We’ve become more and more dependent on mobile technology. It’s permeated all facets of modern living, from banking to entertainment — some reports suggest that Gen X and Y are spending up to a full day on their phones every week. If you’re bored of flicking through social media or checking your emails, don’t despair — there are tons of other interesting things you can do with that highly advanced piece of technology in your hand. Here are just three of the cool things you can do with your smartphone:
Play in a Virtual Casino
Online casinos have been all the rage for the last decade or so, but as mobile technology develops, so do the immersive possibilities of apps and websites. Although virtual reality (VR) has been around since the 1980s, it’s only really coming into its own now, and many casino operators are incorporating VR elements into their games, allowing players to navigate between the card tables, roulette wheels, and slot machines, interacting with other players and live dealers.
Those who play online slots for fun choices are spoilt for choice — game developers have added ever more cutting-edge elements onto the simple slot machine. These elements include enhanced and immersive gameplay, stunning graphics and sound design, and themes from pop culture and beyond.
Make a VHS Video
Bored of the high-definition videos made possible by modern smartphones? Sick of slo-mo and time-lapse? Well, if you long for the good old days when clunky titles and digital interference abounded, there’s RarevisionVHS, one of many camcorder emulation apps available. The controls are basic, just like the bulky camera your dad used to cart around on holidays, and the results are authentic.
If you like your videos noisy and full of lines, simply tilt your phone up or down, or hold it steady for a clearer picture. You can add titles, adjust contrast, saturation, and detail, and import videos from your library to retro-fy them. It’s perfect for recording several hours of a family barbecue with which to bore future house guests.
Build Your Own Subway
No, we’re not talking about sandwiches. Mini Metro is an almost perfect app — simple and minimal, aesthetically pleasing, and at its core, a strategic puzzler. It allows players to design their own rail network by placing and attaching stations. Sounds easy? Well, it isn’t, but that makes it all the more playable. Once you’ve connected a few stations, you’ll find your city hard to keep pace with — overcrowding is a common problem, and finding effective ways to manage interchanges and new lines is surprisingly difficult.
As of December 2022, Mini Metro features 31 playable cities, with rivers that must be crossed using a limited amount of bridges and tunnels — these include obvious candidates such as London, Paris, and New York, as well as slightly more obscure options such as Lagos, Tashkent, and Addis Ababa.
Considering how powerful our smartphones are, it seems a shame not to use them for more interesting purposes than scrolling Facebook, and Instagram or reading the news on the go. These are just three ways to spice up your daily screen time.
