Viewers are no longer satisfied with print, television, and even desktop computers as their only source of entertainment.The adoption of tablets and smartphones has had a massive effect on the entertainment industry, and usage has continued to grow.

In fact, according to The Next Web’s Kaylene Hong, tablet and mobile viewing has hit some new records:

“This preference for mobile is extending to online videos, according to a report from online video firm Ooyala. Smaller screens aren’t deterring people from watching more videos on their tablets and mobile phones, and they are even spending more than half of their total online viewing time watching long-form videos on these platforms.

According to Ooyala’s report, tablet and mobile video viewing broke records in the first quarter of 2013. The share of tablet and mobile video grew 19 percent in Q1 2013, and made up more than 10 percent of all online video plays during the period. The growth rate for Q1 2013 was similar to the pace seen in 2012, Ooyala says, when the share of mobile and tablet viewing doubled between January 1 and December 31.“

Here’s a chart from The Next Web that shows time watched by video length and device in Q1 2013:

Because mobile and tablet usage is growing at such unprecedented speeds, entertainment companies are realizing that their older methods of distribution are no longer sufficient. In fact, not having a mobile presence puts them at a loss.

However, entertainment companies launching apps need to proceed with caution, as user expectations are growing as well. And because video and entertainment applications are so content heavy, there’s a lot to be tested prior to launch. Functional bugs, load issues and usability problems that cause the application to work poorly for users need to be identified and fixed as quickly as possible.

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Is your mobile app not performing as well as users would like? If so, it won’t just result in bad reviews and ratings, it will effect people’s opinions of your company as a whole.

A recent survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults (commissioned by SOASTA) found that “almost nine out of ten Americans associate negative feelings with brands that have poorly performing websites and mobile apps (88%).” The survey found that mostly people don’t like to be inconvenienced. When users encounter a poorly performing app, they report feelings of:

• Annoyance – 75%
• Frustration – 69%
• Distrust – 19%
• Anger – 13%
• Disrespect – 2%

Those aren’t feelings toward the offending app, that’s what users feel for the brand behind the app.

What do users want out of a mobile app?

• An app that works when they need it – 72%
• An app that has fast performance and load times – 62%
• An app that does what they expect it to and performs as expected – 62%
• An app that doesn’t crash – 53%
• An app that returns correct “trustworthy” results – 45%
• An app that is fun to use – 38%

That list should give you an idea of what to test. If your app is already available in the app store, check out Applause to see if you’re disappointing users in any of these areas. Knowing where to focus your efforts will save you time and money.

Read more about the survey at Promotion World >>>

If you want to be a tester who makes a difference, consider going into security testing. It’s a tough field, but one that’s very needed – especially when it comes to mobile applications.

A recent app analysis by security specialist Veracode found that “91% of the top mobile apps unnecessarily expose a user’s personally identifiable information.” From Info Security:

Mobile cyber-threats are increasingly on the rise, not only in the form of malware but also just lax security guards within applications. Veracode conducted an analysis of the most popular mobile applications used within enterprises and found that many of these apps access confidential and sometimes personal data on the mobile device and expose sensitive information to unknown parties.

Clearly, this is going to be a growing issue as BYOD continues to expand. When users download personal apps that aren’t vigorously tested and vetted it puts all their data – personal and corporate – at risk. Short of banning BYOD there’s little companies can do to stop this unless mobile app security standards become more rigid.

If you’re looking to learn about app security, check out this Mobile App Security Testing whitepaper which covers topics like key vulnerabilities, areas to consider and test and security features that are important to users.

Mobile security attacks are more common than you think, and are occurring worldwide on a variety of devices, operating systems and carriers. A recent infographic, posted on Mobile Marketing Watch, breaks down the likelihood of attacks by type of threat and where they occur. Here’s a look:

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Remember all those times when we said that testing for screen size variation was a problem for every mobile OS but iOS? Well, if the rumors are true, we may have to take all of it back.

Here’s TechCrunch with the speculation:

Apple is looking at various changes to its iPhone lineup over the course of the next year, according to a new report from Reuters, including two sizes of larger smartphone devices, in both a 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch flavor. The “phablet” plans are also being considered alongside a less expensive iPhone model, which is slated to begin production next month, according to Reuters’ sources, after a brief delay as Apple attempts to get the colors right for the new plastic-backed device.

The cheaper iPhone would be launching in September following full production kicking off in August, according to some of Reuters’ sources, with an initial shipment target of around 20 million low-cost devices for the holiday quarter next year. The report details echo what we’ve heard from other sources recently, including from fairly accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who previously shared reports of multi-color options for the cheaper iPhone, with a thin plastic case and the same 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5. Reuters adds that it should cost around $99 when it launches, and that its release timeline might be pushed back by as much of a year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested that we might see a larger iPhone when the trade-offs of battery life, screen quality, color reproduction and other failings brought about would be possible to counteract.

It would be interesting to know how these alleged devices are being tested. Is it the device itself? Or the compatibility with various versions of the iOS operating system. In any event, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Where you’ve been, where you’re going, how to get there, where your friends are… mobile apps have become a living, breathing stream of location-based data.

Increasingly, a vast range of corporations are pushing to develop, acquire or incorporate location-aware applications. We’ve seen evidence of this in Google’s recent plan to acquire Waze, a crowd-sourced navigation app used by drivers around the world, for $1 billion. As covered by Sam Gustin, in Time, Google is buying Waze for three important reasons:

“Why would Google want to shell out more than $1 billion for a relatively unknown start-up? Three reasons: First, Waze’s collaborative, user-based approach to mapping represents a real breakthrough for mobile-navigation apps. Second, the company poses a threat to Google’s own popular Maps product, so this acquisition is smart defensive play. Third, by buying Waze, Google is able to keep it out of the clutches of archrivals Apple and Facebook, which both have been circling the company in recent months.

As GPS-equipped smartphones have become increasingly ubiquitous, map apps have soared in popularity. For well over a year, Google and Apple have been fighting an increasingly intense battle for user loyalty in the mobile-map space, which explains why both companies have been circling Waze. Because map apps are so widely used, they’ve become a key priority for software companies in the mobile wars.”

Essentially, mobile wars have become location-based data wars. Having the best, most accurate location-based content is the new top priority for the biggest and best brands. Google, as we know, has kept a major portion of their business focused on maps. In fact, Google’s own maps app was dubbed the best of the best after Apple’s shaky launch of it’s bug-ridden map application in 2012.

Google’s acquisition of Waze plus all the talk around these types of apps tells us two things; location-based data is wildly import, but even more so – accuracy is a must.

It’s not enough to have an app with location-based data. The app has work correctly, everywhere and every time. Needless to say, verifying accuracy is getting more difficult as the amount of data increases and the features of the applications become more complex. Take Waze for example; the app’s data is user-generated. So what if the app goes awry for one user in one location? The data that user recorded is then inaccurate, and could seemingly be seen by countless other users.

This is why companies will need to increasingly rely on in-the-wild testing solutions that can ensure the application works in different parts of the world, under different scenarios and on different devices.

The mobile news yesterday was of course the official unveiling of iOS 7. While the pundits and press discuss the changes from a consumer point-of-view, I wanted to take a look at some of the changes from a tester’s point-of-view.

In other words, for every new feature in iOS 7, comes with it a chance for a new bug. The last time, it was Apple Maps. What will it be this time? Here are four features we think are prime candidates (courtesy of TechCrunch, in italics):

1. iOS in the Car: iOS in the Car depends a lot on Siri. It puts the iOS homescreen on the screen of your car, and lets you search for directions, listen to music, etc.

Why it could be a problem: Any time software is used in a moving vehicle, there’s potential for things to go wrong. Apart from that, the features rely on accurate location tracking, a known weakness of Apple in the past. Other issues could involve integration with the car’s hardware and software settings.

2. iTunes Radio: Apple has finally introduced the much-anticipated iTunes Radio, which gives a Genius-like experience to the entire 26-million title iTunes catalog.

Why it could be a problem: This sounds like a great feature – and I’m sure it made Pandora a bit nervous – but with any first-gen version, there is bound to be some bugs. This is certainly one to keep and eye (and ear) on in the near future.

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Last week I wrote about the challenge of software fragmentation. As part of that, I highlighted the different available versions of the Android operating system:

We’re up to the seventh major version of the Android operating systems (with several sub-versions mixed in). If developers want to support all versions with a sizable market share, they need to account for Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean – all of which have more than 25% of the Android distribution. While it pales in comparison to the big players, Froyo still accounts for nearly 4% and even Eclair has almost 2%. Total: 3 major versions that definitely need support and 2 older versions that should possibly be considered.

That same week, Gigaom wrote about how Android fragmentation is beginning to disappear.

Google’s Developer Dashboard saw its monthly update on Tuesday, showing that 58.6 percent of all Android devices hitting the Google Play store are running Android 4.0 or better. More than a third still use Android 2.3, also known as the Gingerbread version, but that figure continues to spiral downward. Why? Partially because Gingerbread launched in December 2010, and the average smartphone customer has upgraded their phone since then.

Both analysis are technically right, it’s just a matter of how you look at the numbers. The question became, how is Google coming about this data? Is it really an acurate representation of the app-consuming population (which is what developers care about)? The answer is yes. From a follow-up Gigaom article:

A few months ago, Google started looking at version numbers of Android devices hitting the Google Play store; prior to that it would check whenever a device hit Google’s servers. I actually prefer the new method because the data is really meant for developers. And if I were a developer, I’d want to know what devices are actively seeking apps.

But good journalism isn’t about just believing, it’s about digging a little bit deeper. So Gigaom put up an informal poll to see which version of Android its readers are running. It turns out Gigaom’s fans are a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to getting the latest and greatest version, but the results still reflect a bit of that famous Android fragmentation.

As of this morning, 76.88% use Jelly Bean, 12.81% are running Gingerbread, 6.28% are on Ice Cream Sandwich, 2.76% are still rocking Froyo and a tiny handful of people are using Donut, Honeycomb and Eclair.

Are you an Android user? Go make your voice heard at Gigaom >>>

When it comes to choosing between a mobile website and a native app, the best option is…well…both. That said, it is important to understand the key benefits of each approach, should you be forced to prioritize one versus another. For a quick overview, check out this neat video by top-edge marketing:

If you’re looking to launch an app in both the US and Europe there’s a very compelling reason to embrace in-the-wild testing: the growing gap of “next generation services” that could mean your app will act drastically different on either side of the pond.

While Europe was often ahead of the US in terms of rolling out new mobile innovations the roles have reversed in recent years. According to a report by GSMA, the United States is now far outpacing Europe in terms on new innovations, adoption of new advances and overall mobile use. From PC World:

“However, this report confirms the very sobering reality that Europe has lost its edge in mobile and is significantly underperforming other advanced economies, including the US.” …

On average, “U.S. consumers spend more each month than their EU counterparts and use mobile services much more intensely, consuming five times more voice minutes and nearly twice as much data,” the report says. It predicts that by the end of 2013, nearly 20 percent of U.S. connections will be on LTE (4G) networks, compared to fewer than 2 percent in the EU.

Average mobile data connection speeds in the U.S. are now 75 percent faster than those in Europe, and by 2017 U.S. speeds “will be more than twice as fast,” according to the report. Mobile investment in the US has also outpaced that in Europe, with capital expenditure in the U.S. growing by 70 percent since 2007 while declining in the EU, and “the gap continues to widen.”

If you want your app to perform well in both North America and Europe it’s important to test in both locations. Different use habits and user expectations can sink your app without you even knowing why. In-the-wild usability testing and localization testing can help shine a light on potential problems before users encounter them. The different infrastructure can also have an effect on how well your app performs. There’s no way to replicate this successfully and accurately in a lab – testers need to be in the field, using the actual networks.