@BactLAB vs Tomota
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
@BactLAB
Easily count bacterial colonies on food safety test plates using your smartphone. This app leverages AI and cloud technology to promote operational efficiency and improve quality of life for those involved in food health and safety.
- AI-powered colony counting
- Cloud storage for count data
- Count report generation (PDF/email)
- Supports multiple CompactDry™ test types
- Arbitrary adjustment function for counts
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The safety and security of foods are important for humans to live. The examination of bacteria in foods and drinking water can be easily available to everyone. The product supports human life in any place and region. Making it easy bacterial counting, by using a familiar mobile device for everyone around the world, trying to promote operational efficiency using the global cloud and AI, adding value to CompactDry™ to play a role in the improvement of the QOL, keeping these ideas in mind we have developed the application for everyone engaging on health and safety of food. You can easily determine the bacterial (colony) count cultured in CompactDry™ using your smartphone. Targeted Products ( 7 Types ) CompactDry™ TC ( General Bacteria ) CompactDry™ TCR ( General Bacteria ) CompactDry™ EC ( E.coli / Coliforms ) CompactDry™ CF ( Coliforms ) CompactDry™ YM ( Yeast / Fungus ) CompactDry™ YMR ( Yeast / Fungus ) CompactDry™ ECO ( E.coli ) Primary Functions Colony counter - Colony count arbitrary adjustment function equipped - Cloud storage function for count data Count report [ pdf / email ] Uniform management of data by company (*Optional) Remarks - Regarding the colony counting process, the processing with the initial AI model released in August 2018 had implemented counting technology image processing that combines "image processing" and "machine learning (Deep Learning)" for colony position detection. In the AI model released in July 2023, object detection AI network (machine learning model) [YOLOv4] that processes position (area) detection and class classification in one network is used as a backbone and implemented as a hard-tuning AI enabling business use by repeated inference verification tests specializing in colony detection (counting) . - The cloud image recognition technology used in this service employs artificial intelligence (AI) technology for image recognition system jointly developed by Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation and Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. - Restrictions for input images in Colony Counter No warranty of accuracy is given for the following images. 1. Image resolution of less than 800 pix x 1200 pix. 2. The background color is not white. 3. Colored medium. 4. A viscous sample is added. 5. Food residues are contained. 6. Highly concentrated colonies. Other ・The count result of "0" does not mean a negative result. ・Detection range is between 1–250 cfu/plate. ・There are two types of misreads that can occur when using the @BactLAB™. - @BactLAB™ Application did not detect all of the colonies specific to the CompactDry™ plate. - The counter detected all the colonies but it categorized them incorrectly. - Please note that the specification or performance may be changed without notice. - The cloud image recognition technology utilized in this service employs the artificial intelligence (AI) technology for image recognition system jointly developed by Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation and Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. - Please see here. https://corp.sdc.shimadzu.co.jp/english/products/global/bactlab/
Tomota
This app helps shrimp farmers manage their farms and hatcheries with real-time updates, data analysis, and automated scheduling. It offers tools for monitoring farm status, inventory, growth, costs, and personnel logs, with features to improve farming models and streamline certification processes.
- Real-time farm monitoring
- Inventory and growth reporting
- Data analysis for farming improvement
- Automated device scheduling
- Calculation tools for farm metrics
- Digital log for traceability
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TOMOTA provides remarkable features and amenities to aid shrimp farmers in effortlessly managing their shrimp farm or/and their hatchery. * Stay informed about your farm with real-time updates that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time. - Continuously monitor the status of your farm such as equipment, environmental parameters, and shrimp yield… - Report inventory status. - Report shrimp growth, quantity, cost, revenue, profit, post-larvae quality, ... - Track work logs of personnel. - Receive notifications if any issues arise that put your farm at risk. * Improve shrimp farming with data. - Continuously monitor the status of your farm such as equipment, environmental parameters, and shrimp yield… - Record and store farming data. - Identify causes of abnormal data. * Enhance your shrimp farming model with convenient features. - Determine shrimp size in 5 seconds with a video recording of shrimp movement. - Build a scientifically, safely and sustainably shrimp farming process. - Automate schedule setup for devices in the shrimp pond. - Provide calculation tools: survival rate, shrimp production, food consumption,.. * Digital log for improved traceability. - Simplify the certification approval process such as BAP, ASC, and more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Tomota at 5.0 against @BactLAB's 1.7. Tomota also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). @BactLAB's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Tomota sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. @BactLAB asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tomota holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: @BactLAB has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
@BactLAB ships an update every 2 months, Tomota weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | @BactLAB | Tomota |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 155 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation | OTANICS TECHNOLOGY JOINT STOCK COMPANY |
Customer experience
@BactLAB
Tomota
In-app purchases
@BactLAB
No in-app purchases
Tomota
- Unlimited time$49.99









