When a company like Boeing wants to make an airplane wing or fuselage panel, they rely on a traditional layup process and a high-heat autoclave. The autoclave applies heat and pressure to cure the multiple layers of carbon fiber inside an epoxy resin. The finished product ends up being a solid piece of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

All of this is well and good, but autoclaves for such large parts are monstrous in and of themselves. Thanks to ongoing research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the need for high heat autoclaves may be coming to an end. Researchers have found a way to cure composite materials using carbon nanotubes and electricity. Their process completely eliminates the need for ovens and autoclaves.

Building an Airplane Fuselage

The Boeing 787, now considered the crowning jewel of the Boeing fleet, relies on an extensive amount of carbon fiber throughout. Needless to say that the 787 is a huge plane. Imagine what a monumental task it must be to construct fuselage panels for this aircraft.

A single fuselage panel starts as multiple layers of carbon fiber prepregs. As Rock West Composites in Salt Lake City explains, prepregs are carbon fiber fabrics that come from the factory already impregnated with resin. They are laid into a mold until the desired level of thickness is achieved. Then the mold is placed in an autoclave where heat and pressure cure the fabric and resin.

An autoclave large enough to accommodate fuselage panels is almost as big as a small warehouse. It consumes a ton of energy doing what it does. Between energy consumption and the sheer amount of floor space needed to house an autoclave, you are talking a major financial investment for Boeing. What if they could dispense with the autoclave altogether?

The MIT Research

Back in 2015, an MIT research team began working on a process whereby they could cure composite materials without the need for an oven or autoclave. They decided to go with electricity as the curing mechanism. Making it all work relied on creating a carbon nanotube film they could wrap around the composite layers. Introducing electricity to the film generated enough heat to cure the composites in place.

Researchers dubbed their process ‘out-of-oven’ curing. With it they were able to produce composite materials that were just as strong as those made with conventional layups and autoclave curing. More importantly, they did it with 99% less energy.

Fast forward some four years and a new team of MIT researchers is working to perfect the process. Much of their focus is on improving the carbon nanotube film. By improving its performance and introducing new capabilities, they believe they can dramatically simplify composites fabricating in the aerospace industry.

Implications for Other Industries

There is no telling how close MIT researchers are to perfecting their out-of-oven process. Yet by proving it works, they have set the stage for quite a revolution in composites fabricating. The implications go way beyond aerospace manufacturing.

Think about the automotive sector. They have been chomping at the bit to incorporate more carbon fiber in their designs. What has stopped them? Cost. If car makers could produce the carbon fiber parts they want with 99% less energy and without the need for ovens and autoclaves, it’s a lot easier to justify the cost.

Taking the autoclave out of the equation changes the game entirely. Throw in an automated process for laying down carbon fiber fabrics and you have an entirely new method for producing very large composite parts at a fraction of the cost.

 

Throughout human history, there seems to be a distinct ebb and flow in human innovation. Usually, we see a paradigm shift in thinking, an idea so revolutionary it changes the way we think and live our lives forever. Always there are those opposed to a change in the status quo, and we see periods of human history that take a step backward from what we have learned (the dark ages anyone?)

Thankfully, as we march into the future, we see more innovation and less darkness. We are living in an age that may just see us give birth to artificial life. How did we get here? What technologies kick-started our ubiquity? What inventions can we thank for our prolific history and our bright future?

Printing press

For tens of thousands of years, we huddled in caves; fire was our greatest discovery. We invented language, animal husbandry, and learned to navigate using the night time sky. There are millions of individual ideas and inventions, but nothing kick-started our rise to global super species like the invention and spread of the printing press.

It’s hard to imagine a time when news wasn’t accessible instantly from your iPhone 11 pro, but before printed material, even a simple newspaper did not exist.

Invented around 1440, the printing press allowed the mass reproduction of printed material, and this gave birth to newspapers, magazines, and other consumable writings. Most importantly, the printing press allowed for easy circulation of information and, ultimately, the establishment of the scientific community.

A strong scientific community that could easily share ideas and information was paramount to the development of more sophisticated technology. Without the printing press, we would not enjoy the convenient lives we lead today.

Microchip

If the printing press changed the world in a hundred years, the microchip did it almost overnight. In the early ’70s, this stroke of design genius emerged, promising to shrink bulky, vacuum-powered electronics to a more manageable size.

There are too many ways in which the microchip changed human history to list here. Every piece of technology was miniaturized and made more efficient after the microchip was introduced, allowing us to enjoy handheld devices of astonishing power — devices like the smartphone.

Smart phone

Many people say that Apple introduced us to the smartphone, but it doesn’t really matter. The move towards handheld computers was well on its way before Apple graced us with the iPhone in 2004. The melding of touchscreen technology, as well as cellular connectivity, gave birth to perhaps the most significant piece of consumer technology in the earth’s history.

Has the smartphone made our lives easier or more fulfilling? The argument could go either way, but it seems they have complicated life further for many. Smartphones are so significant not for how they helped humankind, but how they have distracted us and changed the way we live forever.

What’s next?

If I could predict the future, I wouldn’t be writing these articles; I would be enjoying an extended vacation on a beach somewhere far away, growing fat on the lottery money I have won. Alas, I cannot predict the future, but we can make educated guesses as to where humanity is heading.

3D printing is starting to mature and is finding applications in the real world as we speak. As technology gets more sophisticated, the effects of 3D printing could be profound. Imagine being able to print new organs, or instantly replace a part in a broken machine by printing a new one. This future is not very far away and is very exciting, but only time will tell how it plays out.

Human history is intrinsically tied to technology, from early man discovering fire to modern man developing neck cramps from overuse of a smartphone, technology is what makes us human. What new wonders will our children witness? What technologies will emerge to reshape our world once more? Only time will tell.

 

Run a Google search on smart home devices and you will have 2.7 billion results to look at. Despite home automation not being as ubiquitous as some companies would like, smart home information is. Everywhere you look you will find news articles, product reviews, and videos talking about smart home technology.

That leads us to a 2015 Fox News article written by contributor John Brandon. The article touched on what the future of smart technology would look like. It predicted everything from cryptocurrency replacing fiat to each of us having robots tasked with protecting us. Science has a lot of catching up to do if Brandon’s predictions are to come to fruition.

Nonetheless, the article does raise an interesting question: Will today’s smart home gadgets be tomorrow’s robots? There is plenty of optimism in this particular area of science. We have already seen a lot of progress in robotics since the turn-of-the-century. It is quite possible that we will live in a world filled with robots within the next 25 to 50 years.

Home Automation’s Current State

Bringing robots into the home is something that used to be relegated to science fiction and children’s cartoons. And yet, here we are today with robotic vacuums and lawnmowers. You can buy a robotic pool vacuum that keeps your pool clean year-round. And of course, there are all sorts of smart home gadgets capable of doing amazing things.

Vivint, a Salt Lake City company that is considered a pioneer in home automation, explains what they do at integrating heating and air-conditioning, appliances, security devices, and other systems managed by a centralized control panel. It is a workable definition that would apply to almost all home automation systems.

A fully integrated system could automate just about anything that is normally operated electronically. You might start with the smart thermostat and then add sensors and software to control lighting. Then you would automate your smart windows or window blinds, your home entertainment system, and so forth.

Much of the technology we need to create truly smart homes is already available. So why are smart homes not the norm? There are a couple of reasons, beginning with compatibility. Vivint is just one of many companies working in the smartphone arena. Unfortunately, proprietary hardware and software makes it very difficult for unrelated systems to work together. This lack of compatibility is depressing the market.

The Future of Home Automation

For today’s home automation gadgets to become tomorrow’s robots, something profound has to happen: hardware and software makers have to come to agreement on some sort of standardization. That is when things will really take off. When your automated lights can talk to your voice assistant, and both can talk to your vacuum cleaner and lawn mower, you’ll have a system capable of accommodating many more robots than we currently utilize.

The future of home automation looks pretty good by all measurements. The more we come to know about deep learning and artificial intelligence, the more we are applying that science to home automation. Today’s a smart vacuum cleaner could become tomorrow’s smart dishwasher. Both could give way to a robotic maid capable of cooking dinner and cleaning up after itself.

If you are worried about robots taking over the world, don’t be. The future looks a lot more like the robots from Star Wars than their evil counterparts from The Terminator and I, Robot. They will be advanced enough to operate on their own but not so advanced as to be capable of rational, abstract thought.

A Taste of the Future Today

For those of us who love smart home technology, it represents an opportunity to get a taste of the future today. For example, did you know you can install both smart thermostats and lighting systems capable of ‘learning’ your regular schedule? It’s true. And as they do so, the systems can self-adjust to accommodate your lifestyle. A good system can save you quite a bit of money by adjusting both lighting and temperature so that you are not wasting energy unnecessarily.

Will today’s smart home gadgets become tomorrow’s robots? It’s possible. But don’t expect an entire robot population capable of taking over the world. It will not be like that.

 

One of the ways that business owners can really stand out from the crowd, particularly if several businesses are selling a similar product or service, is to ensure they are positioned as an expert in their field. When they are able to do this, customers will trust them to know everything about their business and to give them the right advice. People will automatically turn to those who are positioned as experts and will prefer to buy from them.

Thanks to technology, getting to this position is not as hard as it may seem. There will be work that you need to put in, but tech can help you spread your message more quickly. Here’s how it works.

Online Learning

In order to be an expert, you truly need to know a lot about your subject. Although technology may be able to help you tell people you know everything about it, if you then can’t answer questions or don’t have any idea how to help them, you’ll soon lose their business and your reputation. Therefore, you need to have the right learning and knowledge behind you.

Technology can help you achieve a much higher level of knowledge than you might otherwise have had. Not only can you research almost everything online and learn as much as you can that way, but you can also cement your learning with a Kettering University Masters in electrical and computer engineering. This kind of qualification will prove your knowledge and will certainly help you not only run your business but gain more business too.

Your Blog

Blogs have been around for a long time now, so you might not think of them as technology as such, and certainly not something that will help your business. However, they are actually supremely useful and not something to be ignored.

Having a blog will allow you to write about your subject and show people how much you know. If you want to position yourself as an expert, this is an ideal way to do it. Write about what you do, why you do it, how your products and services can help your potential customers and anything else that might relate to your own business or the sector you are working in. The more you can add to your blog; the more people will visit your site. They will see you know what you are talking about, and they will be more likely to buy.

As an added benefit, your blog can help you when it comes to search engine rankings. The more you write, the more Google will think your site is of value, and it will boost it further up the rankings. Add links, images, and keywords, and you will climb even more.

Social Media

Social media can be extremely effective when it comes to promoting your business, and for showing that you are an expert in your field. This is where you can easily post links to your site and blog, encouraging people to visit and leave comments. It’s also where you can write updates, talk about product launches, and explain why changes within your industry are happening and what to do about it.

 

Technology is amazing. Whether it’s for work or play, the right technology can just make life better. For keeping up to date with your friends and family, or for making workflow easier in the office, having the right tech is now vital. There’s almost no area of our lives that hasn’t been affected by the rapid pace of modern tech. One of the best things about the range of technologies now available is their versatility. Being able to use your tech when and how you want is now a major consideration when buying your latest digital tools. Here are some of the key pieces of tech that everyone needs and what you should consider when investing in them.

USB Data Hubs

Laptops are getting more powerful than ever, but they are also getting slimmer. That means that there are now fewer USB ports available on many current machines. You can now get five or ten-port USB docks that will combine high-speed USB-3 ports alongside charging ports. Considering that they are often smaller than the average bar of candy, this is becoming a great way to keep powered up and connected no matter where you are. For data transfers or for connecting a variety of devices, a USB data hub adds real portability to your life.

Home Assistants

These are still not in every home, but that is slowly changing. When a home hub like Amazon Echo or Google Home can help organize your daily schedule, play your favorite playlist, and even dim the lights in your bedroom, home assistants are becoming one of the most versatile technologies accessible for everyone. The best one for you will depend on your other devices. If you have a Google Pixel 2 or the latest iPhone, make sure that you get the assistant that connects.

Personal Devices

Some people will argue forever about why it’s better to have a laptop over a tablet. Others will argue the exact opposite. Of course, for the ultimate in versatility you can’t go wrong with a device that acts as both. Detachable keyboards or keyboards as accessories have transformed the way that we carry and use our devices. Check out the Choosist guide for finding the perfect tablet/laptop hybrid that will match the demands of your life.

Portable Chargers

Now that we all stare at our devices all day, the question of why we haven’t yet developed phone chargers that connect straight to our bodies has yet to be answered. While we wait for a little human/tech integration, portable chargers will do the job just fine. These are a great thing to have in your college bag or your laptop case at work. If you’re tired of running out of battery on your phone while commuting, or you spend more time attached to the wall with a lead and a plug socket, portable changers can be a real game-changer.

Technology is everywhere, and it’s highly customizable. With so much tech to choose from, you can mix and match your combos to find out what works best for you. Whether you’re a tech-head who’s never too far from the latest trending news, or someone that prefers to stick to Netflix, the right technology exists for you. Finding versatile options for your tech and your life is easier than ever.

To read more on topics like this, check out the technology category.

 

If you’re new to the concept of prototyping before you dive into the development project, it might seem like a strange idea at first. Prototyping is usually done at the end of a development project to give stakeholders and potential users a working version of the final product. There are, in fact, times when you’ll want to make a prototype before you begin development. Here are five such occasions when you may need to make a prototype first.

1. When You Want to Visualize Your Concept

Unfortunately, what sounds good in our heads doesn’t always look good on paper, and vice versa. Often, ideas seem great until they’re put into production, and then you find that they simply don’t work or impractical to produce into a tangible product or service.

If you have a concept, but you’re looking to actually see that concept come to life, prototyping before you begin the development process can help. You’ll create a prototype of your idea to see what it will look like, to ensure the ideas you’re churning in your mind match what’s actually possible on paper and in terms of production/development.

This is a great way to pitch ideas as well. You’ll probably need a team to help you develop your project, so providing the team with a representation of what you’re talking about will help them visualize the future of the project and (hopefully) support your vision.

Investing in a prototype early on can also help save you money if the concept turns out to be impractical or simply not viable. Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of several months or years on a project if you’re not even sure of its usefulness or practicality? Don’t gamble with your money; create a prototype and figure out whether or not your idea is worth investing in.

2. When You Need Financial Support

While investors like ideas, what they like better is a visualization of those ideas. An idea is fine in the concept stage, but without some kind of prototype to accompany your business/marketing plan, you might find that securing that all-important investment capital becomes a challenge.

Securing capital is already a task in and of itself, so you don’t want to make it any more difficult. Be sure to pitch your product to investors with a prototype of some sort, so they know what they’re investing and what the product should look and feel like once its completed the production/development phase.

Prototype design tools can help you create low and high-fidelity mock-ups or wireframes that can act as a sort of prototype for web and app developers. The great thing about these tools is that you can share your designs along the way, keeping stakeholders or clients updated during the design process and beyond.

3. When You Need Market Feedback

Unsure how your target audience will respond to your product? Prototypes are a great way to connect with potential customers and gain valuable feedback on your designs from the people that intend to purchase them upon completion.

This insight can help you identify issues and make changes early on in the design process, which is always simpler than going backward to make adjustments. Not to mention, edits can become quite costly the further you get in the development process, so fixing issues early on becomes a cost-effective necessity as well.

Feedback can also come from stakeholders, team members, and other sources as well. You might not even notice a specific flaw in your design until the prototype is presented to the team or your investors. It never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes!

4. When You’re Trying to Cut Down on Costs

If you have limited funds to work with, you’ll want to cut down on as many costs as possible associated with your project to remain in within your budget and increase your profit margin. Prototyping early on can help mitigate costs, preventing a full-scale, costly development from taking place if the concept isn’t ready.

Learning that your idea is too costly halfway through the development phase can mean a lot of wasted time, money, and, not to mention, stress. You’ll want to be sure you can handle the cost of both development and production by creating a prototype first to gauge the financial burden of the project. Your team will undoubtedly be grateful for a project that doesn’t shut down halfway through its development.

5. Maximizing UX/UI

The user is the most important component of your design. They determine the success of the project and decide whether or not the app, website, or software you’ve developed meets their needs. That’s why it is so crucial to remember both UX and UI in your designs.

With an early prototype, you can properly measure these components and gain a better understanding of how your users interact with and use your software or website. This understanding will help you make improvements, and therefore better appeal to your customer base once the project is completed.

Conclusion

Prototypes have many advantages for a development team; from saving time and money to improving both UX and UI of a development project. Using a prototype early in the creative process to gauge market interest and solidify your concept will help you succeed later on and develop something your users will love.

To read more on topics like this, check out the technology category.

Are you currently interested in pursuing a new career? One that offers plenty of opportunities to excel where you can earn a high salary at the same time? In choosing a new career path, you need to identify what interests you. Make a list of jobs that you think would suit you and try to research information about it. To help you find possible career paths, here are a few high paying jobs which may appeal to you.

1. Software Engineer 

If you’re looking for a career that offers a competitive salary, you may want to consider becoming a software engineer as they can earn in excess of $95,000 per year. As a software engineer, you’ll get to design and build innovative software solutions for a wide variety of companies and organizations.

If you have a logical, analytical mind and enjoy finding more effective solutions for digital problems, it’s well worth finding out more information about becoming qualified to become a software engineer. This is especially true if you have the ability to pay attention to small details as you’ll be less likely to make mistakes with your coding, which could lead to huge issues with the functionality of the software which you designed.

2. Flight Engineer

Another high paid career which is worth pursuing is becoming a flight engineer as they can earn in excess of $100,000. One of the reasons why flight engineers tend to earn attractive salaries is because they are responsible for monitoring and operating aircraft systems and are partially responsible for the lives of countless passengers. If you have an interest in aviation and engineering, you may want to combine your passions in order to become a flight engineer.

3. Security Analyst

In recent times, more individuals are choosing to pursue highly lucrative careers as security analysts as there is a high demand for these professionals who have the skills to analyze the security measures of large businesses and organizations.

As a security analyst, you’ll be able to analyze weaknesses in your employer’s security measures so that you’ll be able to come up with more effective security solutions for the business which you work for. As a security analyst, you may also choose to work as an independent contractor in order to work for multiple companies.

4. Financial Advisor

If you have an interest in finance, the share market, and properties, you may want to consider becoming a qualified financial advisor. Especially if you believe that you’ll be able to help individuals build their passive income and that you can give customized tailored advice to each of your clients. Typically, well established financial advisors can earn $90,000 upwards a year.

5. Optometrist

If you’re more interested in pursuing a career in the medical field, specifically those who specializes in eye and vision care, you can pursue a career as an optometrist. You’ll be able to earn $120,000 upwards a year as there is an increasing demand for optometrists.

6. Political Scientist

You may be slightly surprised to learn that the average political scientist earns around $115,000 per year. So if you happen to be passionate about domestic politics and world politics you may want to turn your interest into a career by studying to become a political scientist.

So if you’re looking to pursue a high paid career it’s well worth finding out more information about the six high paying jobs which are listed above.

To read more on topics like this, check out the technology category.

Click, click, click, andddd done. Ordering one of your favorite products online is as simple as that. Nowadays, it is actually becoming the norm to order online vs go through the hassle of visiting a retail store. There are quite a few reasons for this, the main one pointing to the convenience factor.

You can’t get more convenient than ordering groceries for tonight’s dinner from the comfort of your couch. Yes, you read that right. You are now able to order groceries online and they’ll arrive on your doorstep in two hours or less.

This overly-convenient way of shopping isn’t how it’s always been, which might be difficult for some of you youngsters to believe. Consumer habits have gravitated towards e-commerce, rather than good old fashioned regular commerce, not that long ago. Here’s how it all began.

The Invention of Online Shopping

The concepts behind ecommerce started about 40 years ago, but it has been on an exponential rise for the past decade or so. Something called electronic data interchange came about in the 70s, and this was what really paved the way for businesses to start operating online. Teleshopping – or shopping from the telephone – also became a thing around the same time.

However, nothing really took off with ecommerce until 1991 when the internet was invented. Well, it wasn’t really invented in 1991, but it at least became available to the public that year. Before that, the first online retailer dates back to 1979 by a British man named Michael Aldrich. His ecommerce store was nothing like what you’re used to in 2019.

Aldrich connected a television to a telephone line and then connected that to a multi-user transaction processing computer. We won’t get into it since it’s extremely hard to explain these technologies of the past. All you need to know is that the idea took off and spread throughout the UK and to Ireland and Spain within the next year.

The Arrival of the World Wide Web

Something world-altering happened in 1991 – the world wide web became accessible to the general public. Up until this time, the National Science Foundation had restriction on the practice of selling goods and services over the internet. But that all changed, which led to an insane increase in online shopping around the world.

During this time of growth, there were major concerns about personal and financial information staying secure while making a transaction. However, there was an immediate response to this concern with the creation of Secure Socket Layer (or SSL) technology. To this day, banks and online retailers use SSL encryption software to keep customer and client information protected.

Ecommerce Today

The top ecommerce store in the 21st century is Amazon – chances are you’ve heard of it and maybe even used it once or twice or one thousand times. Just about every retailer has an online store as well, and the most successful ones have invested in ecommerce order management software.

There are so many tools and resources available making it easy for almost anyone to become an ecommerce business owner. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, just remember that competition is fierce since all businesses are focusing on online shopping.

 

When you take a spin down Honda racing’s memory lane, you can’t help but be impressed by the enduring success of the brand and the sport. From Soichiro Honda’s manufacturing passion and racing vision to a major manufacturer that deals in everything from OEM parts Honda motorcycle to motorcycle tires for sale, the brand persists. Here’s a brief look back at Honda’s racing history.

Father Figure

Soichiro Honda was born in Japan in 1906. His upbringing and education led him to join automobile servicing company Tokyo Art Shokai where he helped build a Curtiss racer and lent his hand to tuning cars. Eventually, he formed a company that manufactured piston rings. Following its sale, he founded Honda in 1946.

Honda put the emphasis on manufacturing motorized bikes, and the first official version went to market in 1949. The company started racing its bikes in 1959 and by 1964 it was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

Racing Highlights

Honda entered five bikes in the Isle of Man race in 1959 – he was the first Japanese manufacturer to compete in the race – and his team swept the podium in 1961. Honda went on to join the Formula One racing circuit from 1963 to 1968. In 1965, the manufacturer won at the Mexico Grand Prix with driver Richie Ginther. After a hiatus, Honda returned to the circuit, winning its first 500 cc Grand Prix World Championship in 1983.

World Championships

Through the remainder of the 20^th century and into the 2000s, Honda has gone from strength to strength in many forms of racing. The company’s accolades include the following titles:

• Eight World Enduro Championships
• Six Motorcross World Championships
• Three world championships (at observed trials)

If you’re the proud owner of a Honda or any other brand of bike, invest in motorcycle OEM parts today and return it to its factory-floor glory. Just think of it as paying homage to the motorcycle world’s original designers and manufacturers such as Soichiro Honda!

Chances are like most people you have plenty of old electronics laying around that you no longer use. From smartphones to cameras to laptops and tablets, we tend to hold onto old electronics, even years after we’ve upgraded them. But in the digital marketplace, your old electronics can potentially earn you hundreds of dollars.

Want to learn how your old electronics can make you quick cold hard cash? If you’re tired of thinking “I need money” and you’ve got old electronics lying around, you’re in luck. Here’s how you can sell your old devices fast.

Gazelle

Gazelle is one of the most popularly used websites for trading in phones, smart watches, and other electronic devices. Using the site, you can trade in all sorts of items including:

• iPads
• Tablets
• Samsung, Android, and Google phones
• iPhones
• Computers
• Other devices

Gazelle works in a matter of minutes. All you have to do is provide information about your device, and then an offer is sent to you in less than a minute. Items worth more than $1 ship for free. There are several payment options to choose from, including check, PayPal, or an Amazon Gift Card.

If you’re looking for instant cash, you can stop by a Gazelle Kiosk and get immediate cash for your device. Note that the kiosk only accepts tablets, phones, and MP3 players. Kiosk offers also tend to be a little lower compared to online offers.

Best Buy Trade-In

Have old devices you don’t use? Do you like shopping at Best Buy? If so, now is a great time to consider the Best Buy Trade-In program. To get a quote for your electronic device, you’ll need to pick a product category along with a manufacturer, model, and condition. Once you’ve answered all of the questions about your device, the online tool will offer an estimated value.

If you accept the offer, you’ll be given a Best Buy gift card. You can choose to bring your device to a local store that accepts in-store trade-ins, or you can ship the item to Best Buy using a prepaid label.

Nextworth

Nextworth is one of the few trade-in programs that gives money for electronic devices. The company pays via PayPal or check, and you’ll usually receive your payment a week after the device has been received.

To get started on the trade-in process, you’ll have to answer questions about the computer, tablet, phone, or smartwatch that you’re trading in. Nextworth will send you a cash offer. If you accept the company will send you a prepaid shipping label.

As long as the device is accepted and the indicated condition is correct, your money will be on its way. If for some reason there’s a discrepancy, you can ask for the device back or take the revised offer.

Use Amazon Trade-In

Amazon is involved in all sorts of different business factions, so it’s no surprise that the giant retailer also offers a trade-in service for old electronics. Using Amazon Trade-In, you search for an item, enter details about it, and then select the condition of the device. Amazon will then make an offer for your device. If you accept the offer, you’ll be sent a shipping label.

From here you simply ship the item to Amazon. Within two days of the item being received, you will be given an Amazon gift card with the offer amount. If for some reason the item is in better condition than described, Amazon’s promise is to pay you more to account for this.

The only drawback to using Amazon Trade-In is that your money is restricted to use on Amazon, but surely you can find a few things you need from the tens of thousands of items they sell!

Apple GiveBack

Similar to Amazon Trade-In, Apple also offers a program where you can trade in your old Apple devices. You can choose to give back your old items at an Apple Store in person or you can do an online give back. The online option takes about 2-3 weeks.

What’s nice about this program is that Apple also accepts other devices, including other brands of computers, tablets, phones, and watches. With Apple GiveBack, your trade-in value will be paid via an Apple Store gift card. You can also choose to have the trade-in value applied towards your purchase of a new Apple device.

If for any reason your device isn’t accepted, you can turn in the device to have it recycled for free.

Conclusion

Your old devices don’t have to sit around and collect dust any longer. Using these trade-in programs, you can get money or a gift card for simply trading in a phone, tablet, computer, or smartwatch that you no longer use. Easy money is the best money!