Mobile application testing would be easier if we all used the same mobile device, and perhaps it was easier when Apple dominated the marketplace. But now that we have scores of phones and tablets from Samsung, Nokia, and Google—and multiple incarnations of each—testing has become a real challenge, just from the financial cost of owning all those different devices to test on.
Thanks to great efforts by many in the software development and testing world, free mobile testing labs are springing up to offer developers the chance to test their mobile apps and websites at no cost.
One of these labs, CoupSmart, recently explained to Internet Retailer Magazine that by using devices that have been freely donated to them, they’re not only able to provide a valuable service to other developers in the area, but it’s also a “big bonus having a device lab on-site because it now can test its own mobile offerings whenever it wants.”
CoupSmart’s marketing director Sean Grace pointed out that the benefits go beyond testing by further expanding to the crowdsourced environment that’s on the rise in the software community:
A couple of times now we’ve also talked to other device lab managers from other cities to share tips, strategies and information. There’s a whole community out there, and everyone’s working toward a common goal—making technology a better experience for everyone.
Those not central to the Cincinnati area, CoupSmart’s home, might want to turn to LabUp!, a non-profit dedicated to helping others set up their own open device labs, furthering the reach of knowledge and device sharing wherever people see fit. LabUp!’s only requirement for joining them in their cause is both simple and noble— “Your ODL must provide a free service to the developer community.”
It will be interesting to see how developers, testers, and those of us simply looking to get rid of older devices will respond to the ODL format. Cloud-based mobile testing has been heralded as a lower-cost alternative to building your own in-house lab. If everyone jumps on donating their old devices to a good cause, instead of selling them for a fraction of their original price, we could see real communal growth in the development world.
Would you be willing to donate your old mobile device to a cause like CoupSmart or LabUp! instead of trying to sell it to offset the cost of your new device? Let us know in the comments section below.
