NASA Sent 3 Smartphones Into Space On Sunday, Choosing Android Over iPhone

NASA has sent three smartphones into space, mostly just to see what will happen. Three HTC Nexus Ones are circling the Earth at an altitude of 150 miles after being launched into orbit on Sunday. The PhoneSats, or smartphone nanosatellites, are taking photos of the Earth from space.

An illustration of a smartphone's orbit. (PhoneSat)

So why are there phones floating around space taking pictures? For science! But really. The phones are part of a program that aims to eventually build satellites for less than $10,000, and NASA wants to see if these smartphones could be the "brains" of the satellites, the Los Angeles Times reports. It's unclear why NASA chose the Nexus One for the mission, since it's a pretty old one that is no longer produced.

Whether you were aware of it or not, this isn't the first time NASA has sent smartphones into space. In 2011, NASA sent two iPhone 4's up to the International Space Station. The iPhones were sent into space in collaboration with Odyssey Space Research and Apple. The iPhone 4 was chosen "for its mix of features," Odyssey CEO Brian Rishikof said. The iPhones were sent to the station to see how they would function outside of Earth. Since then, NASA has moved on to Android.

Unfortunately for anyone who would like to use a phone that's been in space, the phones are definitely going to burn up when they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Source: TheHuffingtonPost

Sur tablettes, Android gagne du terrain

Avec 43,4 % de parts de marché, Android est le deuxième système d'exploitation le plus utilisé sur tablette. Une progression qui s'opère au détriment d'iOS, qui perd de plus en plus d'utilisateurs.

Le cabinet d'analyse Strategy Analytics a publié les parts de marché des tablettes pour le premier trimestre de 2013.

Comme l'an dernier, à la même période, iOS reste en tête avec 48,2 %, suivi par Android (43,3 %) et, Windows (7,5 %). Le pourcentage restant est attribué aux autres systèmes (BlackBerry OS, webOS, etc.).

Si le classement n'a pas changé, ce n'est pas le cas des proportions des parts de marché.

La pôle position de iOS est de plus en plus contestée. Avec un recul de 14,9 % par rapport au premier trimestre de 2012, l'OS d'Apple est presque au coude à coude avec celui de Google.

Les ventes et parts de marché des tablettes, pour le premier trimestre 2013

Android, quant à lui, enregistre une progression de 9,2 %. Windows fait son petit bonhomme de chemin, en réalisant 3 millions des 40 millions de tablettes vendues pour le premier trimestre 2013.

Source: LESNUMERIQUES