Mobile App Testing

From MobileTechWorld.com:

It should come as no surprise that Microsoft has already started to populated the yet unreleased Windows Phone 7 Marketplace with a couple of third-party applications alongside some in-house apps. I already saw this 2 days ago when I was at the Microsoft Campus for some WP7 development work but Justin Angel from Vertigo Software actually decided to take a screenshot of the Zune software and post it on Twitter a couple of hours ago. As you can see in the shot above Microsoft has already released the in-house applications that we saw in the Channel9 video this week and a few third-party apps are already up for grabs. (like Yelp, Hexic etc) Interestingly there’s a YouTube extension to the Music & Video hub which should make everybody happy. WP7 users will apparently be able to directly access Youtube hosted videos via the Zune Hub.

As we noted a few weeks back, Microsoft has been rather aggressive in luring mobile app developers from the iPhone’s and Android’s of the world, and it appears as though this initiative is beginning to pay off.

Needless to say, we’ll be watching the next stages of Windows Phone 7 testing with great interest. What other apps will make their way onto this mobile OS? Is it too little, too late for Microsoft to make inroads in the mobile world?

Stay tuned.

Ah ha. The truth about antenna-gate is finally coming out, albeit in bits and pieces. Just as we suspected, the bug had been known and reported well before the phones started shipping. According to Daring Fireball (if that is his real name):

One last tidbit from an informed source: the bug on the “touching it wrong” signal loss issue was filed two years ago. This is not a problem they didn’t catch, or caught too late. So, on the one hand, clearly the fundamental antenna design predated Papermaster’s time at the company. But on the other hand, there was plenty of time to find a solution to the problem. I.e., it’s not that Apple should not have used an external antenna. It’s that it should have been even better.

Is there a lesson to be learned here for mobile testers? You bet there is. From Bill Ricardi:

“You cannot impose your standards upon a client. No matter how passionate you are about the quality of your work and your understanding of their product, no matter how much you study the test parameters and the client’s requirements… only they know what they really want out of the test cycle. They WILL usually refuse bugs that they don’t consider ‘real’ bugs, because they’ve probably had meetings about what their programming philosophy should be, and they probably have a preconceived notion of what they have time and budget to fix.”

So far, the majority of mobile app testing has focused on functionality, user interface and performance of static features. This is true of both native apps and the mobile web. Video on the other hand (especially live video) has commanded much less attention from the average mobile tester. The reason? Not many companies offered this type of service. Who would want to watch TV on their mobile device anyway?

Lots of people, as it turns out. Especially iPad users. The Wall Street Journal blog reports:

In the next few months, [Dish Network] plans to turn its subscriber’s mobile devices into portable televisions.

The new functionality, currently slated for September launch, will be built into the Dish’s current swath of free applications developed to remotely control the company’s high-end set-top boxes using Apple’s devices. BlackBerry and Android apps are said to be forthcoming.

Dish’s app joins a growing list of video streaming products from big-name media companies, including Netflix, Hulu and ABC, attempting to catch the attention of consumers who have cut the cord from subscription cable and satellite-TV plans.

As this trend evolves, testers will have to learn how to spot the common problems associated with mobile video – and they’ll have to learn it quickly. Needless to say, we’ll be watching this project with great interest. No pun intended.

BlackBerry (RIM) is all set to release OS 6 this week, which has been labeled by some as the “best operating system of all time.” That’s good! The operating system will not be available in the Gulf States, who have instituted a ban on the device and its major features. That’s bad. But Blackberry also announced that it will produce a tablet to rival the iPad. That’s good! The device will probably not steal much attention (or market share) from Apple. That’s bad.

But enough with the editorializing. Here’s the straight dope for the crackberry addicts looking to get their media fix:

UAE BlackBerry ban set to spread throughout Gulf states:

“The United Arab Emirates is banning users of BlackBerry mobile phones from using email, instant-messaging and web-browsing services in a long-running spat over security with the device’s Canadian maker, RIM.

Saudi Arabia is expected to follow suit according to an official from the state-controlled Saudi Telecom, who told the Financial Times that the kingdom would ban BlackBerry messenger services.”

BlackBerry planning iPad rival:

“The device is scheduled for launch in November, according to reports, and will be roughly the same size as Apple’s device. RIM has already acquired the rights to the blackpad.com internet domain.

Users will be able to connect their BlackPad to the internet using the wireless connection of their mobile phone, rather than having to pay separately for 3G network access as users of the iPad must.

Read more…

Earlier this week, we learned that Citigroup’s iPhone app had inadvertently saved the personal information of its users – information that could have been used for evil had it fallen into the wrong hands. We’re talking passwords, account numbers and so forth. Happens all the time.

The story actually received a decent amount of media attention (not like Lindsay Lohan or the gator feeding frenzy, but still) which sparked a long overdue discussion on the security of mobile software applications…

Which is how we learned about The App Genome Project. Set to be unveiled by mobile security firm Lookout at this week’s Black Hat Security Conference, the project is described as ” the largest mobile application dataset ever created.” It’s also a potential gold mine for mobile app testers looking for trends and data, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, here’s the stated goal of the App Genome Project:

“In an ongoing effort to map and study mobile applications, the App Genome Project was created to identify security threats in the wild and provide insight into how applications are accessing personal data, as well as other phone resources. Lookout founders John Hering and Kevin Mahaffey initiated the App Genome project to understand what mobile applications are doing and use that information to more quickly identify potential security threats.”

Very cool. Here’s what they’ve learned so far:

Read more…

MobileAppTesting.com is on the prowl for contributing writers – but not just any writers. We’re looking for writers with a passion for the world of mobile applications; who follow the industry’s latest trends and developments. Maybe even writers who have developed or tested any application or two. Does this sound like you?

A little background: We launched mobileapptesting.com as a gathering place for all things mobile. The site was designed to encourage collaboration and information sharing among mobile app designers, developers and testing professionals – and that’s where YOU come in.

As a contributing writer, you would be responsible for producing content in any of the following areas:

• Hard-earned lessons for entrepreneurs, techies and investors who want to create world-class mobile apps
• Overcoming obstacles unique to developing and testing apps for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian
• Breaking news and product reviews (for apps, devices, networks and more) from top bloggers and journalists on the front lines of the mobile app explosion
• Interviews with mobile leaders, offering insights from across the worlds of mobile app marketing, design, development and testing
• How-to articles for mobile application testers and developers

What’s in it for you?
This is your chance to become a recognized thought-leader in the rapidly expanding field of mobile applications. There are currently very few people blogging about this subject (despite an enormous demand for information) so there’s never been a better time to stake your claim as an expert.

Are you up for it? If so, send your submissions, ideas or questions to mikeb@utest.com.

A hurricane is about to level your beach house. A tornado is about to take you and your car airborne. Godzilla and King Kong are about to exchange fisticuffs in your city square. You have to act fast, but what should you do?

I recommend a combination of hiding and running. FEMA, however, suggests that you log on to the mobile web, register as a new user, confirm your identity with a security question and then search their application for tips on dealing with (insert disaster here). Starting to see the problem?

So did Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic, who was able to test the mobile application developed by FEMA. He writes:

FEMA allowed me to test it, which I did from my iPhone. It took about 15 minutes for me to register for my fictional disaster. I worried about two things: bandwidth and security. If tens of thousands of people applied for assistance at the same time, would FEMA servers be able to handle it all? And would the information be secure? Fugate, in an interview, said that the mobile platform was built on top of a highly secure disaster assistance infrastructure that could scale up quite quickly in the event of an emergency.  He noted that the program requires users to answer a security question with the aim of weeding out spammers and cyber criminals.

Just another reminder that when testing mobile applications, it’s important to keep the typical end user in mind.

Many have argued that if Microsoft is to catch up with the Apple’s and RIM’s of the mobile world, Windows Phone 7 might be their last chance. This past weekend, the new mobile operating system was unveiled on a select group of devices. Since this is only in the prototype phase, mobile testing remains at a critical juncture. InformationWeek’s Paul McDougall writes:

On Sunday, a company official revealed in a blog post that Windows Phone 7 has been undergoing extensive testing by Microsoft’s own employees. Terry Myerson, VP for Windows Phone Engineering, said more than 1,000 Microsoft workers have been using Windows Phone 7 devices “as their only phone” for the past several months. “We’ve been testing usability, battery life, network connectivity, and many other metrics for a long time,” wrote Meyerson.

Microsoft earlier this month made beta versions of Windows Phone 7 development tools available to application writers. Most of the tools are versions of standard Microsoft developer tools that have been modified for mobile environments.

For most companies, relying on in-house employees to test your mobile software is generally a very bad idea. That said, most companies don’t have 1000 employees to test their products. In other words, most companies aren’t Microsoft. So for that, we’ll grant them an exception.

Read more…

This post originally appeared on the uTest Blog.

The impact of check-in services, like Foursquare, on personal privacy and security is yet again making top headlines. If you remember our most recent bug battle (The Check-In Challenge), more than 80% of respondents responded “Yes” when asked if they were concerned about how location-based services (LBS) could impact their personal privacy and safety. And 49% chose “privacy/security concerns” as the top reason they don’t use check-in services more often.

Yesterday, the security company WebRoot came out with a study discovering similar results. After surveying 1,500+ social network users with geolocation-ready mobile devices, WebRoot found that more than half (55%) of respondents fear the loss of security and privacy, and 45% are very concerned about letting potential burglars know when they’re away from home (ah yes, the now shut down PleaseRobMe experiment comes to mind).

What’s most interesting to us is that 39% of those surveyed by Webroot said they use geolocation services, but take a look at the number of people that have fallen prey to social network cyber-criminals:

• Nearly a quarter of respondents (22.4 percent) were victims of a phishing attempt to steal their social network password.
• About one in six (16 percent) reported a malware infection in the past year that originated from a social networking site.
• One in nine reported at least one of their social network accounts had been compromised or hijacked.

Even in the face of these risks, many consumers admitted to engaging in risky behaviors:

Read more…

Loyalty doesn’t have to be something you earn. Sometimes, it’s easier just to pay for it. The Miami Heat proved this last week (with LeBron James) and now Microsoft hopes to do the same (with mobile developers). In today’s article from PCWorld, we learn that Microsoft is offering cash incentives to developers who build apps for its upcoming Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.

The question for us then becomes: If they are successful in luring developers with cash and perks, how will this affect their need for mobile application testers? I think you know the answer to that.

Of course, testing will be one of many concerns for Microsoft as they play “catch-up” with Apple, Google and others. Daniel Ionescu explains:

Read more…