Mobile Application Testing
From TestArmy
Mobile Application Testing is hard. Writing an application for one platform is difficult, but writing for the mobile platform is one of the great challenges of software development.
In the mobile world, there are hundreds of handsets, operating systems, versions, and hardware specifications. Almost any aspect of a handset can change between models.
We review the main mobile platforms out there, and some of the challenges for distributing robust, properly tested software to them.
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Nokia
Nokia is a dominant force in the mobile world, and as such, they have their own operating system. The most recent incarnation of this is S60. Sounds good, but there are 9 different versions.
Then there is the earlier version, S40, which is still quite prevalent.
Normally, it would be a lot of effort to determine if your application works on all these versions of the Nokia OS. TestArmy offers an alternative.
Java
When Java first arrived, it was supposed to be the great panacea to proliferating hardware platforms, with the "write once, run anywhere" catch cry. As noble as this aim is, applying this idea to mobile phones has not been smooth sailing.
J2ME or (Midlets) are supported on a high proportion of mobiles. Unfortunately, as any mobile java developer will know, having your Midlet run correctly on your own mobile doesn't mean squat. Some things to consider:
- Permissions - mobile phones are typically very strict with applications requiring access to mobile resources, such as files and multimedia. Is your application signed? Even if it is, some network operators may not accept your certificate.
- Capabilities - MIDP comes with a bunch of JSRs, which represent the capabilities that the mobile has. But, implementing these JSRs is optional. Some mobiles partially implement, fully implement, or don't implement at all.
- Screen size - your application may look great on your mobile, but phone resolutions are changing all the time. Have you considered landscape mode?
- CPU, Memory - performance varies widely across mobiles.
All these factors make for a difficult time, unless you have a large quantity of mobiles, and lots of time to try your application on them.
Windows Mobile
Here are the most recent versions of Windows Mobile.
- Pocket PC 2000
- Pocket PC 2002
- Windows Mobile 2003
- Windows Mobile 2003 SE
- Windows Mobile 5.0
- Windows Mobile 6
- Windows Mobile 6.1
Windows Mobile development is relatively bearable. But, you still have the varying capabilities of each device: screen size, CPU speed, microphone sensitivity, they can all make a big difference to your application's usability.
And in any manual testing regime, you have the variability of the user. You can get a wide variety of different users on the cheap, with TestArmy.
iPhone
iPhone provides a single development platform, however, you still might get differences in different countries and different operators.
How does your application work in a different timezone, another hemisphere, for instance? There are still advantages to deploying to a wide range of testers.
The TestArmy Solution
TestArmy can save you both time and effort on this difficult phase of development.
The handsets are out there, distributed throughout the world. Use TestArmy to utilize them.
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