Billing

The world’s largest mobile transaction network, mBlox, and Mobile Complete (News - Alert), a provider of testing, monitoring and support solution aimed at improving the mobile experience, has announced a partnership that will make it quicker and easier for mobile application developers to bring transactional applications to market.

The terms of the partnership provide that mBlox customers will be offered access to Mobile Complete’s DeviceAnywhere solution, extending the ability to remotely utilize and control more than 750 physical handsets connected to live networks.

The online service is available globally and provides developers with access to pre-commercial handsets. The DeviceAnywhere solution is already used by hundreds of mBlox customers worldwide to build and test mobile applications, including Sprint, Sony Ericsson (News - Alert), Orange, Motorola and many others.

"Handset testing is a prerequisite to ensuring a good end-user experience. We are very pleased to offer the DeviceAnywhere solution as another way mBlox can enable a faster time to market for our clients," said Steve Livingston, CMO of mBlox in a Tuesday statement.

"Direct access to live handsets over the Internet with DeviceAnywhere will significantly streamline the process of developing, testing and managing mobile applications for our customers."

mBlox specializes in global operator connectivity and mobile billing and thus maintains connections to more than 500 mobile operators in 180 counties through its carrier-grade network.

The company also enables businesses to deliver and bill for mobile services and content around the world. Through its partnership with Mobile Complete, mBlox will now offer its customers access to DeviceAnywhere for early testing of mobile applications under development.

Once the solution is connected and registered, developers download a Java client to manage a remote testing session, including timeslot reservation and payment, and application upload, displaying a virtual view of the phone and communicating results.

This software acts as a virtual user, remotely controlling and operating the mobile phone located in Mobile Complete’s global handset hosting data centers. Developers use electrical signals to press keys, use audio capture, streaming to listen to ringers and speakers and view displays using video capture and streaming. Developers are able to do anything on a DeviceAnywhere phone that is possible with a physical phone – all from the convenience of a desktop computer.

"As the world's largest mobile transaction network processing more than half a billion dollars of transactions on mobile phones per year, mBlox is one of the leading visionaries in the mobile industry," said Faraz Syed, CEO of Mobile Complete, in Tuesday’s statement.

"Together, mBlox and Mobile Complete are providing a critical set of tools for mobile application developers that address all of the components of testing, reporting, collaboration and monitoring."

As we consumers become more and more mobile, we are demanding more from our mobile devices. This is especially true for those who work while on the go. To ensure that these devices must be able to perform, they must be first tested in “real world” situations.

This agreement between mBlox and Mobile Complete will allow for the proper testing to ensure that mobile devices can not only perform standard features as expected, but also to perform the mobile application functions that consumers are demanding. As this industry continues to increase in competitive intensity, it is the top performers that will survive.

Mobile Complete will be exhibiting its products and services at the Symbian Smartphone Show in booth 84 on October 16-17, 2007 at the Excel Centre, Docklands in London and at the CTIA (News - Alert) WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2007 event in booth 1040 on October 23-25, 2007 at Moscone Center - South Hall in San Francisco.

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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.

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