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I don’t have an android device but would like to deploy an app. Is it reasonable to deploy it after testing in the simulator, or is that not enough testing?
If not, can anyone recommend a very cheap device I can get on ebay or something that is good for development purposes?
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Answers
I think that it depends on the features of the SDK that you’re using and more generally speaking, what your app does.
Different devices have different hardware so being able to test on different ones can help identify problems on specific devices.
You can set up emulators with different sd card sizes, screen resolution, and os version, but still the variability of handsets is much larger (e.g., different frameworks, carriers locking options).
Besides that, there are always those situations you did not think about. A phone running out of battery, or loosing signal, or rotating the screen (how did you test if your app handles that elegantly?) are just some of the situations I am thinking right now.
There’s also the android market rating issue: if your app goes untested and starts crashing in several phones, then you will be getting very bad ratings that will discourage further downloads (who will pay for an app with one or two stars?).
So, in sum, the best option is not only test one, but test several different devices. Can you ask friends/family to install the apk?
Update: I forgot the second part of the question. A quick search on google shopping returned me results for $80-120 for a used HTC G1 and $180 for a scratched Droid. You would be able to cover some ground with those two (two major vendors, different screens, ability to install several os versions on each).
There is always something to be said for dogfooding your apps and better understanding of your platform. I mean seeing a nice design pattern and or how a quality app handles things like start up and long running operations. It most certainly couldn’t hurt your cause.Plus debugging on a device is so much quicker than on the emulator. The difference is like night and day.
I’m sure you’ve already got a device by now but, for posterity sake be sure to look at google’s data on relevant platforms and go off of that. Also I’d recommend you use amazon over ebay just so you don’t have such a hard time returning a device or exchanging and the like.