Are smartphones only used for communication, social media, and sharing, or can they be used smartly? A large percentage of seniors who responded to our mobile savviness survey last week indicated that they use accessibility features such as larger fonts, zoom options, voice commands, and so on. They also mentioned they use apps such as Ola/Uber (89.2%), Accu Weather (67.7%), Swiggy/Zomato (66.2%), and fitness apps (44.6%).
Samarth conducts a ‘Smart ways to utilise your Smart Mobile Phones’ seminar once evry week. 64.4% of seniors who took our mobile-savviness survey indicated such sessions are quite helpful, with 47.8% showing an interest in more such sessions.
Now, let’s discuss some smart ways to use the camera. What if we tell you cell phone cameras can do much more than click selfies and scan QR codes?
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For example, how often have you used your cell phone camera as a mirror? Use the selfie camera as a mirror to see how you look! Here is another way to put that camera to good use. Send a pic of the menu card to your friend who is late for the lunch meet to pre-order.
We give you four more creative ways to use your cell phone camera.
- Avoid getting lost
While on travel in a foreign destination (even within India, outside your state), you wander away looking at the sights and the shops. Suddenly, you find that you are lost. Which way did I come? Or where am I? Look around you and there will be some shops, hotels, parks or such. You could click a pic and run a visual search of the pic. Google will pick up the locale and tell you where you are. This can help you figure out your whereabouts. Your cell phone camera, therefore, can be an aid against getting lost in places unknown to you.
- Find ways to communicate
If you have travelled quite a lot, you would know for sure, that in some places, they stick to the local language, even for signboards and shopping tags. Supposing you are shopping and you want to figure out what an item is, or you want to decipher a signboard, click a pic and Google translate will help you understand in your language. This will help you communicate with the local people even if not fluently, enough to get you around and do some shopping.
- Turn your old phone into a security CCTV
What do you usually do with your old phone? It is quite natural for most of us to change our phones every two years or so. Of course, there are a few who stick to their phone till it gets spoilt. However, these days phones are a common gift and so, people end up with new phones. If you have eco-friendly uses of the old phone like giving it out to someone who continues to use it, then, that’s ok. If not, here is a creative way you can convert your old phone into a security CCTV for your house.
There are many free CCTV apps that allow you to do this. You would need to do your homework and due diligence to know which are safe and works well. Download their app on your phone and set it up using a mount and place it strategically to cover the area you want to monitor. You may need to have the app on your new phone if you want to access and view it from wherever you are. Otherwise, you set up an in-house monitor on a desktop. There are various options and settings you need to explore to get this going, but it is possible and worth it. Similarly, there are apps that can help you use your old phone as a webcam on your desktop, if you don’t want have one or want to purchase one.
Many tech and gadget sites have recommended Alfred Camera as a safe and tried and tested one. You could choose to do your homework and find any app from hundreds of options out there. One word of caution is to watch out for some fake apps.
- Become a stargazer
How about using your phone camera to become a stargazer and decode those constellations? There is an app called SkyView that can help you do exactly that. Often, we look up at the night sky and wonder, is that a star, a planet or something else? Here is some amazing stuff you can do. Download SkyView on your phone and simply point your phone camera towards the sky and the app will guide you about the objects spotted. There are a few settings that make the experience more delightful. It can even spot man-made satellites and tell you the future locations of the sun and the moon on a particular date. Free and paid versions of this app exist, with some premium features in the paid version.
