SatelliteAR Android app now tracks falling UARS, helps you avoid being smooshed

You may have a better chance of winning the lottery or running into Captain Kirk at the mall, but when it comes to being impaled with pieces of the now defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite as it plummets towards Earth, it's better to be safe than sorry. The SatelliteAR Android app has added a temporary feature that gives stargazers the ability to monitor this space junk's trajectory to avoid impact when it re-enters the atmosphere sometime later today. NASA has assured us that the bus-sized satellite won't land anywhere in North America, but if it touches down at night, people on the ground could witness a pretty sweet light show wherever it does land. Android users determined to avoid a Wicked Witch of the East-like fate can download the app at the source link below and check out the video demo after the break.

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Amazon tablet revealed; forks older Android and replaces Google marketplace

MG Siegler has beheld the legendary Amazon tablet. It is 7" big and has multitouch, a full-color backlit screen, Android, and a $250 price tag. Hardware-wise, then, it's rather like the Nook Color. Software-wise, however, Amazon is forking the OS and doing its own thing.

And this is where things get really interesting. As anticipated, Amazon has forked Android to build their own version for the Kindle. Simply put: it looks nothing like the Android you’re used to seeing.

The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It’s black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device. This includes books, apps, movies, etc. Below the main carousel is a dock to pin your favorite items in one easy-to-access place. When you turn the device horizontally, the dock disappears below the fold.

Sounds like it will be to Android as, say, OSX is to BSD Unix. Not only is Google’s Android Market gone, but Siegler suggests that Amazon is forking it from an older version of Android to avoid working with Google at all.

Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. [TechCrunch]

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