When it comes to testing mobile apps, most developers today rely on Testflight or HockeyApp to get their betas in the hands of testers. Ubertesters, a relatively new player in this business, challenges these incumbents with a more comprehensive testing solution that offers a wider range of tools for distributing new builds and reporting bugs. It also includes a crowdsourced component that gives developers access to a team of mobile app testers that is ready to take their apps through their paces on demand.
For now, the crowdsourced component is still in testing, though the company plans to launch this feature soon. Until then, it will offer access to professional testers employed by Ubertesters for $15 per hour. Once the full crowdsourced solution launches, the company’s co-founder and CEO Ran Rachlin told me, users will be able to rate their testers to ensure developers get access to a high-quality pool of testers. Ubertesters itself will also play an active role in managing the group of testers on the service.
According to Rachlin, developers are missing two features when it comes to mobile testing: a lack of tools and resources (that is, high-quality testers). Ubertesters believes its solutions address both of these problems.
Ubertesters, the company argues, improves on the analytics that more conventional crash-reporting services like Crashlytics offer developers. Instead of just having users poke the app and look for issues, Ubertesters provides developers with a comprehensive bug-reporting tool (including the ability to mark up screenshots) on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Developers also get a comprehensive build-management tool, as well as a web-based tool for device and team management. Using these tools, mobile developers (or their project managers) can take charge of both their internal and external testers.
New builds are sent to testers over the air, and pushing out a new build is as complicated as dragging and dropping the new file onto the right group of testers in the web interface.
The basic Ubertesters service with over-the-air build distribution, crash logging and team and build management is available for free. Extra features, including full session tracking, user stories support and email support, are available for an extra fee, starting at $10 per month.