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Developers will be able to use a service later this year to self-certify applications, in readiness for formal approval, cutting out the fees due to the certification houses that normally carry out this work.
With Nokia and Microsoft both launching application stores at Mobile World Congress, and operators also working on increasing ease of access to their application development environments, we may be on the cusp of rapid growth in the development of mobile applications.
But with these increased opportunities for developers comes a potential problem – the cost of testing and certifying applications across the range of handsets and handset platforms in the market.
Leila Modarres of DeviceAnywhere, a company that provides a virtual development lab by providing remote access to real handsets, said that application stores and off deck applications are set for growth, but that also meant that came with an increased need for applications to be standardised and certified.
To help developers get further down the path without spending the money they currently need to, DeviceAnywhere will launch Proof Center later this year- to enable developers to self-certify in preparation for formal approval, rather than have to go through the costly process of submitting for approval with a certification house.
Modarres said DeviceAnywhere's concept was taking off, with Telefonica and Motorola signing up for its virtual development lab services, as well as with Zed, the largest provider of mobile content globally.
Juan Carlos Gonzálvez, Managing Director of Games at Zed, said, "We can now test on more devices in more locations, where it wouldn't have been cost-effective or practical before DeviceAnywhere. As a result, our whole Quality Assurance program is more robust and efficient than before. We are also realizing significant cost-savings because we no longer have to maintain a large bank of mobile devices for testing."