In a world where we have purported the benefits of smartphones only to give them to 4 year olds to play Angry Birds, it’s inspiring to see an app that’s literally saving lives. And that it comes from a 13 year old is astounding.

Liron Bar came up with this app called “Color Red” which automatically pushes a signal to your phone when a missile attack warning coming from Gaza to southern Israel has been issued. There is already a sophisticated warning system in place, but most people have between 15 to 50 seconds to run to a shelter before an impending attack. Also, many in offices or homes don’t hear the alarms going off, so a mobile device that can help citizens get to safety quicker is a good thing.

Application developer Kobi Snir volunteered to build the app and it has been released for free. It has been downloaded over 130,000 times since it was released and is widely used across the volatile region. Download the app here.

Check out this CNN report for more information about the app:

[Via All Things Apple]

Edit: Had to close the comment section on this post. This blog isn’t a war zone. Thank you.