Nokia promises new Windows phone coming soon

 Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop promised to unveil a new smartphone using Microsoft's latest Windows 8 software soon, boosting expectations it will be launched before rival Apple promotes its new iPhone.

The Finnish company, which is fighting for survival after losing out to rivals in the lucrative smartphone business, is due to hold a trade show in Helsinki on September 5-6, just before an Apple event on September 12 where the U.S. competitor could announce a redesigned iPhone.

Nokia has not commented on what it will announce at the Nokia World event, but many investors anticipate a new handset designed to challenge the popularity of the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy smartphone.

Elop did not deny a September launch but would only say Windows 8 smartphones would be released "relatively near term."

New iPhone app checks your heart rate by reading your face

Aerobic fitness is one of the best ways to get — and stay — in shape. It requires getting your heart rate up, bt it's also important to keep track of your pulse so that it stays within a helpful range and you don't end up oveur-doing it. A new app from a pair of MIT graduates can help you do it using only your iPhone or iPod touch.

Rather than rely on a cumbersome sensor band, the Cardiio app (download for iPhone) uses the iPhone's front-facing iSight camera to scan your face and determine your pulse. This works because as your heart rate increases, more blood is pumped to your face, and as it is the amount of ambient light your face reflects decreases. The Cardiio app is able to detect these variations in reflectiveness and use them to determine your pulse within three beats per minutes, according to its creators, husband and wife PhD team Ming-Zer and Yukkee Poh.

The app sells for $4.99 and user reviews on the iTunes Store are largely very positive so far, with comments praising its accuracy and ease-of-use. Now, if only they could come up with an app that could scan our faces and display our cholesterol levels, we'd be all set.