Living in the era of electronics and gadgets, most of us have a sort of collection of devices that are outdated or simply are not currently used (like photo cameras – every smartphone today has it, so people tend to lose interest in cameras). But such gadgets shouldn’t turn into dust collectors – you can still get use from them, or even earn some cash. Give the gadgets you’ve once appreciated a new home without having to dump e-waste into landfill (which is a pleasant bonus) – there are plenty of resources you can use for such deed.

The first thing you should do when decided to get rid of the old device is researching its current value. There are several resources you can use for that. All you will have to do is choosing the category of the product you want to get a quote for, find the specific make and model in the list and describe the current item’s condition (whether there are any cracks, if all the buttons are working, is it Wi-Fi working device, etc.).

No matter what kind of device you are selling or what service you’ve chosen for this trade, there are several things you should consider.

1. 1. Always compose an honest description of your device. First of all, it is fair, and moreover, it will later be assessed by a professional, who will surely notice all the scratches and broken buttons you failed to mention. If it will happen so, you will most likely get a notification that your gadget will only be accepted at a lower price.

1. 1. Trading used iPhones brings the most money, but only if you do it at the right time. Even though used Apple phones hold their value better than others, its resale value usually drops before the company is about to introduce a new version. That is why, if you decide to part with your old iPhone, check out if there is no other newbie ahead.

1. Before you sell any gadget, take care of your personal information – there is plenty of it on a phone or laptop, so make sure it is secured, so that nothing would get to the new owner of your device.

First you should backup the data you have – the method depends on the type of device. Generally, if you have a gadget of the Apple family, you can use iTunes for backup, while for the Android devices and Google accounts some things like apps and calendar are backed up there.

After you’ve backed up all the information, you can proceed to deleting. With phones and tables it is simple – you can just restore to factory settings and you are done. With a computer you will have to work a little more, as any recovery software can find your files. The easiest way would be removing the old hard drive and replacing it with a brand new before selling.

The additional step you can take is reinstalling the OS if you’ve wiped it together with your data.

In the earlier article Three New Things Campaign by Virgin Media Business, we had penned about Three New Things Campaign by Virgin Media Business and now here in this article we have discussed about the winners and their innovations of the same campaign.

After the thorough evaluation of inventions, judges selected those THREE winners who got announced at the British Film Museum on 12th of March. The entries were evaluated by technology commentator Monty Munford, Dr Ling Ge who has expertise in quantum computing and nanotechnology, Ella Weston, who leads WPP’s Stream series of digital events and Emily Memarzia who is a digital consultant for the IC tomorrow programme managed by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board.

Of course it was a hard time for judges to select the best inventions as there were 250 contestants and it was up to audience who were present in the event to select the best invention among those three inventions. So which were those three new things? And which of them got the audience attention? Read it below.

Which Are Those Three New Things?

I am quite sure that you are eager to know those three new innovations and the selected three new things by Virgin Media Business campaign are CubeSat, Buffalo Grid and Three Over Seven, and one which got the highest votes by the audience from the three innovations was Three Over Seven. 7% of audience voted for CubeSat, 39% casted their votes to Buffalo Grid and 54% of the audience went for Three Over Seven invention.

Let’s know these three new things in brief.

3D CubeSat

Phillip Keane has brought the people-powered 3D space-based connectivity solution in a very low budget. CubeSat structures are the casings for tiny satellites which are now being sold for $2,500, but the 3D CubeSat pulls down the expenses by 75%. It also saves the launch cost as this space-resistant material can be 3D printed inside another structure already exist in space.

Overall this new 3D CubeSat makes it easy to explore the space affordable for everyone including schools and Universities.

Buffalo Grid

Buffalo Grid is a solar powered mobile charging hub which are being distributed to African entrepreneurs for free who are not connected to the main electrical grid. The Buffalo Grid allows them to charge the mobile phones of their customers. Customers just send a SMS to pay for charging and the Buffalo Grid unlocks a charge port.

Three Over Seven

Three over Seven let you scan your feet with your mobile and craft a pair of shoes for you with the 3D printing. You will get your custom made shoes day after the placing of the order which perfectly fits to your feet. Three Over Seven among the three innovation grabbed most of the audience attention and got highest votes.

All three winners will get support and free business telecoms from Virgin Media Business and along with this they will be given a chance to meet Mr. Richard Branson to discuss their ambitions.

This post is sponsored by Virgin. All opinions are mine.