Rent-a-Phone
This is from my latest newsletter, [subscribe here][1].We all know that testing our applications on real devices is an essential part of the development process. For freelance or small development agencies keeping every latest device in stock can be a waste of money, space and time.
I have recently come across a growing amount of services that offer the ability to 'rent' real devices for testing. So far these have all been European based and work in different ways. We have:
- Test Object: Lets you remotely access over 150 real devices and OS combinations through one handy interface that combines reporting and automation. The pricing model is a monthly fee that gives varying levels of sessions and user access.
- Native Tap: Takes a similar approach, but integrates with several IDEs, ADB and SDKs and pricing is based on per hour usage.
- Open Device Lab: A different idea that is more part of the Sharing Economy than Start Up land. People with devices available for testing add them to a map and you can get in touch to borrow them. As far as I know, no money exchanges hands, but I am yet to try the service.
Have you tried any of these services or anything similar? Please let me know.