App development solutions maker Telerik unveiled its latest project: a beta testing tool for iOS that can be downloaded directly from the App Store. The goal of the application is to drastically simplify beta testing and customer feedback by making it a much more straight-forward process for developers and end users alike.

Test Studio for iOS supports the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and enables the developer to test both web-based and native apps. The latter category requires a recompile, but only with the addition of a relatively small component.  That’s significantly less than what’s required by third party platforms with device or cloud testing capabilities, which often need you to jailbreak your iPhone or use code that must ultimately be changed for Apple’s app review process.  What Telerik’s new testing app does is allow you to trial your app in the proper environment to give you a realistic view of how your app will function once published.

The tool organizes test and playbacks using Element Locator that segment individual steps to objects that are easier to identify and view. Another capability is ad hoc testing –a regular user can review an app and jot down comments, take screenshots and note bugs that can all be sent directly to the developer team. The process of actually recording errors and providing feedback can be done offline as well, with step-by-step reviews of every scroll, tap and swipe.

“The explosive growth of the iOS application development market calls for a solid testing solution that ensures apps are of outstanding quality in order to stand out from competitors and raise the bar in user experience,” said Christopher Eyhorn, Executive VP, Telerik Testing Tools Division.  “Telerik seized the opportunity to develop a leading-edge solution for testing web, native and hybrid apps without jailbreaking the device. Test Studio for iOS is an advanced, yet easy to use and deploy testing solution for iOS apps.”

This is Telerik’s latest move into the iOS space, having spent recent years focused on website testing and Windows-specific tools.  As the world becomes more mobile, Telerik addressed developer demand by incorporating iOS and other platforms into its toolkit.  “We saw an opportunity in the mobile space,” Eyhorn continues.  “Testing is a necessary evil–something that needs to be done.  Building tools to help people do that easily is something we strive for.”

And Telerik’s not the only one following the developer’s trek into mobile.  About a week ago SOASTA, a company that specializes in application testing, had a big iOS update as well: it joined the Titanium community with the addition of support for the second version of the popular dev platform.

Despite iOS’s popularity in the smartphone space, Windows Phone is gaining interest amongst developers.  That puts Telerik in a ripe position as its long-time experience with Microsoft products has enabled a healthy cross-section of tools for the developer community.  Microsoft itself is looking to accelerate the growth of Windows Phone while laying the groundwork for the upcoming Windows 8 hybrid OS, and the ecosystem has a very central role to play in this plan.

Contributors: Maria Deutscher