Yes you are right, it is just easier for to developers to test and for most smaller developers unlikely they will ever be able to test on all devices unless they have very deep pockets. So I perhaps should add to the above list: testing on an emulator is no substitute for testing on actual device (hence my want for Remote Device Access). Especially try and get hold of at least one device of each of the various manufacturer customised versions of Android, as these are more likely to encounter problems than stock Android (and you don't have an emulator of them).
On Jul 24, 1:32 pm, nation-x <[email protected]> wrote: > I can tell you from experience that just because an app will run in > the emulator... it doesn't mean it will run on the device. The rest of > your advice is stellar. :) I don't have 500k installs either. > > On Jul 23, 3:18 pm, Joseph Earl <[email protected]> wrote: > > > 1) Set a whole suit of AVD devices with all the possible screen-size/ > > resolution/OS version combinations > > 2) When developing, test on your main target devices and a few AVDs > > 3) When you are nearing completion, do a full test of your app on all > > of your AVDs - automatic testing can help take a lot of the work out > > of this - see Hello > > Testinghttp://developer.android.com/resources/tutorials/testing/helloandroid... > > 4) It's initially difficult to get feedback, but hopefully these few > > pointers will help > > a) Put an email/support button in your info/about screen and make it > > obvious straight away - I usually use a ScrollView for my about > > content then have a strip at the bottom with two buttons - this way > > the buttons are always visible > > b) Implement an unhandled exception handler. When you get one, offer > > the user the option to email a report to you (you can then fill out > > all the details from the error) > > c) If your next version is bringing some much requested feature or > > something that will significantly improve the app. Delay the release a > > bit and offer it only as a beta through your site (let people in > > Market know). This way you generally get early adopters or people who > > are more technically proficient and therefore more likely to actually > > report errors. > > > As for getting hold of devices: I'm afraid I doubt carriers will offer > > any kind of plan to small/individual developers, simply because they > > don't have to and to them the Android market appears to be growing at > > a pretty good rate (even if a lot of them are tat, carriers can still > > tout 80,000+ apps or whatever the number is these days). > > > What I'd REALLY like to see is what Nokia provides for their developer > > forum - remote device > > accesshttp://www.forum.nokia.com/Devices/Remote_device_access/ > > Quite simply it's the only kind of solution that is going to work as > > the number of devices increases, especially if some of them mess with > > lower level APIs and code. User testing is all well and good, but most > > users won't test your app - they'll just use it. In order to test an > > app well, developers need to be able to test it themselves and be able > > to use automated unit tests. > > > On Jul 23, 7:24 pm, "Maps.Huge.Info (Maps API Guru)" > > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > You can post your apk to a website and just send a link. That's how I > > > do it. The user must select "menu button-settings-applications-unknown > > > source" for it to install. Users on AT&T will be SOL though, AT&T has > > > disabled that feature from Android devices they sell. We all love > > > AT&T, this is another reason why. > > > > As far as beta testing, there are a couple of methods I've tried. > > > > My first idea was to advertise at the bottom of the help text that I'm > > > looking for beta testers. That worked well at first but the problem is > > > one of interest. I had over 200 people volunteer but at the last beta, > > > only a dozen actually downloaded the app and only three gave me their > > > feedback. I certainly can understand why: attrition. My second idea > > > was simpler and worked out a lot better. When I have a beta to test, I > > > advertise in the help that I have a beta ready and give a URL where > > > they can download it. This resulted in over 200 tests and a few dozen > > > responders with feedback. > > > > An official beta test community of regular users would be the ideal > > > situation. > > > > -John Coryat -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
