Devices still useful offline

At first glance, a smartphone simply turns into a very expensive paperweight when it’s not connected to the internet.

But with a bit of forward planning your phone can actually be quite useful when offline.

This situation comes up often when travelling and you can’t get online, or you can only get brief access, and then only with dial-up type speeds.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your disconnected phone.

First, a phone is great for storing reading material. The most obvious app is Kindle. You can download and store dozens of books on your phone to read while you’re away.

However, if you have limited online access, it’s still pretty quick to download a book but browsing and buying on the Amazon site may be slow.

Another great app is Pocket. This lets you save any online article so you can read them later when offline. You can save articles from your web browser on any device and then read them at your convenience.

Some news apps, such as The New York Times, store stories offline. This means anytime you open the app while connected to the internet, the app will download all stories to your phone so you can read them later.

If reading on a phone is too frustrating then podcasts also work offline. Once again, be prepared and download all you need before leaving home.

They take up a small amount of space on your phone and are a great way to pass time while in an airport or on a plane.

While you can also download movies to your phone, they can take up a lot of space. A better option is to find some games that work offline. These can range from popular, graphic-heavy games to classics such as Solitaire.

If you’re in a location that has limited internet then you may also have patchy electricity. This is where your torch app will come in handy. Also, other practical apps will work without the internet, such as the calculator and camera.

Being offline will make you learn more about your phone’s capabilities and hopefully it can be more useful than a paperweight when there’s no internet connection.

Being offline will make you learn more about your phone's capabilities.