abhifxor it can be given to someone like me who cant afford a smart phone. believe me its a good idea
    Same here. Still using a Samsung clamshell phone I bought for about $90 in 2006. It still works great, but I'm buying a smart phone finally this summer. I will keep the Samsung as a secondary phone for when I don't want to bring the bigger and more expensive smart phone (ie pubs etc.).
    Reply
  • dredg98
    brianmozi dont get it. are you talking about technology in general or apple...my wife has 3g and is happy with it...that came out 2 years ago. Its not good to be a fanboy or a hater. the more you guys make these indignant claims as if your victims of apple or something the more you sound pathetic. Its a company that makes products. People buy them that want them and people who dont want them dont buy them. some people get angry about them for ...why?

    Technology in general once you buy something its pretty much outdated
    Reply
  • OK.. so basically an old iPhone can be hacked and improved or used like a flash drive. Since the replacement phone will presumably be better than a jailbroken iPhone with a skype app; and since flash drives are smaller and more reliable than anything Apple makes I think my conclusion is: I'd rather smash it with a hammer.
    Reply
  • NuclearShadow
    hammatimeOK.. so basically an old iPhone can be hacked and improved or used like a flash drive. Since the replacement phone will presumably be better than a jailbroken iPhone with a skype app; and since flash drives are smaller and more reliable than anything Apple makes I think my conclusion is: I'd rather smash it with a hammer.
    Now your thinking the Apple way! Why do you think the all mighty Jobs does not want you to upgrade a Mac? The very thought of upgrading is silly you simply smash the old Mac and buy a new!

    Jobs iBless you, Jobs ibless us all! iAmen
    Reply
  • compprob237
    JimmiGSame here. Still using a Samsung clamshell phone I bought for about $90 in 2006. It still works great, but I'm buying a smart phone finally this summer. I will keep the Samsung as a secondary phone for when I don't want to bring the bigger and more expensive smart phone (ie pubs etc.).
    >_> I'm still using a Motorola SLVR L7e. Although, my Zune HD replaced everything a "Smartphone" would do without the bulk. On the plus side I like the fact I can drop my SLVR from my 2nd story balcony (everybody drops their phone at least once) and know that it will still work and not be broken nor expensive to fix/replace.
    Reply