DeviceAnywhere Blog

Making Videos of Your Device Interaction

In our latest release, we have made a number of improvements to our video generation feature, which allows you to create movies of selected screens of your device interaction.

In addition to the .avi format (uncompressed), you can now choose from the following compressed file formats: MPEG 2 (.mpg), Flash (.flv), and QuickTime (.mov). Using these compressed formats can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to generate the video.

To generate a video: Right‐click an acquired device and select Export Frames > Video from history. Click Settings to change the file format (Video type) or change the Frame rate. You may generate as many clips as you wish but each clip cannot be longer than two minutes. So if your video file is too large, you will be prompted to select fewer frames, lower the frame rate, or use a compressed file format.

Take ‘Control’ of Touchscreen Devices

The recent 5.1 upgrade to DeviceAnywhere Test Center makes it easier than ever to control touchscreen devices remotely using your keyboard and mouse. This new feature should address one of the top concerns we heard from our customers in the advisory panel. (Interested in joining the panel? Read the September Newsletter for more information).  

Holding down the control (Ctrl) key now allows you to record a touch screen swipe using your mouse. As the gesture is recorded, a green arrow highlights the direction and length of the gesture. Once the mouse is released, the gesture is executed on the device. (Be sure to hold down the Ctrl key until the gesture has been completed and the mouse is released)

This feature is especially useful for quick scrolling or unlocking devices that require a swipe as shown in the video. The Shift key swipe is still available, which in contrast to using the Ctrl key, performs the gesture in real time (does not wait until the mouse is released). Continue to use the Shift key for slow scrolling or for smaller movements on the device. 
 
This new release also brings support for new video download formats (.mov, .flv, and mpg) and a number of performance and usability improvements. Check out the release notes for a full list of features in the release.

 

              

iPhone 4 Now Available in DeviceAnywhere Test Center!

We've had a lot of requests for this phone, and now it's available! Check out the iPhone 4 in DeviceAnwhere!

DeviceAnywhere Customer Survey Excerpts

First - I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our survey. I personally look through all of the responses (347 people responded) and we rely on the feedback to both set our product direction and also help us prioritize and fix any issues.

Now for the results!

We predominantly ask questions about our product and support, but we also ask questions about the industry and our customers in general. Because of the size of our customer base, these responses provide a reasonable representation of the mobile industry as a whole, and where it is heading.

One of the first questions is what mobile business are our users engaged in. The categories have changed a bit over time, but we try to keep them consistent as possible, because it's interesting to see how the industry shifts over time.

 

Looking at these results, it seems that customers involved in the more traditional mobile businesses (games/messaging) are a shrinking % of our user base, while growing areas include web, mobile banking and enterprise applications.

We also ask a series of questions around the platforms/OS's that our customers are targeting, as well as app stores they are targeting or plan to target. 

   
 
BlackBerry actually edges out iPhone for our customers. This is reflected in our usage stats (see the DeviceAnywhere Metrics Report to view usage stats), where we see the BlackBerry Bold with the highest usage in the DeviceAnywhere system.

However - when asking specifically about application stores, iPhone is the clear favorite. Basically everyone who answered this question is either currently offering products in the iPhone App Store, or if not, they plan to (Plan to Offer Content is the % of companies that do not currently offer content that plan to in the future). Most companies also plan to offer content on the Android Market and the BlackBerry App World.

 
  
Lastly - I'd like to share some results about how customers use DeviceAnywhere Test Center.

 

Almost all of the respondents use DeviceAnywhere Test Center for QA'ing applications. This is no surprise, however, it is a much higher percentage than we have seen in previous years. In general, customers are finding more uses for DeviceAnywhere Test Center than in the past.

Questions or comments about these results? Send me an email at [email protected]

Rachel Obstler

VP Product Marketing

DeviceAnywhere

 

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Uploading Applications to an iPhone

We have made some changes to DeviceAnywhere to better support uploading applications to iPhones. Use the following procedure to upload applications to iPhones going forward.

Using the Applications Utility to Upload Applications to an iPhone

While this feature was originally launched in 5.0, it did not support iPhone application load until recently. Currently, not all iPhones have been configured with this capability; this project is ongoing and should be completed within the next month. You can find a current list of iPhones that support this functionality by contacting [email protected].

To load your application, select the Tools icon (wrench) in the Device Console, and then select the Applications tab. 

Select Add Application to first upload your application to the DeviceAnywhere server, and select iPhone as the application type. When you upload your application, make sure you zip up your files, and select your files that should be in the form of [appname].app folder.

Once you have uploaded your application to our server, select the Data Cable button to deliver your application, and the app will be side-loaded on the device.

To then view the application, you must restart the device. If after testing you would like to delete the application, you can right-click on the device, and choose Remove All Applications from the menu. This will remove all of the applications that you have installed on the device through this method.

If you have any additional questions about uploading an application to an iPhone, please contact us as [email protected].

Vivo Brazil is Now Available!

DeviceAnywhere, in partnership with Certified, has launched Vivo Brazil! Soon to be followed by other Brazilian operator package, the Vivo package contains 30 devices, including the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry 9000 (Bold), and the HTC Touch.

To view the list of Vivo Brazil devices offered in DeviceAnywhere, go to the Device List on the Test Center Product page, and select[BRA] VIVO VDL by Certified in the Package drop-down.

Existing customers can sign up for their package through their My Account tab in the DeviceAnywhere Portal once they have logged in. Interested new users should contact [email protected].

DeviceAnywhere Test Case Manager

The Test Case Manager is a new feature that comes free with DeviceAnywhere Test Center. It is essentially a test management tool, designed to help you easily manage your mobile testing process all within DeviceAnywhere Studio.

How does it work? 

With the Test Case Manager, you can store your test cases in DeviceAnywhere Studio. You can also create test plans (set of test cases to be tested against a set of devices), and these test instructions will appear right inside of DeviceAnywhere Studio, telling the user executing the tests exactly what to do. You decide what sort of "proof" you want to collect of the successful or failed test (e.g. screenshots or video). And - the best part is that all evidence of the tests is automatically stored and organized into a test report available in our web reporting portal.

1: Designing your test plans

To use the test case manager, first you enter your test plans in the Test Case Editor, right in the DeviceAnywhere Studio interface. Test cases are organized into projects, which are typically associated with a particular mobile application or product, and a set of devices you choose.

The Test Case Editor view is shown below:

2: Executing your tests

Once the test plan is created, the testers can go into the execution environment, Test Case Runtime (also right in Studio). They will choose a test plan and a device, and the tests they need to run will become visible right next to the device, instructing them step-by-step.

The Test Case Runtime environment is shown below:

3: Viewing your automatically generated test reports

Results from your executed tests are automatically saved in our web reporting portal. Reports include a high-level test status matrix (test cases by devices) as well as detailed reports of each device, complete with screen shots and or video proof. An example detailed report is shown below:

 
 
You can use these reports to check on test completion status, report bugs, or just keep a record of tests performed successfully!
  
For more information about the test case manager, or how to use it, you can contact us at [email protected], or sign up for the webinar on April 8th at 9AM PST.

New Feature: Zoom Device and Video Resolution

A few new features were unveiled in our latest patch to 5.0: Zoom Device, and Video Resolution controls.

Zoom device is available in the right-click menu, with a 75% and a 50% option. With this feature, some of those larger devices can now easily fit on your computer screen.

The video controls have an option to trade off performace for quality, as well as a new color depth control released in the latest patch.

 
  

One reason for developing these features is to address an issue that impacts many of our customers: latency.

Customers with lower bandwidth connections, or who may be physically located far away from the actual device they are using, can often experience key press latency (they press a key on a device in Studio, and the screen update takes a few seconds). This is most noticeable on high resolution and large screen devices, because for each change on the screen, DeviceAnywhere ships the pixel per pixel image to your computer. The more pixels, the more data is sent, and as a result the longer it can take.

So - along with using Zoom device to fit a device in your screen, you can also use it to reduce the data sent and reduce latency. The video controls provide the same trade-off capabilities. Now, if you do experience issues with latency, you can try out these controls and find the best combination of image quality vs. speed to optimize using DeviceAnywhere for your testing needs!

New Ways to Find a Device in DeviceAnywhere 5.0

One complaint we have heard from customers is that they sometimes have trouble finding a device. As our packages get larger and larger (some packages have over 200 devices!) it definitely can be a pain to have to scroll through so many devices. So - we added two new features that make finding a device much easier.

The first method is a new free text filter. Typing into the filter (see picture below) filters out devices and only shows those with the typed letters contained in either the manufacturer or model. So in the example shown below, I selected the AT&T VDL package, and then typed SG, and the list filtered to show AT&T devices with the letters SG (which ends up being Samsung's SGH series).

The second method is by creating a project, and adding devices to that project. Projects can be created by clicking on the Project menu item on the top bar in Studio. When you create a project, you will be prompted to add devices to the project. Then when you go to the device panel, you would choose to group devices by Projects instead of by Packages (see above image). Select the project you created, and only the devices you added to the project will be visible.

You can create as many projects (and thus as many different device lists) as you want. Projects are also used in our test case management and test automation products, but you can just use them to create device lists and use the other functionality only when or if needed.

Stay tuned for more information on other 5.0 features, coming soon! And let us know what you think about 5.0, either by commenting on this blog, or by sending an email to [email protected].

DeviceAnywhere 5.0 New UI: Part II

In the last post, I spent some time talking about one of the major changes to the UI in 5.0: the Device Console. In this week's post, I'll cover the rest of the UI changes we've made in this release.

The next major change is to the way multiple devices are now managed in the Studio UI. When you acquire multiple devices, each device will now be a separate "tab". Additionally, if you wait for a device, this will also open a tab, although in this case the device will not be clickable until it is released by the user that currently has it. This tab approach of course has a downside, which is it limits the ability to interact with > 1 device and view >1 device at once. This leads to the next new feature: Pop Out device.

This is Basil's favorite feature, (one of our developers and the one most credited with the new and improved look and feel of the application).  Basically any device can be disconnected from Studio, and become its own window. This is especially useful for individuals using multiple screens. A screenshot illustrating these two features is below. In this example I have 3 devices acquired; one of them is also "popped out".

Another UI change is the hiding of the VCR controls that were previously always visible under the device. We felt that first, these controls are only needed at certain times, and second, the length and form factor of some clamshell devices makes it difficult to use the controls and view the device screen at the same time. The new VCR controls can be shown by selecting Show Video History from the right-click menu on an acquired device. The video history controls appear at the bottom of the screen, superimposed over the device, so you can always move the control and view the screen at the same time. See illustration below.

 
 

In addition, the video history controls are now a bar, and the screen video will change as you select a location on the bar, either by clicking on the bar itself, or selecting Back or Forward. Resume brings you back to the current screen.

A couple of other UI changes were also made: one is the visible phone number at the top of an acquired device's tab. This is a piece of information that some customers had requested to make always visible. Another is the view panel; the left-most panel now shows all of the sub-tabs in a view, instead of those tabs being available at the top of the workspace area - giving us more room for the device. The view panel can also be minimized, while maintaining selectability of the different sub-tabs as shown below. Here I left-clickd on the second icon (the Test Case Manager - a new feature that I will cover in detail in a subsequent post) and the three available tabs appear and can be selected.

 

Another item new in the view panel is important links, represnted by the globe. Clicking on this item allows you to go to the DeviceAnywhere Portal (where you can manage your account, search for devices, view documentation, sign up for webinars, etc.), file a support issue, or view any reports (new feature of the Test Case Manager also).

That's all for this post; next time I'll cover all the new ways you can find a device!