[crazybob]

I used an old Android phone for my garage door server: https://plus.google.com/+BobLee/posts/7LyfdV3PC5X

It runs the Jetty web server. When I was the core library lead for the Android platform ('06-'09), we ran Jetty's test suite as part of Android's acceptance tests, so it works great!

Why don't people use phones as servers more often? They're overkill when you can get a Raspberry Pi for ~$50. You typically don't need an LCD, touch screen, accelerometer, cell radio, etc. for a home server.

Also, Android runs a heavily stripped down version of Linux, so running off-the-shelf server software can be tricky.

[ja27]

But you can get a low-spec Jelly Bean phone for $20, with charger, wifi, bluetooth, camera, and battery. I love my Raspberry Pi's (and PogoPlugs) but cheap Android phones are pretty attractive devices too, especially ones that can be rooted without much trouble.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/net10-zte-whirl-2-no-contract-ce...

[crazybob]

That's news to me. Very cool!