Don’t throw your old Android phone into the garbage bin just yet! If you think about it, older Android smartphones don’t differ too much from those single-board computers that people geek over so much, like Raspberry Pi. Of course, your old Android smartphone comes with a high-resolution display and an operating system that allows you to easily install over two million apps and games, which is a huge plus if you don’t fancy the idea of spending the entire Sunday afternoon typing obscure commands into the command line.

Use It as a Clock with These Apps

With nothing but a free Android app and a smartphone stand (if you are a DIYer, check out this tutorial on how to make a smartphone stand from a paper clip), you can use your old Android phone as a highly accurate clock that automatically synchronizes the time and date with a time server.

We recommend Big Digital Clock for a simple full-screen clock. The app has just a few settings, such as the option to switch between AM and PM mode or the ability to customize the color of the digits, so it’s very easy to use, as a simple clock app should be.

If you’d prefer a fancier clock with an excellent alarm functionality, Timely Alarm Clock fits the bill. This elegant, colorful clock features multiple themes and comes with hand-picked sounds that are guaranteed to make your mornings less painful. Timely Alarm Clock allows you to synchronize your alarms across multiple devices and snooze all active alarms, across all devices, with a single press of the snooze button.

Don’t like the idea of having a large clock right in front of you, constantly reminding you how late you are? Then how about looking at the current weather information, instead? Weather Forecast transforms your old Android phone into a compact weather station, complete with beautiful visuals and potentially life-saving storm and flood alerts.