Showing posts with label technology news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology news. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Instagram launches time-lapse video app for iPhone

Instagram launches time-lapse video app
The Hyperlapse "app" was designed to let people easily make high-quality time-lapse videos even while moving around with a smartphone, according to Instagram.
   
Hyperlapse videos can be saved on mobile devices and shared on Instagram.
   
"From documenting your whole commute in seconds or the preparation of your dinner from start to finish to capturing an entire sunset as it unfolds, we're thrilled about the creative possibilities Hyperlapse unlocks," Instagram said in a blog post.
   
Hyperlapse applications were made available only for mobile devices powered by Apple software.
      
Market research firm eMarketer said in a report in March that nearly 35 million people in America accessed Instagram at least once each month as of the end of 2013, a jump of more than 30 per cent from a year earlier.
      
And the report said nearly 25 per cent of smartphone users in the United States will use Instagram at least once a month by the end of this year -- bringing the total user base to more than 40 million.

Thursday, 21 August 2014

Samsung rolls out Nook-branded Galaxy Tab

The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook will sell for $179, the same entry price of the non-branded Samsung Galaxy Tab 4.

The move had been expected since Barnes & Noble said in June it would team up with Samsung to release co-branded Nook tablets in August.

For the first time, Nook will have a camera. The 1.3MP camera on the front is on par with what's on other tablets, but the 3.0MP rear one isn't as sharp.

Nook offers access to both Nook app store and Google's Play store for Android apps — the latter unavailable in previous Nook tablets.

The New York company spent years investing in its Nook e-book reader and e-book library, but they struggled to be profitable. And in December the chain said it was evaluating the future of its tablets. Still it offered a new non-tablet e-book reader during the holiday season.

In an interview, Barnes & Noble CEO Mike Huseby said Nook tablets hadn't done well in the past because they weren't full-featured. This one, he said, has a camera and other features expected in Android tablets, while offering additional ones targeted at readers.

While it's possible to install a Nook app on most Android tablets, Nook tablet goes further in offering a home screen with quick links to favorites and recently read books. You can pause reading to check email or Facebook, and then hit a book icon on the corner of the home screen to instantly resume your book.

Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets also emphasize reading, alongside shopping, movies and other Amazon services. They have had more success than Nooks.

Huseby said Barnes & Noble has the advantage of having more than 600 stores where customers can come in to check out the products before buying and return for tutorials and other help.

"Amazon doesn't have them," he said. "You can call them on the phone or chat online, but they don't have a store in which you can get a human contact and expert bookseller."

B&N has been trying to turn itself around as competition from discount stores and online retailers toughens, and as consumers shift away from traditional books to digital formats.

Barnes & Noble says it will continue to make and sell its $99 Nook GlowLight e-readers.

In July, Barnes & Noble said it would separate the Nook and retail businesses. The retail business includes bookstores and the BN.com website and has been outperforming the Nook unit. Nook Media, whose investors include software company Microsoft Corp. and educational book publisher Pearson, houses the digital and college businesses of Barnes & Noble.

The company expects the separation to be complete by April 2015.

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

China develops mini-camera to prevent suicide bombing

A research team led by Chen Tong, associate professor at Southwest University in Chongqing developed a 'stress sensor' that can help the police to spot suicide bombers by capturing the stress levels of people.

"The sensor measures the amount of oxygen in blood across exposed areas of a body, such as the face. The higher the mental stress, the higher the blood oxygenation," it said.
  
"The readings of the device may not be always reliable. For example, with enough practice, a person can learn to control their heartbeat," the report added.
  
The technology comes amid heightened fears over security in China after the country witnessed brazen terror attacks by native Uygur separatists in the northwestern Xinjiang region recently.
  
"They all looked and behaved as ordinary people but their level of mental stress must have been extremely high before they launched their attacks. Our technology can detect such people, so law enforcement officers can take precautions and prevent these tragedies," Chen said about his invention.
  
Talking about the functionality of the device, Chen said that "officers looking through the device at a crowd would see a mental 'stress bar' above each person's head and the suspects highlighted with a red face".
  
"Laboratory tests of the technology had yielded encouraging results," Chen added.
  
The device maker also rued about the biggest obstacle of the invention as acquiring the remote data.
  
"Security officers, for instance, deployed in a busy bus station would need to filter a tremendous amount of data and process it in a short amount of time. Such computing power is not available in smartphone-sized devices," Chen said.
  
The invention has also sparked a controversy with the critics raising concerns over its misuse by the government.
  
"The technology can be used on terrorists, but harmless people such as petitioners and protesters could be the target as well. I would feel uncomfortable and tense if a police officer stared at me through strange goggles," the media report quoted Li Jiancheng, a resident in Shangha as saying.
  
Responding to the allegation, Chen said that his team would not let their technology out of the lab for commercial use until the laws are in place to regulate it.

Celkon Millennium Dazzle Q44 with Android 4.4 KitKat launched

The company has listed Millennium Dazzle Q44 in their website and also posted an image of it on their Facebook page. The dual SIM phone is available both in retail stores and via e-commerce sites.

The company has also partnered with Airtel to facilitate their users 500MB of free data on 3G for the first two months.

The Celkon Millennium Dazzle Q44 features a 4-inch IPS OGS display and runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS. The device is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor and 1GB RAM.

The smartphone comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front snapper. It provides an inbuilt memory of 8GB along with a microSD slot expandable upto 64GB.

The connectivity features of the phone include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPRS/ EDGE, and 3G connectivity.

The device is backed by a 1500mAh Li-ion battery and weighs 133.6 grams. It is available in Gold and Grey colour variants.

Friday, 8 August 2014

A check for linguistic discrimination

The controversy arisen out of UPSC’s CSAT pattern even after 67 years of Independence once again put a stamp on the subject that Hindi and other languages are facing neglect since a long time. The kind of dominance, which existed in the context of English during British Rule, is still prevalent in India. It’s indeed quite disappointing that this very mind-set has not changed that English is synonymous with knowledge. What’s unfortunate is our policy makers often boast of derailment and degradation of Indian languages and though vernacular languages are not seen with ignorance these days, it’s also true that these languages have yet to make a place for themselves in government functioning especially at the top level. If the CSAT paper of preliminary examination, which has been considered mandatory for testing administrative skill since 2011, is being seen as the basis to discriminate between Hindi and other languages, there are some concrete reasons behind that as well. The results of past three years have made it clear that the number of students clearing UPSC exams in Hindi and other Indian languages have come down all of a sudden. It’s the main reason behind thousands of students in the national capital were compelled to take their anger into streets. 

It’s not proper that English language should be at helm in bureaucracy and judiciary and other languages will keep on languishing in the fringes. English has always been given a push and priority not only in public sectors but also in private sectors. Since proper policies are not being implemented, especially when it comes to promotion and development of languages, the nation is witnessing emergence of societies of diverse nature. First, that very section, which is fluent in English and climbing top positions by dint of their command over the language and another section which is still loitering in a clueless manner mainly since they have learnt Indian languages.  This scenario exists at such a time when the percentage of people having command over English across the country stands at just 10 percent. But what’s surprising is that this smaller section of the population has gone on to dominate the remaining 90 percent. It can’t be denied that in the contemporary era, knowledge of English is quite important and at the same time, it needs to be understood that language can’t be the sole yardstick of knowledge. The irony of the matter is that the unnecessary inclination towards English language is confined not only to cities but also to rural areas where proficiency in English is projected as the sure shot measure to success.

The students, who are protesting against CSAT, deserve sympathy. Not only because English language can have an impact on their process of selection in the civil services exams but also because the kind of education they have pursued right from the outset did not make them that much compatible to face stiffer challenges. If the students who studied in Hindi or other Indian languages are finding themselves weaker before those who have been taught in English, our educational system is only to be blamed. Why our educational system could not make them competent enough so that they can crack civil services examinations in the language they have been taught? Why it’s often assumed that there is a little scope of development of a student’s personality and caliber in other languages apart from English? There is also another question – if students’ requests are taken into consideration, will it cover up the flaws in our educational system? The issue is not just confined to CSAT but that very education which is failing to impart knowledge to students in a proper manner and hence, is not becoming a factor in personality development. There is one more reality associated with our society, which is divided on the basis of language. People who are well-versed in English are more prosperous compared to those whose knowledge of the language is not that good. The situation is such that discrimination is seen among the employees on the basis of proficiency over English in the same organization. Those who are well-versed with the language register a faster growth and the others are subjected to indifferent behavior. This is creating a feeling of neglect in them.

Our policymakers need to deliberate on this subject that why Indian languages have been subjected to discrimination of this magnitude? This has happened mainly because the government refrained from replacing English with Hindi as official language and promoting other Indian languages after Independence. A nation develops in a fast paced manner only when there is only one or two language to carry out all government functioning. In the presence of more languages, not only it creates problem in communication but also leaves an impact on administrative capabilities and hampers productivity.  In this context, the situation of India is quite strange as states have been formed on the basis of language and there are several states as well where multiple languages are spoken. In such a scenario, Hindi could have replaced English but due to narrow minded approach of some leaders and mainly because of their opposition, this idea was dropped. Its disastrous consequences are now out in open in front of all. Since government as well as private sectors basically depends on English, its acceptance is also widely growing and this is happening at the expense of Hindi and other Indian languages. What could be more unfortunate then no concrete step coming to the fore to make Hindi the national language especially when the language is reaching out to each and every corner through media, cinema and other forms of entertainment? The politicians need to ask this question themselves that whether they want to see Hindi or English as national language? If their prime aim is to establish English as India’s national language then they will have to get rid of their gammon of promoting and pushing Hindi.

The controversy on CSAT has not only kicked-off a debate over language but also raised questions over issues related to social justice. The issue of reservation, which was seen as a medium to bringing in social equality has been reduced to a prime ammo of vote-bank politics. If the questions related to language are solved and Hindi, along with other languages get their well-deserved weightage, the subject of reservation can be rendered ineffective to a considerable extent. It needs to be mentioned here that the section that are not well versed with English is languishing in backwaters and their lack of command over the language is acting as a major impediment in moving towards the path of development. The nation can’t progress by deviating away from its cultures and traditions and social equality can’t be brought as well.  In such a scenario, we need to take such measures to ensure that Indian languages don’t fall victim to discrimination and receive all the glory and respect it deserves. By making Hindi the official language, we can restore and rekindle the lost confidence among people. This will eventually lead to the materialization of the concept of one India – best India.

(An original copy of the article published in Hindi on July 27, 2014 translated by the English editorial. The author is the Group Editor of Dainik Jagran)

Rajnath Singh launches Web application of Delhi Police

Motivating the Delhi Police to work effectively and efficiently Rajnath said, “Delhi Police should ensure the honour of uniform with their high quality of conduct.”

“Officers should earn greater faith and confidence of the people through delivery of work,” he added.

Rajnath also ensured Delhi Police officials of all the support to mordanise their system.

“Government will provide all assistance and guidance to make the Delhi Police as the most modern police of the country,” said Rajnath.

The Home Minister mentioned that the difficulties experienced by the people to obtain PCC will be addressed with the issuing of this certificate electronically.

He further mentioned that annually about one lakh people are expected to benefit with this scheme.

Expressing full confidence in Delhi Police Rajnath congratulated the force for adopting high technology in policing.

Earlier, Commissioner of Delhi Police B S Bassi also explained different e-applications adopted by the Delhi Police in the sectors of lodging of reports of lost items and a cell phone based application by the traffic unit of Delhi Police.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, Home Secretary, Anil Goswami, Director, Intelligence Bureau (DIB), Syed Asif Ibrahim, Chief Secretary of Delhi, S K Shrivastava and other senior officials of MHA and Delhi Police were also present on this occasion.

Thursday, 7 August 2014

Too much twitter may drive you crazy

The study detailed the case of Mrs C - a 31-year-old heavy Twitter user - who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Germany because of intensive suicidal thoughts.

Mrs C's development of psychotic symptoms coincided with her ‘excessive’ use of Twitter - up to several hours a day reading and posting tweets, claimed the paper titled "Twitter Psychosis: A Rare Variation or a Distinct Syndrome?".

According to the paper, "the first symptoms were that she believed a 'famous actor' was responding to her tweets through symbols in his messages or through retweets by others".

The woman later recovered and lost interest in Twitter. If we believe experts, Twitter psychosis does not appear to be ‘real’ at this point.

"This is a single case which we presented to the medical community to discuss with colleagues if they have made similar experiences," Jan Kalbitzer of Charite-Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, was quoted as saying.

The paper appeared in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Karbonn launched A1+ Super, A5 Turbo

The Karbonn A1+ Super features a 3.5 inch HVGA display and is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core processor. The device supports expandable storage upto 32 GB via microSD card. The smartphone is adorned with a 3-megapixel rear camera and a 0.3-megapixel front shooter.

While Karbonn A5 Turbo comes with a 3.5 inch display and is powered by 1GHz processor. The device features a 3-megapixel rear camera, a microSD slot expandable up to 32 GB and 3G network connectivity support.

Both the phones supports dual SIM feature and connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE, and Micro-USB.

The phone will join Karbonn’s KitKat based smartphones - the Titanium S99, Titanium S19, Smart A12 Star, and Smart A11 Star.

"Today, a large segment of consumer is shifting from feature phones to smartphones and looks for a smartphone with advanced technology and maximum features at affordable prices. This is the basis on which our new launches - the Karbonn A1+ Super and A5 Turbo are based upon which offers brilliant specs and greater functionality to the user and thus create a great choice in this segment," said Shashin Devsare, Executive Director of Karbonn.

The company has however not revealed about the RAM, inbuilt storage, battery capacity for both the smartphones.

Friday, 1 August 2014

Samsung teases two new phones likely to be Galaxy Alpha and Note 4

Samsung executives have teased two new devices which will be making their way to the company's mobile portfolio within next six months.

Firstly, the company will be releasing a large-screened smartphone which is expecting will be a follow-up to Samsung's 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3. Samsung will likely announce the device early in September at the IFA trade show in Berlin, where it unveiled the Note 3 and Note II.

Although there's not lot of speculation about Samsung's second high-end smartphone as according to Samsung it will be a very attractive new model with a complete new display, which could also suggest a bendable screen.

Samsung is also getting ready to release its rumored Galaxy Alpha, which is metal smartphone. The Galaxy Alpha is rumoured to be launched soon, the Galaxy Note 4 is said to be in the testing phase.

Thursday, 31 July 2014

Sony launches new waterproof phone in Xperia series

Sony Xperia Z2
Xperia Z2 is a decent looking phone with a sturdy aluminium-frame. The handset is IP58 certified, which means it can withstand dust and water. It also has covers for the micro-USB, micro-SIM, and the memory card slot.

The phone features a sharp 5.2-inch IPS display (1920x1080 pixels) with a pixel density of around 422 ppi. The phone boasts full HD screen in a waterproof body. The lock button is positioned on the right side of the phone making it easily accessible for the thumb.

The deviced is powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor. It comes with 3 GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. The phone features an in built memory of 16 GB and a microSD slot.

The phone comes with 20.7 megapixel rear-camera with Exmor RS sensor with 4K video recording. The phone adorns a 2.2 megapixel front-facing shooter. The other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and 3200 mAh battery.

The Xperia Z2 runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat and with powerful Snapdragon 801 inside, the device mostly runs smooth.

Source: Latest Technology News

App that pays you for exercise

Representional Picture
Pact is an app which uses money to track your fitness goals. When you set up Pact, you give your credit card or Pay Pal information.

You also have to set your fitness goals like a pledge to workout a certain number of times in a week or eat healthy and Pact makes it specific.

Now enter a set distance you have to run.You must also decide the penalty you are willing to pay if you miss the workout.

The minimum penalty is Rs 300. The app tracks you when you check into a known gym and monitors how long you stay.

You can also wear a fitness band or use your phone's GPS to log miles. Reward money comes from people who failed to honour their pact, media reports said.

Flipkart slashes rates of the Mid-Range Moto G

Flipkart reduced rates of the Moto G
Flipkart, the exclusive retailer of for Motorola devices has announced the revision of prices.Moto G (8 GB) has reduced to Rs 10,499 from its earlier price of Rs 12,499. The 16 GB variant is now available for Rs 11,999. The offer however is valid till the stock lasts.Moto G comes with the reduced price as a result of its fierce competition with Chinese smartphone Xiaomi Mi3, which is priced at Rs 13,999.The reduction in price will play in favour for Moto G and will certainly attract the prospective customers. The company has also adopted the strategy of slashing the rates of Moto X in US for a limited period offer.The American multinational telecommunications Motorola had launched its Moto G smartphone in November last year (February in India) and recent rumours suggest Motorola is working on the device's successor. 
 
 

Monday, 28 July 2014

Now express yourself better with Imoji App

Imoji app
A new sticker feature in ‘Imoji’ is what talked about these days. With this feature ‘Imoji’ is grabbing the eyeballs of users. Even, social networking site Facebook do lack with ‘Expression Stickers’ feature despite it has developed many apps for smileys.
   
Imoji allows you to make your own expression in stickers and it is so simple. You just need to take your picture with Imoji app. Crop the extra portion of picture leaving out your epxression of face. You can even add the expression of your pets too, which can be added on same board.

With Imoji, you will get rid of the old yellow stickers and can send the stickers as photo which is as simple that even an uneducated person can use it.

‘Imoji’ is right now iOS exclusive and is in process to start its Android version.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Play Angry Bird with a robot soon

 Play Angry Bird with a robot soon
Researchers envision the robot-smart tablet system as a future rehabilitation tool for children with cognitive and motor-skill disabilities.

"The robot is able to learn by watching because it knows how interaction with a tablet app is supposed to work," said Ayanna Howard, a professor in the school of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.

How does it happen? Kids teach the robot how to play Angry Birds by dragging their finger on the tablet to whiz the bird across the screen.

In the meantime, the robot watches what happens and records ‘snapshots’ in its memory.

The machine notices where fingers start and stop, and how the objects on the screen move according to each other, while constantly keeping an eye on the score to check for signs of success.

When it's the robot's turn, it mimics the child's movements and plays the game.

If the bird is a dud and does not cause any damage, the robot shakes its head in disappointment.

If the building topples and points increase, the eyes light up and the machine celebrates with a happy sound and dance.

The robot analyses the new information and provides appropriate social responses while changing its play strategy.

In the new study, children spent an average of nine minutes with the game as the adult watched. They played nearly three times as long (26.5 minutes) with the robot.

The findings were presented at the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) 2014 annual conference in Denver recently.

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

TRAI notifies minimum broadband speed at 512 kbps

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
The amendment has been made to the Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal Regulations, 2012 and the regulations will be called the Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2014, the TRAI said in a notification.

Accordingly, the new definition of broadband is "a data connection that is able to support interactive services including internet access and has the capability of minimum download speed of 512 kbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide broadband service".

The regulations will come into force after publication in the official gazette, it added.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had revised the broadband speed in consonance of the National Telecom Policy 2012 and TRAI recommendations, the regulator said.

The earlier minimum broadband speed of 256 kbps was as per the Broadband Policy 2004.

According to National Telecom Policy 2012, the government aims to raise the broadband download speed of to 512 kbps from 256 kbps and subsequently to 2 Mbps by 2015.

According to TRAI data, total broadband subscribers in the country rose by 5.82 percent to 65.33 million at the end of May 2014 from 61.74 million at the end of April 2014.

While wired broadband subscribers stood at 14.95 million as of May this year, mobile device users (phones and dongles) were 49.97 million and the fixed wireless (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point, Radio and VSAT) subscribers stood at 0.41 million for the same period.

Twitter appoints Katie Stanton global media chief: Source

Twitter
Stanton, formerly head of international strategy, fills in for Chloe Sladden, who left the online messaging service as part of a recent management shake-up that also included the departure of former chief operating officer Ali Rowghani.

Twitter has reported lackluster user and usage growth for the last couple of quarters, and its stock price has nearly halved in the last six months.

Stanton will now oversee Twitter's continuing efforts to court TV networks, Hollywood studios and other media companies around the world. The service in recent years has become a popular platform for promoting the content of media companies, and for viewers to interact around programmes and live events.

That in turn drove advertising and revenue growth.

Stanton's new role as vice president of global media entails working with media companies around the world. That expands on Sladden's US brief and builds on Stanton's previous role, which involved expanding Twitter's operations outside United States, the source said on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been announced.

Stanton, who formerly worked for US State Department, already leads Twitter's relationships with foreign media companies such as the BBC and Brazil's Globo, and sits on the board of French conglomerate Vivendi.

Media industry publication Variety first reported Stanton's new role on Monday.

Monday, 7 July 2014

Motorola rolls out Android 4.4.4 KitKat update for Moto E, Moto G and Moto X in India

Moto G
In the latest version of Android, Motorola offers more security for browsing web content on your phone. According to the company officials, the Motorola customers can upgrade their smartphones for free of cost. All they need to pay is for the usual data connection charges.

The users of the three smartphone models will receive notifications to update their Operating System. They can also get the updates manually by scrolling through the settings menu.

Upgrade your Motorola devices to Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Here are the steps:

    Select the settings icon in the apps menu.  
    Select ‘About phone’.
    Select ‘System updates’.
    Select ‘Download’. Once the software is downloaded, select ‘Install’.
    After installing the software, your phone will get auto re-start.

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Sony launches three new camera models

Sony logoPriced at Rs 1.54 lakh, A7S would be available from mid of July this year. It has features as extraordinary sensitivity, low noise and spectacular 4K video quality. 

It has also launched three models of A77 II, priced between Rs 84,990 to Rs 1.14 lakh. It has features as 79 autofocus detection points with 24.3 megapixel image sensors and available in the market.

Sony also launched Cyber-shot RX100 III with features as wide angle Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 24-70 mm F1.8-2.8 lens, 20.1 megapixel sensor and Bionz X processor.

Priced at Rs 54,990, RX100 III is available in the market.

Saturday, 21 June 2014

Lenovo launches Yoga 2, Flex 2 sleek laptops in India

Lenovo
The budget-friendly Yoga 2 brings affordable multimode computing into reach. Its 10-point multi-touch display flips back 360 degrees to offer four different usage modes Laptop, Tablet, Stand, and Tent.

It is available at Rs 59,990 in Indian market.

Lenovo Flex 2 is a 14 inch dual-mode laptop with a touch screen that flips 300 degrees from laptop to stand mode.

It has backlit keyboard and comes in graphite grey colour. The best thing about the laptop is that it’s budget friendly. The price starts at Rs 41,990.

"We are pioneering entirely new categories with Table PCs and AIOs, continuing our leadership in multi-modes and also making great inroads this year in the Tablet and Smartphone category," Lenovo India Director (Home and Small Business) Shailendra Katyal said.
   
Lenovo G40/G50 starts from Rs 22,990, while Lenovo Z50 starts at Rs 39,990.

The Chinese computer maker Lenovo C260, which is touchscreen, is priced at Rs 28,490.

Friday, 20 June 2014

New app for faster, accurate measurement of respiratory rate

Representational picture
This simple but innovative piece of technology is a big step towards better diagnoses for children with pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses, researchers said.

Researchers at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia developed the app called RRate that can reliably measure respiratory rate in an average of 9.9 seconds.

Currently, health care workers typically measure respiratory rate by counting a patient's breaths for 60 seconds using a stop watch.

"Mobile phones are changing how we administer health care, especially in rural settings and developing countries where access to medical devices is limited," said Dr Walter Karlen, who co-led the study with Dr Heng Gan.

"With this app, we can give health care workers with few resources faster and more accurate measurements, help them make better decisions, and give them more time with their patients," Karlen said.

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death of children worldwide according to the World Health Organisation.

With timely and accurate diagnosis, children with pneumonia can often be saved with simple interventions such as antibiotics.

RRate allows workers to measure respiratory rate by tapping the touch screen every time the child inhales. In addition to calculating the rate of inhalations during a given time, the app also provides an animation of a breathing baby, allowing for a direct comparison with the breathing patient.

"We are leveraging the phone's capabilities of computing, touch screen, and vibrational feedback to measure respiratory rate faster and with more confidence," said Karlen.

Researchers collected data from 30 subjects who used the app while watching videos of children breathing at different rates. Using these findings, they developed an algorithm that enabled the app to produce accurate measurements in the least amount of time.

The next stage of the study is to further improve the diagnosis of pneumonia in low-resource settings by combining this app with the Phone Oximeter, researchers said.

The Phone Oximeter provides non-invasive measurements of blood oxygen levels using a light sensor and a mobile phone.

The research was published in the journal PLOS One.