Kobiton

Avantages

I love it's versatility and ease of access. Being able to run my app to test on multiple devices so easily makes the headache of finding devices so much better. It gives me peace of mind that my designs are being implemented correctly.

Inconvénients

It can be quite buggy or slow sometimes. I also wish that device settings weren't locked. Sometimes I want to be able to make sure that I'm looking at a device with standard text size/display settings to test my designs, and I'm not positive if I'm running my app on a standard setting. I also wish the screenshots it took were higher resolution. Also, it would obviously be nice if all devices were available at all times, but |I understand there is a limit to devices.

Avantages

I love the way I can search for a Phone or OS version and deploy our software for testing in minutes!
I also like the way it automatically records my actions and creates a session, which I can forward onto our developers who can see what I did and have access to the logs and video!

Inconvénients

Nothing bad but I would like to be able to see the dates of when I uploaded our application shown on the screen without having to click on the application and viewing the details.

Avantages

I like the possibility to upload my own apk file for testing it with several devices

Inconvénients

There are only few or none devices quite old and obsolete (i.e. android 5 devices) or new
there are too less devices by chinese vendors

Often I cannot use the device as for testing I need to allow notifications or geotracking but the device asks me the sign password, and I don't have it
this is the major problem I have had

Avantages

I like the fact that there are various different devices to choose from. When we get reports of issues happening that we are unable to reproduce, I can come to Kobiton to test on a similar device. It also makes gathering screenshots for different screen sizes quick and easy since many app stores require screenshots for various screen sizes. What's better than having real devices (in the cloud) to test on. Especially when we are a growing company and do not have an unlimited amount of resources to spend on test devices. Kobiton is simply awesome!

Inconvénients

It is hard to mention anything here as I love Kobiton. But I have noticed that when I use iOS devices it usually requires me to log into my apple ID to download apps from the app store. Not sure if that is something Kobiton could fix or if it's normal iOS behavior (I am more of an Android guy so I'm not sure). I also noticed sometimes I cannot even get into the store. It will ask for a pattern code to be entered (I assume this is security set up by Kobiton to prevent tampering with settings and such but this should not block the App Store but it does on some devices).

Avantages

By using the public cloud, we get multiple options of devices to test for one price. Their customer support is pretty good. Will respond to issues with in few hrs to with in a business day.

Inconvénients

At times, some public cloud devices will not be healthy (no memory, no network, etc) which will fail the tests randomly. When we report the issue to support, they are fixing or removing the device immediately.

Avantages

You can download the software and set up your own device lab. We just downloaded to the Devs and Testers laptops so they could test using their own devices or . We could then shoot the test results directly into Jira or just email screenshots and videos to clients to verify a defect or successful test

Inconvénients

At first Kobiton just looks like a cheaper/faster version of AWS device farm. It wasn't until I spoke with the sales guy that we realized we could use it to capture the output of the phone & app so we could plug into Jira and Jenkins. I would suggest they make that more clear that you can use your own devices.

Avantages

Testing on Physical mobile devices is much better than software emulators.
The pricing model allows easy trial and usage.
I am not a QA engineering by training, but was able to use Kobiton in lieu of having to have a physical device farm
Since it records the test runs, it creates a shareable artifact that has additional use cases such as training, or recording demo videos

Inconvénients

Physical devices sometimes have limitations such as the recordings not working all of the time or internet connectivity.

Avantages

What I liked the most about Kobiton was the versatility and variety of mobile devices that you can use either remotely or virtually emulated, making it easer to run different task while covering a great range of compatibility scenarios.

Inconvénients

The only thing that I didn't liked much about Kobiton was that after you use a virtually emulated device all that changes and configuration that you do doesn't get stored.

Avantages

Testing with real devices and operating systems
Good selection of devices and operating systems
Ability to set up groups
Great support team

Inconvénients

Unable to get access to Beta versions without going through support, and even then it was limited
UI is a little disjointed when it comes to managing devices and groups

Avantages

1. I like that its easy to Use
2. Has a wide range/options of devices I can use for testing
3. More user friendly
4. I like that I can customize each of the device that I need or I need for my team
5. I have not really used it but I like the automation feature

Inconvénients

1. Has limited hours to be used
2. Sometimes I need a device but is not on the list. Probably taken down for that moment to be updated. but not really a problem
3. I can't change the screen size as sometimes I need to check a page where I need to resize the display.

Avantages

This tool is very easy to use. It makes the testing of android applications more effective and accurate. There is no need of emulators or hardware mobile devices to test our application compatibility. Easy upload the APK file and test Your application!

Inconvénients

It should be free to all because trial version period is very short and limited especially for students

Avantages

This tool has been vital to our Support team as we're constantly needing to test and troubleshoot issues reported by clients. Kobiton has given us a way to really test apples to apples based on the device and version a client is using.

Inconvénients

We're missing a few devices / versions, but that is to be expected with so many being out there!

Avantages

Kobiton is fast, easy to use, and the company's support is exceptional

Inconvénients

Waiting for them to develop the automation feature, it sounds amazing.

Avantages

One thing i like the most is the portability and the simplicity of the platform, it makes easier to carry all what you need to work, without concern about the environment or location.

Inconvénients

Updates without advertise. sometimes some elements of the UI change dramatically and makes difficult to anticipate this changes to the current automated test cases.

Avantages

Easy to use and usefull scripting to integrate on several programming languages

Inconvénients

Devices availability
Devices OS versioning

Alternatives envisagées 

Avantages

It's easy to use, and has a lot of useful functions. Being able to access multiple devices and both iOS and Android devices is important for my work.

Inconvénients

It's very slow, and the UI can be clumsy at times.

Avantages

Comparing the platforms, I found Kobiton to be the easiest to get started. It's one of the few where you can just sign up for a trial and get started right away. It was also convenient for us as it allowed us to mix devices we already had along with their "cloud" devices.

Inconvénients

When I signed up for the trial, there were fewer devices online than stated on the trial page. However, their support quickly fixed that for me.

Avantages

Easy integration and variety of devices.

Inconvénients

Less minutes available, lack in support of AndroidDriver<MobileElement>

Avantages

The ability to use multiple devices and be able to install apps on them.

Inconvénients

Sometimes the interface to the devices is slow. Also, at times, downloading data is slower than normal also.

Avantages

Overall it was easy to use and implement. API was well documented.

Inconvénients

Doesn't support delayed test runs. In other words, if the device you need is already in use, you're testing will essentially fail.

Avantages

I love the ease of being able to use multiple phones

Inconvénients

The screenshot quality is very poor and sometimea not legible when imported into an InDesign Doc.

Avantages

I am in trial version only. It is good so far and did not run into big issues

Inconvénients

No complaints so far. Going good with trial