Remember when a cell phone was just a phone? Today, mobile devices are a critical tool for doing business, tracking kids, staying in touch with friends and surfing the Web. And now you can add watching your favorite TV show to the list. In fact, few people are interested in a handheld device that can only make calls. They want something more — a mobile media device.

According to a 2009 independent MarketTools survey, mobile video usage is expected to skyrocket as consumer awareness grows. Perhaps a sign of the times, the fastest commercially available smartphone is focused on delivering unparalleled video performance, including the ability to record and send HD video. While this increased demand for video creates new revenue opportunities, it also poses a challenge for mobile handset manufacturers and service providers trying to deliver quality products to market.

Finding an efficient approach to quality
Today’s mobile devices and wireless networks must be able to deliver video applications anywhere, anytime. And they need to do so while providing the Quality of Service (QoS) that subscribers have come to expect. Therefore, as video usage grows, the success of handset manufacturers and service providers will become increasingly dependent on their ability to sustain quality 4G services.

Testing these devices and networks, however, is no easy task. The bandwidth-intensive nature of video, combined with increasingly sophisticated mobile handsets, presents unimaginable testing and quality complexities. Not only must handset manufacturers determine how best to prioritize the quality of key functionality — including, voice, data and now video — but also the optimum testing order. Should they test Twitter, then Facebook, then e-mail, and, finally, the call? This is a tough decision — and a moving target. Consumers now value applications more than any other feature or functionality, and new applications are constantly being created.

Still, the big question remains: How do you test for video quality, and how do you get all of this testing done on time? Some organizations are turning to specialized testing gear to provide video for test scenarios and to help determine whether good quality video is coming through on the receiving end. This type of testing, however, can be costly and extremely difficult, and it is not feasible for every device.

As a result, a large part of video testing remains manual — watching and listening at the other end to determine what the device is receiving and what it is displaying. To keep pace with the volume and complexity of testing for mobile devices, handset manufacturers and service providers are going to need a better — and more efficient — testing approach.

An automated testing strategy
The combination of video, other applications, text, e-mail and calls is going to change the way service providers and mobile handset manufacturers deliver products to market. These companies must be able to complete a staggering amount and range of testing each time they deliver a new phone to market — which is usually every couple of weeks. To get the necessary testing done on time, handset manufacturers and service providers will need an automated testing strategy.

By leveraging automated tools, companies can quickly build highly adaptable, modular and reusable tests. This ability allows them to be more agile in a competitive marketplace. A handset manufacturer preparing to release a new phone, for example, could reuse the 1,000 tests it ran on a previous version — without requiring three weeks to modify them. In this way, automation can save handset manufacturers valuable time and resources.

As part of this strategy, service providers and mobile handset manufactures must work together to prioritize the quality testing of key functionality, including video. They need to do real-world tests to figure out how the device and network are going to operate. These are complex and many-layered scenarios that can add time and cycles to a testing process that is already stretched to its limits. By automating these processes, however, both parties can efficiently complete the necessary testing while maximizing their existing resources. Even better, they can quickly roll out devices and services that work as expected.

Looking ahead
It’s important to realize that quality testing will need to evolve as mobile devices and next-gen applications change. Yet despite the challenges this creates, cutting corners on testing is not an option for handset manufacturers or service providers. Not when the business costs now include having your brand repeatedly bashed by the media, making recovery difficult and sometimes impossible.

David Gehringer is vice president of marketing for Fanfare.