iPhone Testing

[Spin This!]

Anybody check out the accompanying article on top secret testing? Top Secret Testing

This is interesting:

To test iPhone's durability, Thandu says, they doused it with water, dropped it on concrete and bounced it off sidewalks.

How the phone fares in these tests should be interesting....

Top Secret Testing

Most people lucky enough to snag an Apple iPhone probably will be quick to show it off to friends.

Not Balsu Thandu. He got an iPhone more than two months ago and has been hiding it from prying eyes ever since.

Thandu is one of about 200 field technicians who have been secretly testing the iPhone and looking for technical glitches for more than 10 weeks and counting. AT&T routinely tests new devices, but the iPhone has been different, Thandu says. The technicians have logged more than 10,000 hours on the phone, including more than 5,000 hours of voice calls and near 5 gigabytes of data usage. Most phones, he says, get about half that much test time.

AT&T's scrutiny is understandable. The iPhone is shaping up to be the must-have cellphone of the year, maybe the decade if it follows in iPod's footsteps. AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for five years and hopes to use the device to lure new customers.

To win at that, however, the iPhone must live up to its hype. That's where Thandu and his crew come into play. "My job is to make sure the devices we sell meet the high bars we set for them, in terms of technical requirements and test specifications," he says.

Doing dry runs with the world's most anticipated cellphone has been challenging. Tests had to be done in places frequented by wireless users. Under strict orders to keep the phone under wraps, technicians had to hide or disguise the phone when in public, Thandu says.

The disguises took many forms: an iPod "sock" was sometimes slipped over the iPhone. Other times, he says, testers kept the device inside a newspaper or pants pocket and used a wireless headset.

For the actual testing, technicians frequented all the places where consumers go: office buildings, subway platforms, stairwells, elevators, crowded bars, sprawling suburban malls and congested city streets. They also showed up incognito at Apple and AT&T stores.

To test iPhone's durability, Thandu says, they doused it with water, dropped it on concrete and bounced it off sidewalks.

Thandu says he took the iPhone with him on long runs, sweating all over it. "We wanted to test the limits of it."

Techs also did a lot of walking. "Many people don't realize it, but walking gives you the worst channel conditions," Thandu says. Cell signals tend to bounce off buildings, causing interference, and background noise is a constant problem in cities.

Feedback from the field was relayed to Apple, sometimes hourly, Thandu says. Early on, he says, technicians discovered that the iPhone's audio was "not loud or clear enough." Apple designers quickly fixed the problem, he says.

Though "iTesting" will continue on an ongoing basis, Thandu says he is comfortable that the device is good to go. "For the launch, I think we are there."

[spacerog]

Wow, glad to hear they have had such extensive testing.

Kinda surprising that they have been able to keep things secret for so long. I mean 200 testers? I'm surprised someone didn't leak something. I could sort of understand it if they were Apple employees but these sound like AT&T employees who are probably not used the scrutiny or the intense security that Apple requires.

- SR

[iphonenut]

Originally Posted by spacerog

Wow, glad to hear they have had such extensive testing.

Kinda surprising that they have been able to keep things secret for so long. I mean 200 testers? I'm surprised someone didn't leak something. I could sort of understand it if they were Apple employees but these sound like AT&T employees who are probably not used the scrutiny or the intense security that Apple requires.

- SR

would YOU jeopordize your job by blabbering on the internet to a bunch of nobodies if your job was to test the coolest gadget on earth (and future gadgets)??

they're getting paid to play with the iphone...if i had that job i wouldn't do ANYTHING to put that in danger.

[jordan]

that would be a sweet job

[spacerog]

Originally Posted by iphonenut

would YOU jeopordize your job by blabbering on the internet to a bunch of nobodies if your job was to test the coolest gadget on earth (and future gadgets)??

Would I? of course not. But look at recent history, Apple has had problems in the past with keeping things secret. It has only been recently when they have finally plugged most of thier leaks. Now your talking about adding another 200 people into the mix with what is quickly becoming the biggest comsumer electronics launch in history. I find it surprising that all of those people have been able to keep thier mouths shut and the devices out of sight while testing them.

- SR

[joe]

A very encouraging report! While there are those unforeseen bugs that will inevitably be there, this is shaping up to be a great 1st rev product.

[thinkart]

i heard from more than 2 apple execs (interviews) that specifically said 100 test phones were released. all this sounds good except the 200.
who's fibbing?

[ebrunn]

To test iPhone's durability, Thandu says, they doused it with water, dropped it on concrete and bounced it off sidewalks.

And the GLASS screen didnt break?

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

Maybe the glass screen hadn't made it onto the iPhone yet.

Or perhaps the surrounding case is really made of flubber...