Browse a website without data connection with Cosmos

You're visiting a remote Italian village and you suddenly forgot the name of this quaint little cafe you were looking for, but you have no data or wifi connection to go to Neive.com.it to search for the name. You're shopping for a gift for your sister-in-law but you don't know what's her favorite color and you need to look at her blog to find out what it is, but again, no data or wifi. A new browser for your mobile devices Cosmos wants to solve those dilemmas by giving you access to a website even when you're not connected all through the power of text messaging.

Sounds magical right? Here's how it works. On the browser, type in a valid URL of a site you want to go to. Your device will then send the URL to a remote server. This server will then package the website into a zip file then will send that file to you through a text message. Cosmos intercepts the message, unpacks it for you and voila, you can now view the website you need, when you need it, even if you don't have any Internet.

But of course, do not expect that the website will look the same as when you're browsing through normal circumstances. The browser will of course only show the minimal and limited version that it can bring you, given that it is working without Internet. So no flash animation, no hi-res photos, maybe even no photos at all. But when you're in a bind that only the Internet can fix, then you can turn to Cosmos for help.

The browser is also still in its beta stage so expect several bugs and crashes. But if you want to give it a try, you can get the sourcecode for free from Github. For some reason, Cosmos mysteriously disappeared from the Google Play Store though, so just fork it from that link.

VIA: Droid Life

Sony Xperia Z3 underwater unboxing

We have seen plenty of unboxing videos around these parts, we know you have too. They are all about the same; you start with a smartphone or tablet packed away in the box from the factory, slowly pull out all the accessories, manuals, the device itself, and talk about them.

Those videos are all about the same, but Carphone Warehouse has something very different. Carphone Warehouse has put together an unboxing video for the Sony Xperia Z3. Rather than sitting at a desk and doing the normal unboxing, this one is done underwater.

One of the big features of the Xperia Z3 is its water resistance. If you have wondered if the smartphone will survive water as Sony promises, you will want to see this video. Not only does the diving mask wearing host of the video unbox the smartphone under the water, he also uses it.

You can see the video and still cameras in action under water and the results look very good. This is a seriously waterproof smartphone. Watch the video below and see the underwater unboxing for yourself.

Story Timeline

• Xperia Z3 and Z3 compact score two-day battery life in testing


• Sony Xperia Z3 may launch this October 9 in the US


• Two models of the Sony Xperia Z3 get root access

TomTom MySports GPS Watch gets Android support

TomTom launched its running watch called the MySports GPS watch several months back and for a long time it lacked Android compatibility. That lack of compatibility came down to no Android version of the required app not being available.

That has changed this month with TomTom rolling out the required app for Android users. The TomTom MySports app is on Google Play right now and works with the TomTom Runner watch as well. TomTom tested the app and confirmed support for several popular Android phones.

Those devices include the Galaxy S3, S4, S5, Nexus 5, HTC One, and HTC One M8. Additional devices will be coming to the supported list in the future. The app connects to the watch using Bluetooth.

The app is 7.6MB in size and is currently in version 1.0.6. The version of Android required for the app varies with the device it runs on. The most recent version of the app has a few bug fixes and pairing has been improved.

SOURCE: ZDNet

Story Timeline

• TomTom and HTC Make a Deal, Service will be included in future devices


• TomTom for Android finally released with a catch


• TomTom Navigation app gets support for more than 200 more devices

Humble Flash Bundle offers Android games

The last time we talked about the Humble Bundle for Android, it was the mobile version of the game pack with a slew of mobile games for Android smartphones. This time out we are looking at the Humble Flash Bundle that is packed with some cool DRM-free games and can be purchased on Steam.

A few of the games that are available in the Flash Bundle can be played on your Android devices, but not all of them. The games offered in the new bundle include Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Anomaly: Warzone Earth Mobile Campaign, Sleepwalker's Journey, and Funky Smuggler. Only Anomaly Earth: Warzone Earth won’t play on Android devices.

Those first four games are offered no matter how much money you pay. If you plunk down $6 or more for the bundle, you also get Anomaly Korea, Anomaly 2, and Anomaly 2 Hell Hound bonus content. Only Anomaly 2 is Android compatible.

If you cough up $10 or more for the Humble Flash Bundle, you get Spacecom. The catch with that last game is that it isn’t Android compatible. The bundle also includes the soundtracks to several of those games. So far, 5709 of these bundles have been purchased and about two days are left to purchase the bundle of games as of writing.

SOURCE: Humble Bundle

Story Timeline

• Humble Bundle 7 brings Heroes of Loot, the Tiny Bang Story, and more


• Humble Bundle for PC and Android reaches 11th run


• Humble Mobile Bundle 8 packs 6 games

Galaxy Ace Style LTE features 1.2GHz quad-core CPU

Samsung has tossed a new Galaxy smartphone on the market with little fanfare called the Galaxy Ace Style LTE. The smartphone has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 800 x 480 resolution. That isn't exactly a high-resolution screen by today's standards, but it gets the job done well enough on a lower cost device.

The smartphone uses a 1.2GHz quad-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. A microSD card slot allows storage expansion. Samsung equips the device with a 5MP rear camera that can shoot 720p HD video and the camera has LED flash.

Power for the smartphone comes from a 1900 mAh internal battery good for up to 11 hours of talk time on 3G networks. On LTE networks, that battery has enough power for about nine hours of surfing the web.

The Galaxy Ace Style LTE is a single-SIM phone that is fitted with NFC. Samsung is selling the smartphone in Germany now for €199 in black or white colors.

SOURCE: GSMarena

Story Timeline

• Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus hits the UK on March 17th


• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 unveiled with optional dual-SIM and LTE support


• Samsung Galaxy Ace Style Android 4.4 budget smartphone now official

Project Ara modules to be hot swappable

We have talked about Project Ara several times and one of the coolest things we have learned so far is that the battery of the device will be hot swappable. That means you can swap a nearly dead battery for a full one without turning the device off or losing what you are working on. Another interesting detail about Project Ara has surfaced recently.

That detail is the fact that nearly all of the modules used in a Project Ara device will be hot swappable. Paul Eremenko, the director of Project Ara, has recently noted that users of Project Ara will be able to swap the phone modules around without losing what they are working with only two exceptions.

The monitor and CPU won’t be hot swappable in the middle of a call or text message. The idea with the hot swappable modules is that you could change modules out like the camera to better suit what you are doing right then.

You could for instance swap a wide-angle camera when you want to take a picture of a group of people or use a camera with more resolution for landscape shots. Another tidbit revealed is that Google will have an online store that sells different modules or Project Ara. We already know a few other tidbits about the device, including the fact that it will use Android L.

SOURCE: Engadget

Story Timeline

• Project Ara lures module developers with dev boards


• Future Project Ara iteration to get a custom Rockchip chip


• First working Project Ara prototype in December with Android L

Streamline Android Theme Customization with Graphic Porter

I don’t have a custom theme on my Android phone, and the reason for this is because I am too busy picky (and perhaps lazy) to go through the countless fantastic custom themes that have been created and made available here on XDA and in the Play Store. And I’m sure that many folks here are in the same situation. Because despite the vast selection of themes, we all find ourselves a little bit too picky about something specific –perhaps it’s the icons, the accent colors, or the switches. And this is where Graphic Porter comes in.

Developed by XDA Senior Member br.ruan, Graphic Porter is a tool which simplifies the process of modifying and porting existing custom themes. Running on PC, it enables you to change every aspect of the theme throughout the Android system, such as check boxes, background images, radio buttons, and IM emoticons. If there’s something you’re not happy with, just select the UI element you want to change, and the tool will automatically find and bring to you the specific files you have to change.

Graphic Porter’s porting feature is just as easy to use. The tool will automatically find the theme’s files and resize anything to suite your device’s screen resolution. Because of this method however, it should be noted that it might be a bad idea to port themes made for devices with lower dpi than your own.

Graphic Porter will definitely be a welcomed tool for anyone who likes to ensure that their Android device looks just the way they want it to look. If you would like to check this out, head over to the Graphic Porter thread for more information.

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