COMMUNITY

I would like to buy a smartphone but a don't want it for calling or texting. I just want to use it for listening to recordings and music and watching downloaded videos and I would like to take pictures with it it and do all the other things a smartphone can do except what it's designed for. What phone would you recommend? I want a phone that has lot of accessories made for it. I would like this phone to be under 150$. I want to also use this phone for lots of DIY projects.

Recently, a family member was trowing a non-functional Samsung Star away, but I kept it. There were two things broken: the side-buttons, that aren't really that necessary; and the touchscreen, which, even though it's pretty much indispensable, can easily be replaced for around 15$. Now, my question is, is it worth replacing it? I have searched quite a lot, but most instructables involving smartphones I find end up mentioning Android, and Android apps (specially arduino instructables), and so I'm not particularly sure this phone would be good for that. I don't want to use it as my phone, so the smartphone cases/holders/stands instructables aren't (by themselves) useful, in this situation. That being said, if you know of any (good?) instructables either about or using smartphones that could be done with a Samsung Star, please link me to them, I will be very thankful.

Hi , i found a really cheap android smartphone here ... but im not sure is scam or not. http://www.funbookes.com/mysaga-c3-android-4-2-dual-core-smartphone-4-0-inch-wvga-capacitive-screen-wifi-gps-bluetooth-black-white.html Anybody here know about this brand or this phone?

You can back up smartphones completely, files applications and i think sometimes settings. You can also back up computer files. But can you back up computer applications? some applications aren't portable.. :-/

I have a surplus of smartphones and a PDA/Kiosk device for store inventory. My question is, is it possible to use one or all of these devices and somehow create an UMPC? Maby flashed to Ubuntu? I am a massive cheep skate and if this is possible it could be as strong as my desktop that I assembled from freebies...

We have been developing a pill dispenser that is integrated with your smartphone. We used 3D printed parts and an RFduino microprocessor. This device would allow tracking of medications from the factory to the end user, eliminating couterfeit meds. In addition it would remind you when to take your meds, and notify your doctor or pharmacy via the internet. Watch the video and let me know what you think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yNBGXBSqLY

Sorry for my bad English :) I have an old Android phone and I want to use it without battery inside, so I do a little mod based on diagram in the following picture. Everything works fine but I have some problem, when I unplug the 5v adapter from wall socket and plug it back in, I can't turn on the phone using phone's power button. Only when I disconnect the battery circuit from the phone and reconnect can I turn it on using power button. What's wrong here ? Sometime I need to unplug the adapter but i don't want to disconnect the battery circuit from the phone :(   Thanks for your help :)

Is there a way to charge a Smartphone using a single AA battery? I already have a DC-DC booster to 5V but the current is not enough to charge the phone, can someone please help me with this?

Is it possible to design an open source smartphone, which everyone can build himself? Please tell what you think about it and what ideas you have.

I am a beginner to the Arduino field can you please help me with these questions ?  How many smartphones can communicate with a single Arduino at a time? How many Arduino a single smartphone can communicate with at a time? How many devices such as AC TV and lights can be connected to a single Arduino? Is voice/noise isolation room affects Bluetooth transmission (if my phone connected to the Arduino using bluetooth)? In case of smartphone outside the room containing the Arduino. please if you have any references or links that might help with understanding the main concepts please help..

  Hi there, I am currently working on a project on reverse engineering. I wish to attempt at somehow using an old laptop lcd, as an external display for my smartphone. As an amateur electrician and computer programmer I would love it if someone could direct me and tell me which goals I have to accomplish to make that happen. I understand that the signals coming out of an lcd display are different then on a cell phone so I had found a control board that will transpose the signal into a VGA signal which can then be directed to a computer. But is there a way to send the signal to a usb port for a smartphone to plug into. Granted a program, software and drivers for the monitor ets would need to be created but that aside, could something like that be possible? Please indulge me. Thanks for your time.

I have been looking for a way to carry my HTC smartphone on my wrist so that I could see the screen.  As I ride a bike and go camping a lot I use my HTC built-in GPS. So today after some searching, I found page phubby.com This is exactly what I want. Unfortunately it is not sold in our country and I dont want to spend money on transportation. So I thought that maybe this wrist holder can be selfmade out of socks, stockings, etc. Do you have any good ideas to make this and in what material? youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwzX4k7TA6o

Hey guys. New to all this disassembling/reassembling/making new stuff, please humor me. So I have this old Samsung Galaxy S Plus phone, which died in early 2014. And now, it's summer holidays, and I'm bored. I remembered this phone, and thought that maybe I could make something out of it. Is it possible to, say, take out the display, or the camera, and use it somewhere else? Maybe I could do something with the speaker? I tried searching on the internet, but didn't find anything. Thanks in advance.

To Whomever has the ability to make this available, please, please, please seriously consider making the website mobile phone friendly. When I try to view the site on my Droid smartphone it is difficult because of the way the text displays.  I love instructables and I also do a lot of web viewing on my phone.  It would be nice if it were not so difficult. Thanks.

Hi guys, I'd like to take an existing pair of headphones (not a specific pair, I can buy a suitable pair if this will make things easier) and implement a switch that will automatically pause my android music when a switch is pressed. Specifically, I'd like the music to pause when a circuit is broken. Since Android will automatically pause music when the headphone jack is removed I can't imagine this would be too difficult to build. However I would also like the music to automatically start again when the circuit is closed again. I'm not overly tech savvy but I think this project is within the realm of my capabilities! Any thoughts or help would be much appreciated! Regards, Tig

I have a few Treo 700wx phone with windows mobile. They are unactivated but are neat little computers. ANy ideas on wht to use them for? I'm having problems with the SD card working too. Any help wouuld be great.

I came up with an idea about making a small product for setting up caravans in terms of getting the corner steadies lowered, when the caravan is where it should be set up. I wrote a more fulfilling description here: Caravan auto leveling Anyone care to give a cost estimate for only the hardware? I can do the app-programming on my own :) Best Regards Neroes

I'm trying to use the BLE option on my chip to talk to my smartphone. Any ideas or suggestions on how to go about this? Thanks!

I recently stumbled upon this interesting piece of hardware: http://www.compulab.co.il/x270em/html/x270-em-datasheet.htm And I was wondering if anyone had any experience with it, and whether or not any of you were able to build a functional smartphone. Thanks a ton!

I have both Kindle and Nook apps loaded on my Android smartphone. Not the greatest viewing area, but good enough in a bind, and not as bulky as either the Kindle or the Nook Color. Anyway, I've download a bunch of the epubs, and now I am unable to get them even recognized on the Android smartphone. Anyone have a suggestion?

Hello, I'm looking for tips about how one would start assembling a smartphone capable of running OS like windows 8 or linux. Basically what i want is 4 to 5 inch computer with touchscreen, a hdmi output and phone capabilities. I'm pretty unsure about everything but i'm really committed. Thinking about using the atom cpu from intel. what do you think? How should I go about the rest of the project. let me know your thoughts?

Posted about something like this about a month ago, and after some searching, I found something like this, (dinodirect.com/headset-tablet-pc-companion-bluetooth-dialer-phone.html), (news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20073460-1/bluetooth-headset-pretends-to-be-mini-phone/).  It more than meets needs, but I was wondering on the feasibility of a DIY build that can pick up and end phone calls, and stuffing it into a clamshell phone case, assuming I could find/fab up an empty shell. Would it be my best bet to disassemble an earpiece, or try and recreate with an arduino variant, or some other third option? To be perfectly honest, I was looking for something to bulk reproduce and sell locally, maybe try a kickstarter or kitbash, or post an instructable for that matter, but anything in the right direction would help. 

I have a t-mobile dash smartphone with a cracked screen how do I replace it?

I am building a Hexacopter and I wondered if it's possible to control the Arduino inside it with a smartphone, to be able to do things that a regular RC can't do, like showing me how balanced it is, showing me a real time camera view, and control it with virtual joysticks. Is it possible to do all of that? How far can a smartphone transmit? 

This is my first smartphone. My older mobile phone was used to normal things like SMS, calling. But at my new job I need something with access to mail or browser. Can you give me any advices?

Hi, everyone. My smartphone's camera is really bad and i wanted to change it but when I thought about the risks i changed my mind. Then i got an idea, which is to make an external mini usb camera for my phone from another phone's camera. I searched the internet but there is no results (I found some videos where they use a webcam for this but I am no sure if it is the same thing) . So, is it even possible?

I have a box full of unused cell phones and smartphones. Some were the higher end ones of their time such as Blackberry Storm and HTC Touch. I would like to find ways to repurpose these as they are still good and have wifi and bluetooth capabilities. I was thinking maybe security cameras or robots that can be accessed via the internet to monitor my home and pets while away. Any ideas or links would be greatly appreciated.

Hi All, I'm trying to figure out how feasible it would be to harvest a touchscreen from an old smart phone (say, a $35 LG on ebay) and integrate it into a DIY electronics project (eg. an Arduino project). Are the connections just hopelessly convoluted inside the phone or do many phones have fairly sensible screens that can be re-used? Thanks in advance for any insight. Sean

I have been reading a lot of DIY articles on how to build portable bluetooth speakers, and I'd like to take it a step further. I have at my disposal an old Samsung Droid Charge, a pair of Logitech computer speakers (powered), and some pioneer bookshelf speakers. What I would like to do is somehow use the electronics in the phone to provide all the necessary connections. Since the phone has bluetooth, a rechargeable battery, and an audio jack/speakers, I would think this is just a small matter of soldering and fitting everything into a cabinet. The problem is that I'm not an electrical engineer, so I'm probably overlooking something. If you have any ideas, or know if something like this has been done before, please let me know! EDIT: I've simplified my project, and I no longer need help with this, but if you do know something that would help, I'd still want to give it a shot.

I've got an old HTC EVO 4G, otherwise known as the PC36100.  I'm attempting to create a 1 to 1 display to connect directly to my computer for a cheap Head Mounted Disply.  I've attempted to use various wireless RDPs.  However, the lag while attempting to do ANYTHING is horrible.  So I attempted to find an app that would connect directly to the phone via USB.  I found two.  Neither of which I feel comfortable dropping money on with such poor reviews and trials that don't work. So finally, I decided why not just use the LCD directly.  No messing with the hardware limitations of the phone at all.  So I took the phone apart.  I got right down to the LCD itself and found that it has a 17-pin input.  But, I don't really know much about it beyond that.  I can tell you that the cable reads: Career 06 94V-0 <->2 C36_FPC REV A I even have a picture of it.  I think it's attached.  If not, I'll fix that. Essentially what I want to know is, what do I need to make it be a fully working LCD monitor for my computer.  I know I'll need a module to convert the signal from what it is now to HDMI or VGA whatever the case may be.  I also know I need power to the screen.  But, beyond that, I don't know where to look.  I've tried looking up the cable information, but I'm not getting great results.  Any help in the matter, would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Hello, I want to know, If i can send data GPS from my smartphone to anathor GPS module EM-506 connect to Arduino or raspberry pi. Thank you

How can I use a htc pantech smartphone that has been cut off and a balance owed on the account? Buy a new sim card? How to use WIFI only? Google and the web? thanks?

Hello, for one of my university courses I have to develop a prototype that give turn by turn signals to a person by means of vibromotors. First I would like to say that my background is mechanical and I have no idea whatsoever of electronics or software. My full Idea (Don't know if feasable) is to use the turn by turn information of a smatphone navigator that uses GPS (like the one of google maps) to activate one of two vibromotors, there would be one vibromotor on the right arm and the other on the left, if a next turn is needed to be made (info from the navigator) a signal will be send to the the motor on the left arm, It will vibrate and let the user know that this next turn needs to be done. I need urgent help since I don't know which components I may need and how to develop the software or anything I will appreciate any hint.

I have a brand new Samsung Galaxy S phone and I want to use it on another carrier. How do I unlcokm it?

I'm making an electronics project which I can control using my Smartphone through Bluetooth.

Hi, I've got an idea but I don't know what it can be used for, yet. Maybe you'll have some ideas for useful applications based on this concept. The idea is to make a grid of LDRs which fits the size of a smartphone/tablet screen, write some code which draws a similar grid on the screen (or just switch images of that grid) so that each LDR will be affected by the light (and color) provided by each cell from the screen.

I have a bad smartphone, so I decided to build a night vision device out of it. I broke the IR filter inside the camera module, but somehow it looks like the camera lost all the focusing ability with the removal (or damage to lens) of the filter. It works almost perfectly on really close range (like macros 1-2 cm), but in other cases, like a room, or the street it is blury as hell. So I was wondering, if there is some lens that I could place in front of the camera, to fix this issue. Thank you very much for your help. :)

I have an iPod touch 5g and after I upgraded it to iOS 9 it has been buggy and frezes all the time. Among the newest and most annoying bugs is this zoom thing. I read many online articles abouta similar bug for iPhone up graders from 5c or 5s users, and one of them said it zoomed in 1%. I have considered downgrading to iOS 8 since I can no longer update the software. I like iOS 9 so if there are ANY suggestions or fixes, PLEASE tell me! Also, is jailbreaking an option? thank you :)

Hi, Is a simple way to communicate nrf24L01+ and Android Smartphone? Best,

Just read there is a 10W transmitter IC that has been developed to power a receiver IC collecting 6W of that energy... Both are ASIC chips that can operate and power power mobile devices up to 30 feet apart. Even though the RF energy is deemed safe. I would plan on using a Faraday helmet and maybe lead under wear when next I visit a coffey house.

After seeing the Game-Gripper for various keypad smartphones, I wanted to have a gamepad for my phone as well. but i own a Motorola Droid Pro from Verizon and the screen and keyboard aren't right for some decent widescreen gaming. I dont think the game-gripper company makes pads for this kind of phone, so does anyone have any ideas on how i could either get or make a gamepad for this phone?

Hello, guys! For academic purposes, I want to develop a solution so that I can answer my land phone directly from my smartphone when I'm at home close to the land phone, so, no Internet or other kind of long-distance communication here. Imagine a scenario where I'm at home, the land phone rings and I have the call information on my smarphone and I'm able to answer or reject it directly from my smartphone. I know the phone carriers offer services called "Follow me" that will redirect the call to my cell phone if it rings a few times and no one answers it, but, that's not what I mean. I want to answer the call on my smartphone as if it were an extension of the land phone. Two ideas came up to my mind, but I'm not sure I could make any of them work. 1- I thought of using some microcontroller like Arduino or something to hack the phone and somehow work as a bridge between the land phone and my smartphone via an Android application using bluetooth or a Wi-Fi ethernet connection. 2- I also thought of using a cordless phone base and capture the RF signals with my Arduino and make it route the call to my smartphone, so that it would ring when the land phone receives a call. If you guys think none of my thoughts would be viable, I would accept any kind of suggestions, even the most weird ones involving interconnection between multiple and heterogeneous devices, hardwares, softwares, technologies, etc. Thanks in advance!

I have a Moto E first gen smartphone and a copy of Windows XP lying around, and I was wondering if it would be possible to install XP in place of Android on it. I don't want to run XP on top of Android, I want to erase Android and make XP the only OS on the device. Is this possible? And yes, I know it wouldn't really be useful for anything, it's just for fun.

I wanna charge my iphone via diy backup battery made from old nokia cells or ipad battery or even couple of iphone 4 batteries i have a step up board and a cheap backup 18650 battery board wich one should i use and how should i connect the batteries with the battery board or without

Hi, So I just broke my friend's selfie stick while playing with it. I'm wondering how to make the trigger for that stick (wireless or wired is OK). I knew that Apple's Earpod paired with an iPhone would work as a trigger but how about Android phone (I've seen some bluetooth camera shutters but don't know how they work)? Also, if possible, suggest me few things about that monopod because this is my first time in Photography and stuff. Thank you guys. 

I want to do a quadcopter which was controlled by smartphone & arduino with wifi interference between them...... can u guys tell me how to connect arduino uno & smartphone & wifi module.

I have a Kyocera Smartphone Portable Stowaway Keyboard, that I want to rewire for use as a usb keyboard. Anybody familiar with these? There are five wires coming off the adapters electronic board to the phone connector. Is there anyway to rewire these to a usb cable to work as a regular keyboard?

Hi guys. I have been thinking about making/getting a portable game system, and have come to the conclusion that the easiest and most portable way to do this is to buy a cheap smartphone (either android or windows phone 8.1 but not ios because I don't like apple (except for their ipod series, that idea was revolutionary)) and put only emulators and games on it, maybe even steam or origin or desura, pretty much any good game client. Pretty much just use it as a device to play games on. But, I don't want to pay for a smartphone plan. I have read that you can somehow use an android phone as an ipod, but how this is done I have yet to find...I know that you can unlock and root but you still need a carrier for the phone to work. So my question is do any of you guys and gals have any idea of how to go about using a phone without a carrier, as a game system (which means I really only need data)???????I have searched the internet high and low and cant seem to find an answer. And btw, the phone I want to use is the Nokia Lumia 520 (running windows phone cyan update).