DeviceAnywhere Blog

Addtional T-Mobile US G1 Devices Now Available

We've just added three (3) additional G1 devices into the T-Mobile US package that makes a total of four (4) G1 devices into that package. And, don't forget about our G1 in the T-Mobile UK package.

Limited Availability of New Feature: Touch Screen Key Mapping

This new functionality allows our users to use their keyboard to enter text for touch screen devices. And, as a reminder, because we've added this feature you can also cut and paste onto touch screen devices.

Here is the list of phones the functionality is currently available on.

iPhone - All devices except the devices in the following packages [GER] T-Mobile, [UK] O2.

iPhone 3G - All devices except the device in the following package [ES] Telefonica.

HP HW6920 (iPAQ)

Samsung F480 - All devices except the devices in the following packages [UK] O2, [GER] O2.

We will be adding this functionality to all of our touch screen devices, so stay tuned and we will report as we launch this feature on more devices!

Helio's Ocean 2 Available In The Helio By Virgin Mobile VDL

The Ocean 2 has recently launched in the Helio by Virgin Mobile VDL package.

BlackBerry 8900 Available Across The US and Europe

The new Curve also known as the Javelin is now available in the following packages: Telefonica Spain, Orange UK, T-Mobile UK, T-Mobile US.

T-Mobile G1 Available on T-Mobile UK

We've got the first mobile device in the UK to use Google's Android OS. Check out the G1 in the T-Mobile UK package available in DeviceAnywhere.

If you are looking for other G1 devices we've also got three (3) available in the T-Mobile US package.

Taking the pain out of usability testing

It's come to our attention that some customers have figured out ways to use our product in ways we didn't even think about - always a pleasant surprise. For those of you thinking of usability testing of your mobile app, you've probably realized that you have some in-house options:

1. Print out mock-ups of your screens and show them to your potential users.  How's this going to go? You show your users a printout of a mocked up screen, they tell you what button they would press if it was the real device and you show them another printout? Not a very fluid experience and unlikely to produce very useful feedback.
2. Load the app on a device and then look over the subjects shoulder as they navigate your app. Problem: people get self conscious when you are watching them. They start thinking harder. Buttons that may not have been noticed during a relaxed casual session are now noticed because your user is thinking really hard about the task.
3. Load the app on a device and set up a camera over the user's shoulder. Again, you're making the subject nervous. And really, who wants to deal with setting up cameras, running wires, etc.

But the biggest problem with all of the above methods is that your test subjects will be using your handset which is likely not the same handset they already own. They will have to learn a new device interface as they are learning the UI of your mobile app. You've just increased their learning curve. Maybe your app is pretty usable, but having to learn a new device UI during the usability test makes your app appear harder to use.

So, why is DeviceAnywhere growing in popularity for usability testing? Probably because the in-house options aren’t quite cutting it. With DeviceAnywhere:

1. You can give your users the same device they already own. DeviceAnywhere has over 2000+ devices in our data center so it's not hard finding one your test subject is familiar with.
2. You don't have to breathe over the user's shoulder. DeviceAnywhere allows you to share a device with another user remotely. Your engineers can sit in another room (or in another country!) and silently snoop on the usability session.
3. You can record the entire session and play it back later to analyze your user's actions. This is invaluable as you redesign your application UI.

Give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

-Nick (Sr Product Manager at DeviceAnywhere)

International Expansion

As many of our DeviceAnywhere customers are aware, while we originally launched our DeviceAnywhere service in the US, we’ve been more than just a US-focused company for a while. Our first DeviceAnywhere EU location (London) was launched in early 2007, and now DeviceAnywhere provides access to devices in seven countries. And we have customers from countries all over the world as well, representing India, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, Australia and South Africa just to name a few.

Over the next few weeks and months, we are putting even more focus on supporting our international customers, and I wanted to share some of the efforts going on that will result in exciting new features and capabilities for DeviceAnywhere.

• New Currency Support: We now have the ability for customers to pay in Yen, Euros, and British Pounds. Exchange rates may be all over the place, but now your bill doesn’t have to be! Whichever currency you choose to pay in, your price will stay consistent in that currency. All customers have a one-time opportunity to choose the currency they would like to pay in, either upon initial sign-up, or for our existing customers, by contacting dabilling@deviceanywhere.com. If you would like to view the price list in Yen, Euros or Pounds, go to https://www.deviceanywhere.com/index.aspx?sid=4 and choose the currency in the drop down near the top of the page. The package prices and hourly prices in the below tables will update to the chosen currency.

• Mobile World Congress: This event, hosted in Barcelona February 16th – 19th, is a big focus for our marketing team. We will not only have our own booth (#2A17), but we’ll also be featured in 5 different partners’ booths: Telefonica (#8B178 & 8B185), O2 and O2 Litmus (#8B178 & 8B185), Accenture (#CY15 3-0 Courtyard), mBlox (#1F45), and Enough Software (#7A43). DeviceAnywhere is also sponsoring a Mobile Jam Session. And, at this event we’ll be giving out promotions for the DeviceAnywhere service on all of our European packages.

• More Devices: Over the last year, we’ve added a lot of new devices to our device bank. The UK now has 313 devices, France has 162, and Germany has 186. Including the 40+ we just launched in Spain, that’s over 700 devices in Europe. And these deployments will continue to grow. In fact, stay tuned for more new carrier announcements coming soon for Spain. And keep in mind - if we don’t have the device that you need, you can always request it by sending an email to our support team: dasupport@deviceanywhere.com.

• Web Site Localization: We have started the process of localizing our DeviceAnywhere.com website. The first languages supported will be Spanish, French and German. Look for this feature to launch during Mobile World Congress.

• Product Localization: We’ll also be offering Spanish, French and German versions of our product, around mid-year 2009.

• More Local Sales Offices: DeviceAnywhere now has local sales staff in England, France, and Germany, with Spain coming soon.

We hope these improvements to our service will enhance your experience with DeviceAnywhere!

-Rachel