Forum Nokia VDL is powered by DeviceAnywhere, a revolutionary online service that provides access to real mobile handsets that are each connected to live networks. These devices are accessible remotely over the Internet, allowing members of the Forum Nokia community to meet all development, porting, testing, and monitoring needs without acquiring a physical device. DeviceAnywhere employs real, physical handsets – therefore, anything that a user can do with a device in his/her hand, he/she can do with the handsets in DeviceAnywhere – in real-time. This includes tasks such as pressing device buttons, tapping on touch screens, connecting/disconnecting the battery, viewing the LCD, listening to ringers and speakers, and opening/closing a handset.
DeviceAnywhere is an enabling technology that allows developers to collaborate on one project regardless of differing geographic locations. Community members can share devices among developers in different regions of the world, as well as save test results to share at a later time. This synergy empowers developers to create better, higher-quality content, as well as enables faster time-to-market.
“Increasing availability of high-bandwidth networks and improvements in mobile device functionalities are fueling consumer expectations for increasingly sophisticated applications and services,” said Shiv Bakhshi, Ph.D., director of Mobile Device Technology & Trends program at IDC. “But creation of innovative mobile apps and services requires that developers have easy, and fast, access to mobile devices so that they can test and optimize their offerings. Unfortunately, given the ever burgeoning portfolio of mobile devices from handset vendors, this can be very expensive both in terms of time and money. The situation seems to beg for a solution that allows developers, distributed in time and space, prompt and continued access to new devices without imposing any serious financial burden.”
“Forum Nokia is committed to providing developers with the latest innovations in tools and testing services to enable them to produce rich, viable content to deliver to end-users worldwide,” said Tom Libretto, VP of Forum Nokia. “Our collaboration with a best-of-breed technology like DeviceAnywhere to establish the Forum Nokia VDL not only provides our developer community with remote access to devices, but it also enables them to collaborate and work together to ensure that Nokia customers are receiving high-quality content and benefiting from the best mobile experience possible.”
“The mobile ecosystem mandates that OEMs deliver handsets that create seamless, unique end-user experiences – and for a world-class, global leader like Nokia, this is particularly important,” said Faraz Syed, CEO and co-founder of DeviceAnywhere. “The added value of DeviceAnywhere will empower Forum Nokia developers to remotely access Nokia’s most popular devices, as well as collaborate with colleagues worldwide to produce higher-quality content for Nokia’s customers.”
Through the Forum Nokia Virtual Developer Lab, developers currently have access to more than 40 of Nokia’s most popular devices available both in Europe and the United States – with new devices continuously added. Some of Nokia’s most popular in-market devices that are currently available through the VDL include the Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism, the Nokia N81 and the new, slim-formed Nokia 5310 XpressMusic. A Series 40 device, the flash-enabled Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is one of the most sophisticated music phones on the market, featuring Bluetooth stereo, memory expansion card slot and music playback buttons.